Artist's love letter to Shropshire's market towns
An artist has created a love letter to Shropshire, after being inspired by the county's idyllic countryside and market towns from an early age.
Rosalind Freeborn, who lives in Muswell Hill, north London, has loved Shropshire since she started visiting as a teenager and has now transformed that affection into her latest artistic venture.
Rosalind, who predominantly uses paper as her artistic medium, has been creating lampshades inspired by two of Shropshire's most scenic towns, Shrewsbury and Ludlow.
"I adore Shropshire," she said. "I have only ever been a visitor but I discovered it as a young person and felt as everyone does when they discover somewhere new, as if they are the only ones.
"If I did not live where I do, I would love to live in Shropshire. The place I was smitten by was Ludlow – the atmosphere and feel of it. The cobbled streets and the castle, I just love it."
The lampshades started when Rosalind was looking around her house for new ideas and creations, and thought her lampshades looked rather boring.
She said: "It is a relatively new thing I started. I have been an artist for as long as I can remember and paper has always been my thing. I started doing paper portraits and big collages on canvas.
"I wanted to do something different with the images I drew and painted. It started when I was looking around my house for new ideas and I thought my lampshades looked so boring. It took quite a while to sort the formula but I launched the shades collection about four years ago.
"Then I started running workshops in the places I visited. I'm always drawn to places with bridges and rivers, and castles. Whenever we head up to Wales, we always stop off in Shropshire – have a little walk round Ludlow and get a spot of lunch."
The Shropshire inspired lampshades are available on www.papershades.co.uk
