Sara-Christin Richter Illustrator and puppet maker from Leipzig, Germany
Photo: Michael Orth
The illustrator and puppet-maker Sara-Christin Richter draws, paints, builds models and makes wood carvings in Leipzig, Germany. In her small studio you can find a variety of papers, pens and pencils, a large bandsaw, as well as a workbench for carving. After getting a degree in art education in Dresden, Dublin and New York, she studied illustration in Hamburg. Her focus is children’s books illustration, where she – inspired by puppetry – integrates the third dimension through puppets and figures. Her illustrations for Cornelia Funke’s tale Annette, Querkus and the wild words are photographs of intricately staged scenes, that were co-created with photographer Lugwig Ander-Donath. For this debut work she received the Oldenburg Children’s Book Award 2022.
In 2021, Sara-Christin Richter worked as a model maker for the Danish animation studio WiredFly where she built small furniture and objects for the animated film "The robbers of Kardemomme".
For the new permanent exhibition of the Günter Grass House in Lübeck, Sara-Christin Richter created three key scenes from his novel "The Tin Drum" as puppet dioramas. During the winter semester she teaches figure illustration at the HAW in Hamburg.
In addition to her work as an illustrator and puppet-maker, she also teaches children’s workshops at museums and art schools. She loves to be able to combine her training as an educator with her work as an illustrator.
(She is represented by the agency AUSERLESEN-AUSGEZEICHNET)
We had this interview with Sara-Christin in 2019.
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Photo: Michael Orth
What brought you to art?
Since my childhood I have been interested in art and have been able to attend courses at a very early age. My mother has a lot of books because of her art history studies. I was allowed to make copies of the most beautiful pictures and then sorted them very carefully into slides so that they could be signed off later. My parents often took me to museums and churches. As a child I probably found this boring, but now I think that I have gotten a lot out of it. For example, my interest in the Middle Ages. As a teenager I attended various art courses before I studied art education and then illustration in Hamburg.
Photo: Michael Orth
How did the opportunity for you to come to Cornelia's farm come about?
At our university, UAS Hamburg, a competition was organized by Dressler Verlag. Dressler and professors from the university then sifted through the works. When I heard that the winners would be allowed to visit Cornelia, I really wanted to take part.
Photo: Michael Orth
How did you like your time on the farm? Did you find inspiration there?
The time on Cornelia's farm inspired and animated me. It is very, very comfortable there and you immediately feel at home. Everywhere you can find little things, but also dolls and wooden figures. And of course the surroundings and nature are fascinating. You clear your head automatically.
Photo: Michael Orth
What did you take home from there?
I took photos, sketches and modelled dolls, but above all a lot of strength and motivation. Cornelia was motivating and inspiring. I take with me the conversations we had about art, literature, dolls and more, and they will accompany me for a long time.
