interview with an illustrator
Hannah Firmin
The engraver and
woodcutter tells us
how Susan Einzig,
William Morris and
Victorian Bagatelle
inspire her work . . .
u SB What has been your highlight of the last 12 months? Hannah:
Buying a 150 year old Columbian Press and looking forward to
all the printing I’ll be able to do. u SB Do you have any formal
training? Hannah: Chelsea School of Art (BA), and the Royal College
of Art (MA). u SB Where are you from originally? Hannah:
The countryside near Whitstable in Kent. u SB Where do you
live now? Hannah: I live in Buckinghamshire in the beautiful
Chiltern Hills. u SB Can you describe your studio? Hannah: It’s
the ground floor front room of my house. It’s quite large with a
cast iron Victorian fireplace, large windows and wooden floor,
shared with an etching press, a piano, books and pictures. u SB
Who is your biggest inspiration? Hannah: My parents for their
creative work ethic – still creating in their eighties. My tutor and
friend Susan Einzig (who died on Christmas Day 2009). Also the
British landscape and music. u SB How do you get your ideas?
Hannah: Starting with a ‘brief’ I am influenced by the natural
world and traditional skills and designers of long standing. Often
places that I visit, gardens that I love and different cultures inspire
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