Heather K. Rudd
…on the balancing act, updated nostalgia & new enviroments.
In the modern world being an artist is a balancing act. It is a lifestyle that teeters on the edges of work and play, dancing around each of them and never settling. The line between the two is perpetually blurred. Art is the passion that drives us to create, work is a necessity to live. Many of us want the former in the form the latter and for those that have it, the lines are more blurred. But there is more to life than simply work and play. There are hobbies such as rollerskating. There’s baths and dogs, and renovating a narrowboat so you can live in it. These are the things that graphic designer Heather K. Rudd juggles whilst performing the balancing act.
‘I think every creative has that crushing defeatist feeling of wanting to do every idea but not having the time, and then feeling that they’ve somehow managed to half-arse it and I’m constantly battling with that.’ Every idea that falls victim to the confines of time is, for an artist, a tragedy. Heather’s sentiment is relatable because it captures the creative’s plight of needing more time and energy to give an idea the space it needs to grow. She explains that fitting her creative pursuits around work felt like a chore, almost like an extension of her job that was eating into her down time. Now that she has had an opportunity to revisit her art it has brought about new opportunities. ‘I got an additional job at Neon Raptor Brewing Company in Nottingham and am back at my full time job so it’s been a bit difficult to juggle everything once more, but I think I’ve tried to marry my personal style with my professional style and use my work as an extra outlet to carry on some of the ideas that I started working with last year.’
A student of fine art, Heather says she is at home using more contemporary means to create such as paint, or pens and paper. Although her job dictates that she uses digital techniques she tries to find a way in which to incorporate her fine art background into her work, using adobe programmes such as photoshop and illustrator alongside the more humble sketchbook. ‘I like thinking conceptually where I can. I’ll get excited about some abstract idea that’s been triggered by reading something and then those thoughts will begin to percolate and I’ll start applying those ideas to visual patterns or prompts in my day-to-day life.’ This is only the beginning of Heather’s process and it is only when her busy schedule permits is she able to work on her ideas. Once she gets started, the steps she takes are clear in her head, but there is always more work to be done. ‘I like working with textures and colours though, so if I’m ever stuck I tend to use a found material or just start layering up some colours as a foundation to work on top of. It takes away the fear of a blank page.’
A large portion of creative output Heather currently channels into her work designing labels for the brewing company Neon Raptor. It is a new environment, a new challenge for her. One she says she is still trying to feel her way around and connect with the essence of. She explains she has identified the broad theme of ‘updated nostalgia’ as a concept she integrates into her work for the company. ‘I didn’t want to lean too heavily on the tired graphics of the eighties. There’s more to the nostalgia of that era than glowing sunsets and lasers and I think it will be fun for us as a brewery, and for the customer, to go on a journey to try and unearth that.’ Heather goes on to say that her aim is to look back at old design techniques and reframe them with a modern twist.
If you are ever to come across Heather’s work on a Neon Raptor product you’ll find that your attention is being demanded to focus on something that you would, otherwise, likely have overlooked. She says she is currently ‘pulling inspiration from rap albums, metal logos, nineties web pages and bitmap games to name a few. This is my current framework and it helps provide ‘instant’ inspiration.’ It is this steady intake of variety with a clear objective to create an ‘updated nostalgia’ that makes her work so eye catching. Just the same can be said for her work in general. It’s roots in fine art are abundantly clear. From the bold use of textiles as layering foundations to the unfettered sketchbook scribbles all married together with modern and contemporary techniques make designs that are wholly unique to Heather’s style.
‘I’ve always been drawing and colouring and doing creative things growing up.’ Like most artists, being creative and exploring that creativity has always been a part of Heather’s life but there always comes a point in life where the pursuit of one’s art must come into question. ‘There was a point in college where I was at a bit of a fork in the road and I was either going to study law at uni or pursue art, and my teacher @stevelanestudio helped me realise that my passion definitely lies with art and I certainly don’t regret it.’ Without that realisation Heather wouldn’t have found herself working at Neon Raptor or collaborating with other artists @msmagic_88 and @hoppies_art to create the @getfuckedzine, as well as working with musician @y.a.y_m.a.r.i.a. A branding project is also something she has begun working on and will continue to do in the future, a project she describes as ‘much different from the stuff I’ve been doing lately’. You can find Heather’s work on her Instagram as well as her website.
Originally posted 18/03/21 by Alex Bamforth
