French artist Elsa Boch works intuitively in both life and art. Her print work draws on the interesting and playful patterns in nature, while strong gut instincts have helped her follow the whim of opportunity across Europe.
For her career, Elsa has moved from her hometown of Mulhouse, where France borders Germany, to Paris, then Reims, then Venice in Italy and back to France, where she resides outside of Nantes and works as a product designer in a castle on the Sévre river. Even now, as she builds her first home, Elsa recognises that opportunity may call her elsewhere one day.
I love to learn new things and always follow my intuition;
I absolutely hate regrets.
“I’ll stop moving for a while as my partner and I are building our own house… but I don’t want to think that building a house means settling forever; I prefer to see this house as a project (we are building it almost entirely by ourselves). Then I’ll probably move somewhere else.”
But just being ‘on the go’ isn’t the goal for Elsa. Having the freedom to follow opportunity, is.
“I am not an adventurer,” she says. “But I really don't want to close any creative doors or miss career opportunities. I love to learn new things and always follow my intuition; I absolutely hate regrets.”
And for her art, the environment that surrounds her plays a huge part, too. The intricate brindille pattern that features on our Galaxy Grey collection may resemble a constellation now. But its original form was a small wooden twig that Elsa picked up for a bouquet.
“This is very representative of my work in general,” she says. “From a felt pen drawing that looks like a fragile branch, I created an intricate pattern that evokes imagery on a micro and macro scale (from a small branch to a galaxy).”
“I like repetition and overlapping drawings, like different layers of information.”
And while repetition is vital to her creative work, it is not the case for her day-to-day life. When asked about the principles by which she likes to live, Elsa mentions freedom, spontaneity and simplicity.
“By freedom,” she explains, “I mean that I try not to follow any trend or mainstream fashion. I try also not to focus too much on my own style so I can be spontaneous in trying new things. And simplicity is something that guides me, not only in my artistic process but also in my life.”
Perhaps it is this simplicity that allows Elsa’s intuition to speak so loudly, and lets her follow her art wherever it takes her – from the twigs in her garden, to the galleries of China, and back again.
