Studio
Soph
Meet Womenclan’s Journal Two cover and chapter artist Sophie Holt, who sculpts and paints from a unique Motueka spot.
Midday light pours through the windows of an old apple shed and onto Sophie Holt’s desk. Ceramics fresh from the kiln line her shelves, paint brushes dry in the sun and a potted vine crawls off her desk to meet the floor. Historic trapdoors hide under its leaves – the shed sits on stilts above an estuary, and apples stored here were once collected via boat.
Sophie forms part of Zappekin, an art collective made up of seven local Tasman artists who have transformed the space. “Being an artist can be a bit of a solitary existence, so having others around is special.”
Art has always had a presence in Sophie’s life. She grew up in Utrecht, the Netherlands, with both her mother and grandfather working as ceramic artists. “There was always work on our kitchen table spread out, always big sculptures that were crazy and colourful.” She recalls perching at the table as a toddler drawing while her mum moulded and sculpted faces into being.
As a teenager she joined in on collaborative art events run by her mum and fellow local artists. Markets would be set up from each of their homes, their living rooms and kitchens each taken over in turn. A projector was always set up as part of their display. “We’d go and find random old slides in op-shops, then we’d make up stories about the people in the photos. Anyone could come in and...
Want to keep reading? Find the full story in Womenclan: Journal Two, available now.
