Hello A.R.Tees great to see you again it has been a while. We have a new artist we would love to share with all you lovely people.
This is Helen Barrett from St Agnes another Cornish maid. Helen when we spoke to her said that she that she had always done arts and crafts as a hobby but it wasn't until she started setting up her own brand Lil Rippersz that she started to build up her confidence to create the image that she desired. Helen had had work created by other artist and designers to start with but these designs where not the vision she had and started to create her own to fulfill her dreamed brand.
Lil Rippersz was inspired by her four year old son. This is what she said.
"He’s such an active, fun kid that I wanted to make clothes to suit that. I was fed up with the pink princess and blue hero type clothes that you get for kids and really wanted something that is unisex and parents would like to buy because they would wear it themselves. My son skateboards and has a bmx too, so we spend plenty of time down the skate park. Seeing all the kids down there gave me loads of inspiration."
Helen also tells us about other inspirations she has.
"I really love street art and my favorite place to see this is in Bristol. I love to go up there and walk around to see what art I can find. There is always something new that I find. I also love to go to south bank in London and see the artwork at the skate park there. Again, its constantly changing and is always so inspiring"
Helen uses a mixed medium format when working with original drawing starting with pencils and paper sketches which she builds up with pen. She then transfers this to her Ipad pro, using pro create which she said she had taught herself stating she isn't great with technology. So if you ever find yourself reading these blogs and think to yourself well I could never do this all it takes is a little time and passion and you also could complete your dreams and start your own company. We all start somewhere whatever journey you may be on. Where you work alone like Helen or work In better in groups just get out there and create. Helen likes to work alone as she needs a quiet space away from her loud four year old her husband and the three dogs. If you think your life may be too chaotic here is proof that even someone with a busy life style can still make their dreams come true, just keep at it.
Helen is also self taught coming from what she said is a very artistic family which has given her the creativity and inspiration she has needed. Starting as a hobby which grew staying home as a full time mother. She took this time away from work into and turned her hobby into a productive form of income whilst staying at home and looking after her son.
If you like Helen Barrett's work please visit her website or go to her face book page and give her a like on her social media sites to keep updated on Lil Ripperz