Cornwall


<p>Continuing our<em> Artists &amp; Makers</em> series, spilling it this month is Emma Digerud-White, visual artist and painter, who lives and works in North Cornwall.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="885" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-artist-Cornwall-1000x885.jpeg" alt="Emma Digerud White artist Cornwall" class="wp-image-33509" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-artist-Cornwall-1000x885.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-artist-Cornwall-800x708.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-artist-Cornwall-768x679.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-artist-Cornwall.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-you-become-an-artist">How did you become an artist?</h2>



<p>It took me a long time to realise it but in many ways I’ve always been an artist, I think in shapes and colours and have a strong visual narrative running around in my head constantly &#8211; but it was during lockdown that I decided to dedicate myself fully to living as an artist. I tried doing other things, marketing, graphic design, surface pattern design but it never felt right. Painting feels like the thing I was always meant to do, it’s a good feeling.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="912" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2630-912x1000.jpeg" alt="Emma Digerud White artist Cornwall, painting named Forever" class="wp-image-33506" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2630-912x1000.jpeg 912w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2630-730x800.jpeg 730w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2630-768x842.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2630-1401x1536.jpeg 1401w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2630.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 912px) 100vw, 912px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Forever</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-you-sum-up-your-work-in-a-sentence">Can you sum up your work in a sentence?</h2>



<p>I capture the essence of human energies and emotions with bold bright colours and layers upon layers of paint.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="677" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2624-1000x677.jpeg" alt="Emma Digerud White artist Cornwall, painting named Together at Valkyrie Octopus" class="wp-image-33500" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2624-1000x677.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2624-800x541.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2624-768x520.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2624.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Together at Valkyrie Octopus</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-your-ideal-working-environment">What’s your ideal working environment?</h2>



<p>I prefer to paint outside in my garden if it’s sunny, with the radio on. I get super messy and I love it! I’m never happier than when I’m wearing paint splattered clothes and shoes.</p>



<p>If I have to be inside, I need a big open space that I can move around in, ideally with a sofa nearby so I can rest in between. I often step away to dance, write, watch TV and read.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tell-us-a-little-bit-about-your-inspiration-and-process">Tell us a little bit about your inspiration and process.</h2>



<p>I’m very much inspired by how I feel and think, how those closest to me feel and think, how that links together and relates to the spaces around us all. I’m fascinated by the wonder of humans and am obsessed with trying to understand us all, of course I never will fully but I’ll continue to try for the rest of my life! </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="869" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2629-869x1000.jpeg" alt="Emma Digerud White artist Cornwall, painting named Us" class="wp-image-33505" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2629-869x1000.jpeg 869w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2629-695x800.jpeg 695w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2629-768x884.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2629-1334x1536.jpeg 1334w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2629.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 869px) 100vw, 869px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Us</figcaption></figure>



<p>I like to learn about neuro-divergence, phantasy, mythology, sociology, magic, identity and anything that links to human behaviour and piece together my own ideas about what it all means. I listen to podcasts and read books, read biographies, watch films etc. Sometimes I write things down or make voice notes but the way I process it all is through my paintings and their titles. It’s all there in the work. I don’t make sketches or studies before hand, I go straight to the canvas, once I’m in flow things can happen quite quickly but I never know what’s going to happen until I’m in the moment, then I have to just go with the energy.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-you-have-to-learn-any-new-skills-unrelated-to-painting-to-create-your-works">Did you have to learn any new skills unrelated to painting to create your works?</h2>



<p>I had to learn to look within, to really connect with myself. That’s been the hardest part of becoming an artist on the outside and not just on the inside! Although I wasn’t fully aware I was doing it at the time, I needed to break myself down, to the most basic parts of me, strip everything away and see what was left. Once I had that it was like I could try to rebuild myself to something I really wanted to be rather than something I had just become. That all sounds like I totally know what I’m doing but trust me, I don’t, I mess up all the time and get really down about it but I get back up and try again.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="875" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2626-875x1000.jpeg" alt="Emma Digerud White artist Cornwall, painting named The Invisible Thread" class="wp-image-33502" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2626-875x1000.jpeg 875w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2626-700x800.jpeg 700w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2626-768x878.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2626-1344x1536.jpeg 1344w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2626.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 875px) 100vw, 875px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Invisible Thread</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-have-a-favourite-painting-of-yours-or-one-that-holds-strong-memories">Do you have a favourite painting of yours or one that holds strong memories?</h2>



<p>There’s a painting that I did of my family back in 2019. It was before lockdown and before I realised I was a painter. It’s very graphic and quite illustrative but it shows me that I was already on my way to becoming an artist. It’s like a reminder to my past self that I was on the right track and that I was going the right way. It hangs above my sofa at home and it feels like a part of the family.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-you-could-magically-transport-one-piece-of-artwork-in-the-world-to-a-wall-in-your-home-what-would-it-be">If you could magically transport one piece of artwork in the world to a wall in your home, what would it be?</h2>



<p>Hannah Ryggen’s tapestry <em><a href="https://www.frieze.com/article/hannah-ryggen">Mother&#8217;s Heart</a></em>. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, intense, bold and packed with so much meaning. I feel like I know exactly what she’s saying and can relate to her feelings and experiences. I could look at it all day, every day and never get bored of it, exactly how you should feel about a piece of art.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-can-we-see-your-work-this-year">Where can we see your work this year?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="879" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2631-1000x879.jpeg" alt="Emma Digerud White artist Cornwall, painting named One Last Look Back" class="wp-image-33507" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2631-1000x879.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2631-800x703.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2631-768x675.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2631.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">One Last Look Back</figcaption></figure>



<p>I currently have a solo show at <a href="https://circlecontemporary.co.uk/exhibitions/105-go-where-you-feel-good-emma-digerud-white/">Circle Contemporary</a> (Hawksfield, just outside Wadebridge) called <em>Go Where You Feel Good</em> which runs until May 4 and will show works with them throughout the year. Go and visit, it’s a great gallery.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-your-favourite-cornish-views">What are your favourite Cornish views?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/07/picnic-porthmeor.png" alt="Porthmeor Beach St Ives Cornwall UK" class="wp-image-19548" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/07/picnic-porthmeor.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/07/picnic-porthmeor-300x200.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/07/picnic-porthmeor-720x480.png 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/07/picnic-porthmeor-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Wow so many, it’s such a beautiful place.</p>



<p>1) from the corner of the coast path up along Port Quinn</p>



<p>2) From inside the cave, looking out to sea at low tide just along from Chapel Porth</p>



<p>3) From my back garden over looking the fields and the Cornish Alps</p>



<p>4) From Porthmeor studios overlooking the sea (above) &#8211; one day I’ll paint from there!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-you-working-on-now">What are you working on now?</h2>



<p>I’ve just finished painting for my show at <a href="https://circlecontemporary.co.uk/exhibitions/105-go-where-you-feel-good-emma-digerud-white/">Circle Contemporary</a> but I’m already on to the next paintings, it’s a triptych of faces with varying exacerbated expressions. I’ll post it on Instagram if you want to follow the process (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/emmadigerudwhite/">@emmadigerudwhite</a>)</p>



<p>I have a few things I’m applying for and working on including something with Andrew Todd, Ben Davies and Ruth Bateman who I recently did a residency with.</p>



<p>I’d like to do another solo show too.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="657" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2627-1000x657.jpeg" alt="Emma Digerud White artist Cornwall, painting named Lean" class="wp-image-33503" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2627-1000x657.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2627-800x526.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2627-768x505.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/04/Emma-Digerud-White-April-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-IMG_2627.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lean</figcaption></figure>



<p><strong><em>See more of Emma’s work and get full details of her upcoming exhibitions at <a href="https://emmadigerudwhite.com/">emmadigerudwhite.com</a></em> &#8211; <em>Go Where You Feel Good</em> <em>shows until May 4 at <a href="https://circlecontemporary.co.uk/exhibitions/105-go-where-you-feel-good-emma-digerud-white/">Circle Contemporary</a></em></strong></p>


Muddy Meets: Emma Digerud-White, Visual Artist

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