Growing up in Sheffield as a snowboarder might seem a little incongruous. I know we’re near the Peaks but they’re not exactly littered with ski lifts or runs, so for some it doesn’t make sense that my friends and I spent most of our spare time as teenagers on the slopes.
But we had the Ski Village. A ski slope made of plastic and metal on the side of Sheffield’s hills. It was where I spent my formative years and it is where I met some of my fastest friends. Because friends who know what it’s like to miss the mountains are important to have.
One of these friends is Zoe from Snowbird Artworks.
Zoe’s love of the mountains has meant in recent years she has spent her time making me jealous by working 2 seasons in Morzine, and taking a trip round the world,. All this travel has influenced her artwork in the most wonderful way.
I adore the recent geometric mountains that she has recently added to her repertoire (that pink and blue one up there is to die for), but there will always be a soft spot for her original paintings in my heart – we have one of her show-covered tree scenes in our dining room!
Zoe and I don’t get to see each other very often at the moment as she’s living in Wales, but when we do we spend countless hours discussing how we can make moving back to the mountains a reality. We’re plumping for a lottery win at the moment, but maybe something slightly more tangible will pop up? Maybe one of you guys would like to give us a chalet, we’d look after it for you! Promise!
In the mean time if you’d like to have a small piece of the mountains in your house and make the dream of Zoe moving back to the mountains you can find Zoe’s painting here on Artfinder, or there is a collection of smaller pieces including cards and brooches here on Etsy. Or you could just get in touch on Twitter – SnowbirdArtwork.