Meet Sophie Linden | Painter & Jewelry Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sophie Linden and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sophie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I was a kid, I always knew the only thing I wanted to be when I grew up is an Artist. From the time I was born, I would watch my mother paint these incredible, detailed paintings with so much admiration. From the time I could hold a paintbrush I would paint alongside her, and as I honed my talent, I solidified my resolution to pursue a life of creating art. I acquired my Bachelor in Fine Arts degree from the University of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art and Design in 2021, and began my process of creating my business as an artist. I have predominately been a painter throughout my life, but in the recent years I have also developed a love for jewelry making. I made an Instagram page to share my work, and when it was apparent there was interest in the jewelry I made, I decided to start selling it in addition to my paintings.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others.

I am oscillating between two mediums at the same time, painting and beaded jewelry, allowing one art practice to inform the other!

Trained in realism, my most recent observational paintings began as an exploration of pattern and color of natural objects. I have spent my whole life enthralled with the beauty of nature and the connection between all of Earth’s creations, both living and nonliving. Seemingly random patterns in all forms like rock formations, water, plants and animals have an organic rhythm and structure that is consistently repeated throughout all natural objects. By depicting the surface of these objects from a zoomed in perspective, my goal is to abstract the “real” and showcase this artistic repetition of nature’s design. I began this exploration with a study of rocks and fossils collected from the shore of Lake Michigan a few summers back. From here I moved to the exploration of living beings; painting turtle shells, bird flight patterns and plant life.

About two years ago I began making beaded jewelry. The act of beading for me originally started as a non-committal creative outlet. It was something I had done casually from time to time, a practice I picked up in the arts and crafts room at my childhood summer camp. My habit of incorporating natural objects into my work carried over into this practice, as I fashioned my pieces from a breadth of beads made of semi-precious stone and shells in addition to the typical ceramic and glass. I discovered my love for rhythmic patterns could be explored in this alternative practice. Narrowing down my pool of materials to one color palette at a time, I’ve intuitively fashioned an array of nature-inspired collections of jewelry, playing with repetition, color relationships and form.

Moving on to my current work, painting beads, I continue to explore the surfaces of natural objects in addition to the man-made ones, showing that even human creation follows the natural laws of pattern and design. My favorite way to show this is through painting the way light travels through shaped glass! The dips and curves of shadow, the refraction of iridescent light, the shape of the light reflecting on the surface all resemble the fundamental design in organic forms.

What are you most proud of or excited about?

I would have to say I am most proud of my ability to push through the unsureness of trying a new approach and leaving behind the security of perfectionism. For many years I was concerned with each artwork being better than the last, and I never wanted to venture outside of the familiar in case my ideas weren’t widely understood. I have recently begun to see my art practice as a tool to grow and explore, ignoring the fear that the next painting I make may not be the best ever. I am excited because for the first time in my life I have so many ideas about where to take my next steps! I feel like I opened the floodgates to a world of inspiration that will last with me for years. If anything, I feel like I don’t have enough time to get all of my ideas out in a timely fashion, and I fear I will be sitting on some things for a while. However, I appreciate that this time will allow my new ideas to gestate and grow with me, and propel me forward with a surge of motivation.

How did you get to where you are today professionally?

I am in the beginning stages of my professional career, but I have been committed to my art practice since childhood. From taking classes at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, countless art related elective classes in high school and acquiring my BFA from the University of Michigan, I have had an extensive art education. Since graduating from University in 2021, I have been methodically building my art business one step at a time. About two years ago I opened my LLC and created my website to begin selling my art. In all honesty I have been pushing the sales of my jewelry more than my paintings, because I have felt that I wanted to refine my painting portfolio before emerging into the professional scene. I am on the cusp of launching my paintings to the world, wrapping up some loose ends before making my official debut to galleries and collectors. As of right now, I work a 9-5 to pay the bills while I work on assembling my art business. Although this takes up the majority of my time, I am grateful for the stability it lends me so as not to burden my creative practice with the pressure of financial gain in its early stage. I work from a bedroom studio in a 3 bed apartment in Detroit, giving me the space to store my work and focus from a comfortable location.

Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges?

I think easy is subjective to context. I am privileged to come from a background of ample support, both in love and being provided with an education. I don’t know where I would be if my parents hadn’t insisted on my talent, encouraged this path, or funded my schooling. I got here without much financial struggle, and when broken down, each step of the way has not been particularly out of my wheelhouse. By that definition, yes, I would say it has been fairly easy for me to get this far. What is not easy is the pursuit of a creative career amidst the daily struggles of paying for things like rent and groceries, and without corporate benefits. Most artists I know have a second job to help with the bulk of the living expenses and I am no different. As previously mentioned, I am grateful for the opportunity to work and make enough money to cover these expenses, but I am constantly racing the clock. I often have to force productivity in most of my free time, including evenings after work and weekends. In the beginning stages of this time in my life I experienced cycles of intense motivation and then burnout. With time I have developed healthier working habits, including incorporating mandatory rest periods so that my body can keep up, and to allow me to live a social and joyful life. My biggest struggle to date is maintaining a social media presence. I am learning ways to budget my time so that I am better able to create daily content, but I will admit it is an uphill climb. However, I have reached a stable point of workflow and I am excited to see how my career expands over time!

What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way?

The biggest lesson I have learned is to let go of perfectionism and impatience. Rome wasn’t built in a day! Nor a year. It’s the latter concept that had me spiraling and questioning myself in this process. I wanted success and I wanted it immediately. Soon after graduating, I realized I didn’t know where to start, and getting wrapped up in the final result and not meeting those goals, I lost sight of the most important thing: patience. I learned to break big checkpoints down into little steps and slowly chip away at one task at a time until before I knew it, I had accomplished everything I set out to do! People say all the time that everyone moves at their own pace and it definitely took time for me to understand what that meant. I still get that nagging feeling that I am not doing enough, but when I reflect on the year I had I am so proud of my accomplishments. And for me this is only the beginning! I know I have years of growing and changing ahead of me, and I am happy to accept that it has become about the journey for me. I will say, while rest is helpful, the work is necessary and procrastinating for too long doesn’t help anybody. There is a certain point where you just have to be committed to going the extra mile and doing things even when you don’t feel like it. It takes time to discover what works for everyone, but I think there is a healthy amount of pushing yourself that is vital to the progression of one’s career.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

My only hope is that the world is able to see my vision and appreciate my art for what it is. I try not to attach my sense of self to other people’s beliefs of me, but I do hope to one day be widely recognized in the art world.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If were talking Detroit, the first place I would take them is the Eastern Market! Not only is it full of affordable produce and other local vendors, but it’s surrounded by cute vintage shops and good restaurants. Another favorite place to take people of course is the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. I think those two are self explanatory. My roommate and I are big fans of playing pool in dive bars, and our favorite location is the Painted Lady in Hamtramck because theres a big chance the pool table will be available for us. That or Bumbo’s, which is also a Hamtramck dive bar. Dining out, I like to take guests to the fun restaurants, but fun means on the pricier side. It’s like a little treat 🙂 Anyway my favorites are SheWolf, Selden Standard, Bash Sushi, or Takoi. There’s also Johnny Noodle King, Ottava Via, Ima Izakaya in Corktown, and just like, sooo many others. I love the restaurant scene here. Nightlife is super fun if you like electronic/house music, which Detroit is known for. My favorite is Spotlight, a coffee shop/art gallery/record store by day, club by night. They always have different djs and other events. El Club in Mexican Town is perfect if you like small venue concerts, I’ve seen some of my favorite artists there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Both of my parents Jeff and Stephanie Linden, and especially my mom, have been my biggest supporters throughout my life, encouraging me to follow my passion. As previously stated, my mother is an amazing painter and since I was little, I wanted to be just like her. When I showed early interest in becoming an artist, my parents enrolled me in weekend art classes at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center in Michigan where I received an extremely vital foundation to my art education. During my time at the BBAC, I had the fortune of taking oil painting classes from Todd Burroughs, an incredibly talented painter himself. I spent years learning the fundamentals of oil painting under his instruction. He helped me to create a multitude of paintings that went on to receive numerous awards from the Scholastic Art and Writing competition, including regional best of show (twice), as well as many silver and gold keys. I owe him so much gratitude as I would not have been so dedicated to my work if it weren’t for his consistent guidance and support. I would also like to give a shoutout to Professor Jim Cogswell, from whom I studied under during my final year at University. Jim knocked down the walls of the creative box that I had put myself into. His passion, curiosity, encouragement and instruction fueled an instrumental pivot in my work that has projected me forward with newfound inspiration and dedication to explore. Lastly, I would not be where I am today without the love and support of all of my amazing friends and family who continue to show up for me and cheer me on as I navigate my creative career.

Website: https://www.slindenstudio.com

Instagram: @slart_ @beadsbyslinden

Image Credits
Sophie Linden