Instagram Crush: Sandra Dieckmann’s Small Paws
Artist, maker and womanimal Sandra Dieckmann is best know for her stunningly detailed creations which celebrate nature in all its natural beauty whilst hinting at something far more majestic.
However, followers of Sandra’s Instagram feed will recently have witnessed her setting aside her sharpened pencil in favour of watery paint and colourful inks to adopt a looser, more experimental style.
Charmingly referred to as “Small Paws” her new body of work has emerged as she experiments with a more tactile way of image making. Although, on first glance her output appears to be very different from her existing portfolio of work, there are still a few tell-tale signs of a classic Dieckmann; Sandra’s affinity for natural subject matters and use of textural mark making are still very much present in this less self-conscious style.
Sandra’s Small Paws aesthetic has yet to be applied to any major project, however the style alteration first appeared on her instagram feed as she started work on her first ever book as she announced to her followers on Instagram recently:
Psst … Working on a book. Been a long time coming will probably be a long time still. Experimenting with altering my way of working a bit for this project.
Her Instagram feed has since been awash with an ever present collection of wild foxes, woodland bears, bumbling birds and leafy patterns. Naturally Sandra’s followers (some 8,700 of them!) are in a flurry of excitement about her first book which we’re itching to find out more about. The addition of her online ceramics store has been another exciting development as she showcases her transition from 2D to 3D, capturing the magic of her pencil sketches in a far messier and unpredictable medium.
The results have proven popular, as only have Sandra’s cute creations received a flurry of encouraging compliments on social media but her hand made ceramics – each with suitably adorable names such as Augustine the Hedgehog – are selling out in as little as thirty minutes after being posted. Sandra also sells a limited number at her newly opened studio, shop & gallery: Studio Mama Wolf.
For any well established artist to adapt and evolve a tried and tested way of working is a brave and awe-inspiring move. Knowing when it’s time to strike out and try something new and having the determination to keep pushing yourself, even when it would be very easy to stay put is the key to success as an illustrator – and for any creative contemplating a style switch-up, Sandra’s new direction is an inspiration.
Follow Sandra’s Small Paws, as well as her many other creative projects, on her instagram feed.