Born and raised in Canada eh, Holly Roach now calls New Zealand home. And maybe she also calls New Zealand her muse – our native birds and plants are the subject of many of her prints. Holly’s lovingly screen prints each original work in her own home studio…take a look:
Art on display in Holly Roach’s home studio. (Love that handmade Be Kind woodblock.)
Tell us about your process – how do you come up with ideas, what are the steps to a finished piece?
Most of my artworks start life as an unreadable doodle on loose sheets of paper. My scribbles are often inspired by some shape or form that is part of something bigger that I have come across on a site, blog or in a book.
I will then loosely redraw my sketch to final art size and trace down to my chosen surface. No image is firmly fixed in place, allowing for the design to change as I go along- mistakes often dictate a new path!
Holly needs plenty of paint on hand. Doesn’t it make you want to get your hands dirty and create?
I then screen print layers of colours and form using hand-cut stencils. I use anything and everything to make ‘marks’, spatulas, knives, rollers, chopsticks. It helps to work close to my kitchen. Or in it at times.
There’s a lot of love and time in every print – Holly screen prints each one herself.
What’s the favourite piece of work you’ve done and why?
I was lucky enough to be tutored by the very talented John Pule many years ago when I studied Fabric Design at AUT. We were to tell our story using the architecture of a Nuiean Tapa cloth. It was equally enjoyable and draining at the same time. It’s nice to have the outcome of this exercise hanging in my lounge for anyone to see, but only I know the secret codes in it!
Holly’s favourite work, her autobiographical Tapa cloth; a corner of Holly’s creative space.
Besides art/design, what else do you love to do?
Walking. Drinking coffee. Being in beautiful places. Drinking coffee in beautiful places. Christmas. It brings out all my joys…sewing, beading, crafting, cooking, wrapping and giving.
What has been the coolest experience/highlight of your creative career so far?
A recent cool thing was finding out that two of my works are hanging in the Auckland Town Hall. I knew the city had bought the paintings but didn’t know where they went.
Two of Holly’s art prints for sale at endemicworld: Sunny Days and Out The Back.
What would be a dream commission to do?
I think it would be great to create a homeware series for a company like IKEA. Swedish inspired designs on ceramic, wallpaper, textiles, etc. I have a relatively short attention span, so mixing it up would suit me.
Tell us about a person who inspires you…
A lot of different people inspire me for lots of different reasons. These days I would have to say kind people and people living their truth. Often strangers, so I couldn’t name names.
The beauty’s in the details…
Endemicworld’s Holly Roach prints are reproductions of Holly’s original screen printed artworks. They’re available in 3 sizes (right up to big A2!) and from only $49. Click here to check out all our Holly Roach art prints.