Emeline Tate is a British artist based in Palm Springs, California. Her text-based artwork helps preserve memories. By using her own handmade letters, she crafts unique pieces that evoke feelings of nostalgia and joy. With over twenty-five years of experience exhibiting her artwork, she has been selling her art to those who appreciate pieces that celebrate happier times. @emeline_tate
Photo credits: Photos by Emeline Tate
What was it like growing up on the south coast of England? How did that environment influence your artistic identity? I grew up in a quaint little village. My mother is an artist, and she always encouraged us to be creative. She would always take us to galleries and museums. As a young child, I was always making art and craft projects. I started making art for myself when I first left home after university. When you look at my work as a whole, you can see the influence of my childhood. I use plaster to cast my letters, or I make handmade letters with papier mache, and I use bright, happy colors that are inspired by my youth.
When did you first fall in love with art and realize you wanted to be an artist? Why is art so important to you today? From a young age, I have always been creative, and I loved doing craft projects. At age 5, I could knit, and when I was 7 years old, I made my first skirt on the sewing machine. As a kid, I loved crafts like plaster of Paris mold kits, candle making, papier-mache, and more.
During high school, I realized I had a need to be creative, so I went to Art College to determine which area of the arts I wanted to pursue for a career. I then went to Fashion College and then got a career in fashion in London, but I still had a need to make art just for me.
Art is important to me today because it helps heal my soul. Over the years, I have dealt with a lot of trauma. Just making the type of art that I make is therapeutic for me.
What does your typical day in the studio look like? Walk us through your studio and your most-used materials and tools. My days in the studio are different every day. It currently depends on my mood or my workload. If I have a show or a commission with a deadline, then things are focused on that. My studio consists of different work stations. I have an area by a sink where I make my plaster casts. I then like to sculpt and sand my letters on the couch while watching movies. I then have an area with two large tables where I position and stick my pieces together, and that same area is used for painting, unless it’s a big piece, and then I use my large easel to paint.
Could you tell us a bit about what you’re currently working on? What themes or ideas are you driven by? I just returned from a month at an artist residency in the south of France. This was such an amazing opportunity to reset and be inspired. During this art residency, I have been inspired not just by the serene French countryside but also by the relaxed lifestyle. I have several projects that I would like to do, including a scarf collection inspired by the Opera House in Paris and a print collection inspired by the Picasso Museums in Paris and Antibes.
What do you hope people feel when they experience your art? I make art to make me feel better after all the trauma that I've dealt with. My art is uplifting and positive. I've discovered over the last five years that people who buy my art need my art to help give them joy. So not only does my art help heal me, it also helps others.
Which artists, past or present, would you like to meet? And why? The first artist I ever did a self-led project on was Picasso when I was 15, while I was recovering from a back injury. It was not a school project, but rather a project I created myself while healing physically. I love how prolific and free Picasso was and how he dabbled in many types of areas of art. I was recently reminded of his poetry while at the Picasso Museum in Paris. I too like to write, make 3D art, and other things. If we ever met, I'd love to just make art together or in unison. I love to collaborate with artists as it helps to push me to create more.
Does your work absorb ideas from other artistic disciplines? My inspiration comes predominantly from life and things I deal with, sometimes subconsciously. I love all things creative—music, fashion, and art. As a young child, I played the violin and piano, with at least 10 years of experience on both instruments. As a teenager, I loved to write, and I would write plays on a typewriter. Before I moved to California, I worked in fashion in London. I like to combine all of these skills that I have learned when I can. I'm currently dreaming of making a fashion line inspired by the prints that I have created.
How has your surrounding community in California supported your work? I didn't realize how great the art scene was in Palm Springs until I needed help last year when I needed it most. There is a huge art community here. I've been in this area on and off 20yrs and seen the art community grow, especially in the last 5 years. The town is like a village, but it's full of creative people and people who support the arts, and that is something I need.
Can you describe a project that challenged you creatively or emotionally—and how you worked through it? Over the years, I've noticed how my life dictates my art. Certain emotions change my color palette, for example. I lost my daughter to SIDS 11 years ago, and every year I create an art project in her memory. Each year, I want to do something bigger and better, and it's hard every year, but somehow I make something unique and special, especially with the help of the community, either online or locally.
Tell us about important teachers/mentors/collaborators in your life. Art teachers were so important to me. I have two that I loved. During school, I had an art teacher called Mr John Everette. He taught me how to use gouache and how important it is to create something that looks good one way and looks good upside down, too. When I went to Sixth Form College, I had an amazing teacher called Mr Sparks who wore a science lab coat. He taught me screen printing using just paper shapes, and also photography and how a darkroom works.
Does being in nature inspire your art or your process? Nature actually hardly ever inspires my artwork. But recently, while on my art residency in France, I was inspired by the flowers that we were surrounded by. I hope to do some art prints inspired by the flower drawings I made while I was in France.
AI is changing everything - the way we see the world, creativity, art, our ideas of beauty and the way we communicate with each other and our imaginations. What is your relationship with technology as a creative tool? There are some positives about using technology. I do love manipulating my drawings with Photoshop and creating repeat prints. However, over the years, I have been copied lots of times thanks to the internet. I created a geometric design 15 years ago that I published on the internet. I have seen it copied multiple times by big and small brands, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. Since that happened, I revisited my handmade 3D creative artwork. This was me hoping predominantly that people would stop copying me. I think it's important to be unique.
Exploring ideas, art and the creative process connects me to… Myself. I still don't know who I really am. But being an artist helps. I feel sorry for people who are not artists. Art is life, and life is art.
