Colleen Pugh, Up and Downs

Seeing the resemblance in the semicircle to a mouth or a hill, Pugh realised that both have an ‘up’ and a ‘down’. She created interactive turners which can be turned depending on mood to have either a positive or negative message: a smile or a grimace, a good day or a bad day, an up or a down.

A fan of bold colour and strong lines, Pugh’s training as a graphic designer is evident in her work. These days she embraces the imperfection of hand-crafted work over digital art while applying a witty or playful twist to whatever she makes. A recent project, a cookbook Pugh illustrated, reached number two on the American Amazon chart. When she isn’t creating, Pugh works behind the scenes curating exhibitions and organising community art projects.