Artist Interview - Rebecca Elfast (Pt.1)

What makes Christmas cosy? 

- Being with those closest to you, family and friends. Enjoying all the lovely food! A sparkling fire in the fireplace, mulled wine and gingerbread. Board- and card games. A special Spotify playlist with only Christmas music. I could go on forever. 

What makes the perfect pattern? 

- To me, a perfect pattern contains well drawn elements that are varied but clearly members of the same “family”, harmoniously but dynamically laid out across the repeat. Also colours and contrast needs to be well thought through. 

How do you bring all the elements together?

- Like I mentioned in the last question, it helps to keep the elements within the same family, that is to say, they are similar in style, shape or colour palette. This will make them play well together. 

Tell us the inspiration behind your business - Rebel Form, do you find the fit and freedom of freelance helps your creativity, or leave you with much more to do!?

- My answer is a clear: BOTH! I love the freedom that comes with freelancing, I have a restless squirrel mind that constantly bombards me with new ideas that I’d like to try. So I would probably be a bad fit for almost any “normal” job, haha. That being said, freelancing as a one-person-business is also taxing at times, work influx can be uneven and it’s hard to plan ahead. Also, apart from art making there are so many roles I have to take on. Economy, marketing, social media and so on. 

What is the most rebellious thing you've ever done? 

- I feel that starting my freelance business was quite rebellious. I have a degree in architecture and when I finished school, I was working at a firm when the financial crash of 2008 hit. I lost my job. When I applied for help as unemployed they told me that I was not eligible because I had a business. I’d started it as a side business because I wanted to be able to sell my art in a legal way. They told me to kill the business to be eligible but I refused to. Never got a penny when I was unemployed, I started to find freelance work and never looked back! 

Do you remember your very first illustration?

- My mother likes to say I was born with a pencil in my hand. I can’t say that I do! 

How did you decide on the particular Christmassy symbols for your deck?

- I wanted each card to have its own identity and tried to find characters and shapes that worked well with the suit and value. For example, all the kings have hats or crowns of different kinds. All the queens are soft and rounded, and most of the jacks have a J shape somewhere.. 

Which is your favourite card from Cosy Christmas and why? 

- I have to say I love the card back, which is nice as all the cards have a backside. It’s ultra colourful and a little bananas, maybe I identify with that, haha.

Do you play card games, bonus points for naming one we don’t know?:)

- I used to play a lot of card games when I was in school, but hardly ever nowadays. That will need to change now. My favourite was one called “Stress” that was like a speed-solitaire but competing against another player. 

Multi-coloured or white fairy lights? 

- Warm to the point of yellow.

Favourite art technique - digital or hand drawn? 

- I love both, it’s hard to choose. Right now as I’m a toddler mum, digital is AWESOME as you don’t get as much “help” from eager little hands as if you were to take out all your physical media and try to paint something. 

How has your art style changed and moved more towards patterns?

- I like to think that while my style is always evolving, it’s not a one-way street. I feel comfortable in a lot of styles and media and like it to be that way in the future as well. I have no trouble revisiting an “old” style if I feel it’s right for the project. 

Where do you get your inspiration?

- Ideas come to me everyday, the tiniest things can set my brain off. Everyday stuff, like music, nature, movies, art, fashion. Boring answer, I know. But I feel that a lot of art forms (and nature, to some degree) rest on the same basic principles. So something from a totally different field can often spark a great idea for a pattern or an illustration.

We hear lots of lovely stories from our players about how our game helps them to relax. 

How do you chill out?

- I love being outdoors to relax my mind, but I also love vegging out on the couch in front of a good TV show. Also I’ve found that doing something artsy/nerdy but not at all related to my business relaxes me. Sewing and microscopy being the latest additions to my hobbies. (Who am I kidding, I’m a toddler mom. I don’t have time for hobbies!)

How do you get in the creative mood, or does it simply get you?

- It gets me. I can definitely sometimes feel a lack of motivation but never lack of inspiration. It’s everywhere.

What festive element makes the best pattern for you?

- I love botanicals for holiday patterns. But also maybe something unexpected that makes you look twice. Robots? Dinosaurs? 

Which other artist and deck do you like from FLICK? 

- Rex Crowle with Deep Space Desperados. So cool and unique, and a very restricted but effective palette.

Favourite time, supper or breakfast?

- Hehe while I eat a great breakfast (homemade sourdough bread and tea), it’s pretty much the same every day. So I must say supper as I love to cook and eat lots of different foods.