Julia Sophie Plath Illustrator from Hamburg, Germany
Photo: Michael Orth
Julia Sophie Plath is a freelance illustrator from Hamburg, where she also got her Master’s degree from the HAW (Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften) in 2022. She has been working as a freelance illustrator in editorials, books and media since 2019. For her Bachelor’s and for her later Master’s theses, she investigated the subjects of visual biography and the doppelganger. She also gained an appreciation for the practical study of aesthetics.
Philosophical and psychological subjects can be found in her work again and again and are reflected in dream-like and surrealist expression.
In 2023 Julia became one of the recipients of the stART.up stipend awarded by the Claussen-Simon Foundation, and she is looking forward to doing more interdisciplinary work. Right now, she is working on a book of fairytales and a 2D animation short.
We had this interview with Julia in 2020.
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Photo: Michael Orth
What brought you to art?
Like all kids, I loved to draw and then over time discovered fan art for myself. It started with Harry Potter, then I had an intense horse phase, a Game of Thrones phase, etc. For the most part, I drew portraits. I wasn't at all interested in depicting scenes and places, I only learned that in college.
Julia's contribution to the HAW competition (Photo: Michael Orth)
How did you get the opportunity to participate in Cornelia's "Artist in Residence Program"?
Together with nine other HAW students, I took part in a competition that Cornelia organized with her publishing house at our school. The task was to create an illustration based on excerpts from the Reckless series. I illustrated the story of the tailor who makes robes out of human skin.
Actually, only two people were supposed to win a trip to Cornelia in Malibu, but Cornelia and the people at the publishing house were kind enough to invite all ten from the shortlist. I have to say that this is by far the nicest win I have ever had in a contest.
This illustration was created for the novel "Wild Sheep Hunt" by Haruki Murakami. It connects two parts of the story that seem to have little to do with each other. On the one hand the obvious motif of the special sheep, on the other hand the story about the protagonist' deceased ex-girlfriend, who used to sit alone in the café and read books. There was something so soothing and timeless about these motifs that Julia wanted to depict them together (Photo: Michael Orth)
Besides sunscreen and slippers, what do you need to have in your suitcase for your trip to Malibu? And what do you hope to get out of your time on Cornelia's farm (have you ever been to the US/California)?
Definitely have to have at least two books for the flight and evenings! Plus, of course, my Lana drawing pad and mechanical pencils. And for safety also my iPad Pro. With that, I'm basically pretty well equipped!
I'm dreaming of a week to take a breath, enjoy nature, and pet dogs, get away from social media, a week to meet lots of inspiring people and have exciting conversations, and hopefully good ideas to work on my stories with lots of peace and focus or get distracted from everyday life.
I've never been to California, so far I've always been to the East Coast, New York, Washington D.C., Florida, and once visiting acquaintances in Tennessee. But that was almost ten years ago!
Photo: Michael Orth
Before Corona made it impossible to travel to the U.S., did you have any specific plans for the week in California, such as a project you wanted to tackle or finish there, etc.?
Yes, I would like to work on my master's project and tackle two short stories in graphic novel form. Who knows when the trip will be postponed to, but that's probably still my plan then.
