If you’re a regular reader of the Lifeseeker newspaper, you’ll notice this issue has a new header, designed by the talented Milford Haven based illustrator Laura Sadler. We love it and we hope you do too.

We first discovered Laura’s work on Instagram, interest first sparked by her fun ‘naked Santa’ Christmas cards and her posts through which her passion for equality and inclusivity clearly shone (my family enjoyed these in 2020). Her life experience and beautifully crafted illustrations struck a chord with the Lifeseeker team and over time, we knew Laura was the right person to work with to give the newspaper the visual uplift it clearly needed.

As you may already know, Lifeseeker resources are produced as an output of our non-profit organisation and as part of our mission to educate, inspire and empower the west Wales community to live well, we are keen to spread the word that EVERYONE should feel welcome in our company AND capable of working towards the life they choose.

Our brief to Laura was to design a header for the newspaper to represent the diversity of our readers. The outcome was a fun, colourful title with a range of characters to depict a diverse mix of age, race, body shape/size, physical ability, personal appearance and interest. WHAT A DIFFERENCE she has made – we hope you agree.

So who is the person behind the social profiles, what inspires her work and what advice does she have for budding creatives? Check out our interview with Laura below for a little insight…

Tell us a bit about you Laura (family, where you live, study etc.)

I have been married to my husband for 15 years, I have three daughters aged 14, 12 and 8 and two dogs. I have lived in Pembrokeshire my whole life and currently live in Milford Haven but study at University of Wales Trinity Saint David in Swansea.

You began studying your MA in Illustration as a mature student – is this a continuation of creative work you enjoyed at school/college or a skill you’ve recently discovered?

I have been drawing for as long as I can remember and always wanted to pursue a career in art but when I was younger I was always told I had a natural talent for copy drawing but lacked imagination. So instead I worked in the care sector and kept art just as a hobby. When I turned 30 I decided I wanted to do something for myself and on a whim I enrolled in university to do an illustration course not really believing I was good enough to get in and to my surprise they accepted me. I graduated in 2020 with a first class honours and decided to return to do my MA alongside working freelance.

Many people admire artists and state that they can’t paint or draw. Do you think anyone can learn to draw or at least express their emotions through drawing?

I think anyone who has the desire to learn to draw absolutely can. Personally I think people put too much emphasis on drawing realistically (which takes years of practise and drawing from life) and believe because their drawing isn’t realistic they can’t draw. I would encourage anyone who wants to improve their drawing or painting to start off with mark making and to just draw as often as they can and not to worry about the outcome. As long as they get some creative fulfilment from the process, that’s what matters, the rest will come with practise.

Your website states experience raising your daughters has influenced your work exploring differences in humanity and themes such as diversity, body image and femininity. Would you be willing to share how real life scenarios have ignited your passion for this important and sometimes controversial topic? 

Yes having three daughters is a huge influence to me in many different ways. One of my daughters has scoliosis and has undergone surgery and another one of my daughters has ADHD and suspected autism. Identity and finding where they fit in society has been a struggle for them emotionally and  has often led me to question the standards of being ‘beautiful’ or ‘normal’ in society. I quite like to challenge these standards through my illustrations and show real bodies. The passion I guess gets ignited by negativity towards them and makes me feel even more that we need to normalise the portrayal of all body types, skin colours, disabilities and body hair choices.

We have loved working with you on creating materials for the Life Seeker newspaper for which our brief (in short) was ‘to portray our diverse and inclusive community of readers’ – can you share a bit about your thought process when working on this.

Thank you so much I have loved every minute of creating the illustrations for Lifeseeker as it fits so well with my ethos. When I design characters representation is really important to me, but as a white, heterosexual  woman it’s important to remove myself from the illustrations and let research and the voices of the people I wish to represent inform the illustrations.

Tell us about some of the other projects and products you’re working/have worked on.

I’m currently working on a project for my Ma which is making me step outside of my comfort zone and I am exploring the topic of the negative impact of social media, which I’m planning on using a 3d medium for. I also wrote and illustrated a sweet children’s book about a Grandpa and Grandson  for my graduate portfolio focusing on representation which I am currently seeking to get published.

The creative industry has access to a global stage for instigating discussions on important humanitarian topics – where do you see your future role in this?

I’m really passionate about many different causes and in the future I could see myself producing editorial illustrations highlighting humanitarian topics that encourage people to question and challenge different situations.

What advice would you give you to others with an interest in making a living from illustration?

In my short time in the industry I have learnt to be prepared for feeling like an imposter and questioning yourself and your ability over and over. Be prepared for rejection it hurts, you will cry but it’s not personal. Don’t force your style it will come. You will get asked to work for free, don’t do it, don’t undervalue your skills, your time or the industry. Keep pushing yourself and put yourself out there. Do lots of self directed work and don’t compare yourself to other illustrators.

And finally, when you do get some time out, what do you do to make you smile?

I really just love spending time at home with my family, when it’s allowed coffee with friends and at the moment I’m really enjoying going for long walks

Thank you Laura for contributing to the work we do to make our community smile – we look forward to working again with you soon.

Find out more about Laura and her work on the Laura Sadler Illustrates website.