Contact

Commissions

I always love a new challenge and would be very happy to discuss any possible private or corporate commissions. Please feel free to email me with your enquiry:

info@shobhnapatel.com

Workshops

I am available throughout the year to teach creative workshops at arts venues, schools or for events. Please send me a message to discuss.

Social Media

Follow me on social media to see what I have been working on lately:

@iamshobhna

About

I am a freelance illustrator based in North Lincolnshire, UK. I love being creative at all times and I specialise in paper-cutting and paper-engineering.

During university, I specialised in bookbinding and book publishing. After graduating with a First Class honours degree in Graphic Design from DeMontfort University in 2012, I have since had books published internationally by Carlton Publishing and Thames and Hudson. I have also been commissioned for publishing, advertising and promotional projects in both the UK and the US. Some of my work has also been exhibited in a London art gallery.

Recently, I have been teaching my skills to others in multiple art institutions and local schools by providing paper-cutting and bookbinding workshops.

When not at my desk, I can be found reading books - I am highly influenced by literature and I am motivated by classics written by Dickens, Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and poetry which captures exceptional imagery.

Shobhna Patel profile photo

FAQs

I specialise in paper-cutting and paper-engineering. Paper-cutting is a method of creating illustrations with paper, by cutting designs into a sheet of paper with a scalpel or scissors (I prefer to use a scalpel as it allows more freedom of movement). The end result has a very intricate and dainty charm and when photographed can cast beautiful shadows.

Paper-engineering on the other hand is a method of creating sculpture-like forms with paper. The end result of paper-engineering is a smart, 3D paper object, which can also be cleverly engineered to create movement, open and close, become longer and shorter or convert into another shape.
Paper is such a versatile material, the possibilities with what you can create with paper are endless, e.g. it can be cut up and stuck together, embossed, turned into a 3D object, mulched down and reformed into something entirely different. It can be curled, torn, folded, fringed, pleated, looped, rolled and so much more!
The time it takes from initial sketches/ideas to the finished piece can vary on every project but as a rough guide, larger papercuts e.g. A1 size, can take anywhere between 7-10 days to create depending on how intricately detailed they are. A paper-engineered pop-up/sculpture can take a few days to construct. There is a very important process of experimenting and testing that goes into each piece of paper-engineering.

With both papercuts and paper-engineered pop-ups/sculptures, the creative process involves initial sketches/ideas, an experimental stage of creating, testing and editing prototypes, before a final finished piece is produced.
During my time at university I was inspired to experiment with paper because of the incredible artwork I'd seen by Rob Ryan and Su Blackwell. I initially started working with paper during my second year at university when I dabbled in book arts and I created a sculpture out of an existing book. This spurred me on to work more with paper! In my final year at university I went on to create an entirely papercut concertina book featuring poetry by a final year Creative Writing degree student.
I've always been creative, since I was very little. Throughout my secondary education I loved and excelled in Design Technology. During this time I was always told by teachers that I had a natural artistic talent which I must pursue.

After my A-Levels, I studied BTEC Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. During this course, my passion for art and design flourished, and as I started pushing my creative abilities, I realised how important a career in the creative industry was to me.
I enjoy sewing, embroidery, baking and reading.