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Black Bee Studios

posted by POP Members July 8, 2021

Black Bee Studios (BBS) was born out of what was, for most, an extremely testing 2020. Becci Salmon, the face behind BBS, is a Design Lead at leading London advertising agency FCB Inferno. The lockdown of 2020 was an incredibly tough time for ad agencies in London and it saw some of the biggest make up to 40% of their staff redundant. “We were working harder, faster, longer than we ever had done before in order to keep our heads above water. All whilst processing a global pandemic and the fact that our homes had morphed into our office with work/life boundaries blurring.” So what does one do when on the brink of burnout? Start another creative outlet, obviously.

But this wasn’t just any creative outlet, once she started Becci “got the bug BIG time”. She states; “After staring at a screen for 12+ hours a day – it was so refreshing to get stuck into something analogue. Something so irrefutably tangible. Something that you can’t just cmd+z if you make a mistake.” That something was lino printing.

With burnout manifesting itself as inspiration block, Becci found creative inspiration from her immediate surroundings. So immediate that they were attached to her body; her hands and ears – or more specifically what was going into her ears – music. “I’d start with a song, dissect it’s lyrics and find a way to represent them with a composition of hands and objects,” describes the printmaker.

“My printmaking has been an incredible journey so far. I’m still learning, exploring and experimenting. I’ve been incredibly luck to have the support and encouragement of friends and family, and unexpectedly an amazing instagram community of fellow printmakers.”

So, what’s next for Black Bee Studios? Becci is working on developing her skills and yearns to produce some larger scale works – so watch this space!

@black.bee.studios
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