Meet the Artist: Pepa Espinoza - the Luzon

MEET THE ARTIST: Pepa Espinoza is a Potter, Illustrator, and Maker from Chile.

In the Luzon, a Southeast Asian Rainforest, radiant birds take flight across a paradise of lush plants and blue skies. The boldly colored and intricately detailed birds and tropical flowers in this design transport you directly into this natural wonder, one of the oldest rainforests on Earth. You can find this best-selling design on 3 styles: the Slip On, Runner V.2 , and the Buckle Sandal. Read on for more about the artist and design process!

Pepa, can you share with our inkkas community your process for creating the Luzon?

For Luzon, which is part of the Radiance Collection, I wanted to work on a design that was very cheerful and that evoked the feeling of being on vacation. For that I was inspired by a Southeast Asian rainforest, their abundant vegetation and their fauna.

This is why the design has many intricate details, with lots of colorful nature, exotic plants, fantastic birds, flowers and fruits abound in the pattern. So when you use part of the Collection you carry part of this natural wonder, one of the oldest and most consistent rainforests on Earth.

If you look closely you will find different scenes, radiant birds fly through a paradise of lush plants, tropical flowers and blue skies.

How did you get into art, painting, and design?

I learned to illustrate from a very young age, I spent many of my vacations at my grandmother's house, who was an amazing painter and an arts teacher. I learned a lot from her, we were very close and as a child I spent many seasons at her house, painting, drawing, sewing, everything that was artisanal and handmade caught my attention and she taught me with all the love and patience to appreciate and to value craftsmanship.

In that way, I began to love slow processes and handmade work.

Then I studied architecture in a very free and creative school where I also had classes in graphic design and object design, which broadened the way of seeing art in general and gave me many creative tools.

I worked as an architect on different projects for several years. During that time, I had put illustration on hold until I got to know ceramics for the first time. I found a material where I could take the illustrations to a third dimension, materializing textures and reliefs.

Since then I have never stopped making and creating!

Where does your inspiration come from?

When creating, everything inspires me, mostly from the everyday, like playing to imitate animals with my son, the view that my studio has of the Pacific Ocean, the sound of seagulls, the memories at my grandmother's house. But my work mainly collects elements of nature, where plants, fruits and flowers come together with
women and animals. But also dreams, legends and fantasies, I like the symbolism that some elements have and how they can be interpreted differently by those who see them. In general, what I like the most is to merge reality and fantasy, creating magical worlds where nature, dreams and colors are always present.

When painting, everything is possible.

Is painting your full time job?

No, my "formal" job -- what I studied and have done prior to this project -- is architecture. I have worked for many years designing homes, and although I really like architecture, it is something that is less and less a part of my everyday life since illustration is my personal project, almost like a son who inspires and motivates me every day because I am constantly learning.

I have been lucky to be able to work on different projects and collaborations that turn my work into something very dynamic and entertaining. I have also had the opportunity to meet people from different parts of the world and that is very enriching! Like the project we did with Inkkas, it has been a very nice experience working with the team and seeing my designs turned into the most beautiful and colorful Collection I have ever seen. I feel very lucky.

What medium or program do you prefer to use?

I like to work with different mediums, but my favorites are analog mediums, painting on paper with gouache and the texture that remains is something that I love, without a doubt my favorite technique.

And on the other hand, I love ceramics, especially the underglaze technique that allows me to work with slips and pigments, achieving different finishes and decorations, but with great intensity and vibrant colors.

And if it is a digital medium, I like to use Procreate, it is a very friendly program with a wide variety of options and brushes that allow you to recreate the textures of hand drawing.

What keeps you creating? How do you find new inspirations?

I don't always feel inspired, there are very creative moments in which I need to have a paper and pencil next to me, but there are also moments in which I don't feel that way and I need to distance myself, do other things, go for a walk, listen to music, play with my son, taking vacations and that much-needed break helps me a lot to reconnect with drawing.

Another thing that helps me a lot to feel inspired is that I alternate between paper and pencil and ceramics.

Working with clay forces you to think in volume, taking the ideas I usually work on paper to three-dimensional objects, and that's like starting over, solving problems that appear when changing materials is something that keeps me motivated and being able to take drawings to objects and vice versa is something that inspires me and keeps me excited.