BLOG: Freya Faulkner

Posted by Will Green 07/11/2016

Freya Faulkner is a designer and screen printer based in East London. She’s also the winner of the Cyclus Offset 100% recycled paper poster design competition which saw her beautiful design hand silk screen printed by Chris Hopewell, founder and lead designer of Jacknife Prints. We caught up with Freya to hear more about her design approach and the use of recycled paper.

 

#playingcard #papercut #designforyourlife #jackofdiamomds #whatabanker #blackandwhite #liveeastdieyoung #gicleeprint #jackthelad #canarywharf #cycluspaper

A photo posted by Freya Faulkner (@freya_noelle_faulkner) on Jun 30, 2016 at 4:16am PDT

I have a bold eye and I love a strong line. I am excited by the rhythm of pattern and the interplay of colour. Inspired by an eclectic array of things for from folk art, textiles and ceramics to fine art, architecture and graphic design, I am a bit of a magpie. My working method is the papercut, one I came to through hand cutting paper stencils for screen printing. It is a traditional craft often with quaint and cutesy connotations. I aim to disrupt that association and hope to express papercutting as a contemporary and relevant graphic art from. I feel there is a tension there and I hope the viewer finds my work visually engaging.

Mapped out in sketchbooks, I draw my compositions backwards onto black paper using white crayon. Once cut, I turn the work over and a crisp clean image appears. I enjoy the imagery’s self agency as my mark making is translated through my scalpel. I photograph the work and pass it through Photoshop and Illustrator to generate the different colour layers you see in the final print. The process arcs from analogue to digital to analogue again.

 

It's really hard to keep a straight face when Chris Hopewell introduces you as someone who "makes paper look f**king hot" ��such a fun night. Huge thanks to @jacknifeprints and @arjographic ・・・ Congratulations to the wonderful @freya_noelle_faulkner who won our #cycluspaper competition. A framed copy of her design was presented to her at the @Antalisuk Review by Chris Hopewell of @jacknifeprints #recycling #recycled #recycledpaper #deinked #deinking #deink #environment #environmental #paper #sustainable #sustainableliving #sustainabledevelopment #sustainability #sustainabledesign #printer #printing #ukprinter #ukdesign #moderndesign #commercialprint #commercialprinter

A photo posted by Freya Faulkner (@freya_noelle_faulkner) on Oct 7, 2016 at 5:17am PDT

Paper is inherently important in my work as it is not what is on the paper that you are looking at, the paper is the piece itself. Recycling is an important issue for me and I believe it is essential printers are aware there are now great options available to them which are as good as virgin papers and in some cases better. There is a tide of work pushing against our digitised lives, corresponding with a growing interest for things people know and can see have been handmade. It feels authentic, and choosing to incorporate recycled materials deepens that sensation by adding another layer of meaning.

Freya’s work – including the winning competition entry, Jack of Diamonds / Is This Your Card – can be found at www.freyafaulkner.com