01473 824212Designer of the month: Our Very Own Diz
Dizzy (or Diz as she likes to be called) has been working here at Stuart Morris for many years and is a highly valued member of our art department. She is extremely talented and never
fails to amaze us with the scope of her understanding and creative ability when it comes to her work. This is why we have decided to crown Diz our Designer Of The Month for July; following in the footsteps of Richard Bawden, Pat Albeck, Heather Raeburn and Elizabeth Blackadder.
It seems like most great artists and designers, Diz became interested in art and crafts as a child. She could always be found with a set of colouring pencils or a glue stick in hand, drawing the flowers in her childhood garden or sticking egg boxes together with some trusty PVA glue. Despite enjoying all types of art, it was illustration that she decided to study at Suffolk College. Attracted by the fact it relied heavily on drawing as opposed to technical equipment or skills, she was one of 4 students who chose to specialise in illustration for the duration of the course. It was a cosy class which meant that there were minimal distractions and much collaboration. All the students warmed to their tutor, Owen Wood, who is still one of Diz’s biggest inspirations today.
She also loves the work of John Lawrence who Diz’s tells me has an incredible attention to detail and Arthur Rackham who produces beautiful book illustrations.
Stuart loved Diz’s work and snapped her up immediately. She is now the lead designer and illustrator here at Stuart Morris and focusses mainly on heritage customers. To date this includes organisations like English Heritage, Historic Scotland and The National Trust.
Not only is she a fantastic illustrator but her capacity for generating new ideas is immense. It is this challenge of coming up with new concepts that she thrives on, throwing herself into the project whole heartedly. Art and Design can be quite a competitive industry and Diz advises young artists to follow their heart and not allow anyone to be pushed into working on a computer but just to draw.
Aside from illustrating, Diz still likes to try her hand a new things. She tells me that she would love to master linocutting, something which she feels she hasn’t had much success with to date.
Here are some of Diz’s favourite Heritage designs:
01473 824212