Artist Focus: Şebnem Aydın

I spent my childhood, adolescence and early youth as a hardcore dreamer. I turn the ideas that are running in my head into painting, sculpture, photography, video, theater, music and finally illustration. Here is where I usually work, but I can work in many places and conditions. Sunny or no sun, rainy or snowy, day or night, before or after dinner, Monday, Tuesday at the latest.

I do a lot of things that involve writing, drawing, painting and playing with. My life would not be complete if I had not included the Anatolian goddesses, fabric toys, ceramics,sculpture, theater and painting while listening to the news. While teaching visual arts, the principle of "Not without fun" is valid for me. I try to minimize the things I do without having fun and excitement.

Since I started illustrating books professionally, I have met a variety of characters, each of which is unique. I imagined them, tried to understand the imagination of the author and the editor, tried to incorporate them into mine and create a new character. Each of them becomes a kind of child when you suffer labor pains that sometimes last for two days, sometimes for two weeks.

I went through the same process in the book "Meerkat Granny Is Having a Party", published by Redhousekidz and written and illustrated by Nihan Temiz. I loved the stories. I started sketching but got lost in the endless sketch spiral. Then, watching documentaries after documentaries, finding them so that they don't look like drawn ones, and then talking to the author, I realized that for the first time, I was exploring for a creature I had never drawn. I try to look at all the characters in such a way that I can hear and draw them.

"There is a muse, but it only comes when you are working"- Picasso

I have a slightly different relationship with my muse than Picasso had with his muse. My muse also comes while working, but it's not exactly a helpful one. It acts more like my cursed inner voice. But I don't like to be disturbed while working.

I made the drawing, the video of which I shared, with the procreate application on Ipad. I've been using this method lately. I have used watercolor, collage, etc. techniques before. When I find it difficult to get a good result for printing, I work in this way now. Brush and paint options of the program gives a result that close to paper and pencil. It develops as I learn and offers a chance to experiment.