Emily Sodders, artist and owner of Bird House Studio in Gilsum, has spent nearly her entire life creating commissioned works. Her media includes graphic design, custom portraiture and interior/exterior murals. A self-taught artist raised in Texas, she began her professional career at the tender age of 12, always working to meet the diverse needs of her clientele. These days, Sodders, wife to Vinny and mother to Evelyn, has been carving out more time for original works, a place where her love of art began.
We’re proud to share Emily’s story, in her own words.
What are your earliest experiences creating art?
I used to do pen and ink drawings for friends when I was in the 5th grade. Then in 7th and 8th grade I started taking on adult clients doing portraits. An early client was a man from my church. I did a colored pencil portrait of him at an Alaskan glacier. He put me in touch with the Safari Club International and I was donating art pieces for auction to raise money for wildlife conservation when I was in middle and high school.
How would you describe your artistic style?
It used to be hyper-realism—my colored pencil drawings would get confused for photos. I like a slightly looser take now, using acrylic and oil paints.
When did you start doing murals?
The same (colored-pencil portrait) client asked me when I was in 11th grade if I painted murals. I said yes with an asterisk. I had painted a periodic table on a wall in middle school and a small sky mural in a nursery during a Mexican mission trip but nothing significant.
So what was the project you were commissioned to do?
He had an open-concept 2,400-square foot cabin in Texas and he wanted me to paint the Grand Teton mountains on his wall where he would mount his North American trophies. It took me two-and-a-half summers to paint. There was a main room with the living room and kitchen with 15-foot-ceilings and a bathroom. I painted the walls, ceilings and stairs leading up to the loft.
What other early artworks did you create?
A lot of my early colored pencil drawings were created as part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo School Art Competition featuring Western-themed scenes. Several of my high school entries received high honors and were displayed in the Hayloft Gallery during the high-profile event and viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. I have recently returned to these roots, by painting original Western-themed art in the past couple of years.
Tell me about your upbringing in Texas.
The family I was adopted into moved a lot, so naturally, I was always looking for acceptance. I used art as a tool to make friends and cope with being the new kid. I thought the way people viewed my art they also felt about me. I got wrapped up in the Texas art scene, which is very competitive. Rodeo Art and other competitions energized me to push the envelope of my creative abilities, as my entrepreneurial goals and career came into focus as a teen and young adult.
How did you wind up in the Monadnock Region?
I was raised in suburbia in Texas. I didn’t find where I lived to be inspirational as an artist. My parents, who were both educators, had their summers off and we went on family vacations; my favorite places were the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains and Shenandoah National Park. I love the history of our country and its beautiful landscapes. During one of these trips, I told my parents I wanted to one day live in the mountains beside a river, a place with seasonal changes. Later on, when I was a junior in high school, I went to a “portfolio day” in Houston where there were reps from art and graphic design schools across the country. As I scanned the tables, I saw New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester and after the rep’s review of my portfolio, the decision was made to apply. It was the only school I applied to and I was thankful to accepted. After art college, I settled on the Ashuelot River in Gilsum. I love hearing the river flowing and more rugged terrain of my hilly backyard, satisfying my childhood dreams.
Tell me about some of your local mural work. I understand you painted the mural of the pizza wings and halo on the outside of Amicci’s, for instance.
It’s bright and graphic and raised off the wall by studs to give a 3D appearance. People like to stand in front of the wings and have their picture taken. I created a mural on the interior wall of The Pawn Shop in Keene’s old location. There were hidden images in the mural and kids loved to find them while their parents did business. I also worked on a mural in the gymnasium at Gilsum Elementary School for the town’s 250th anniversary. I used a grid method to lay out the design and the students helped paint it in. Another mural I did was part of a program encouraging Cheshire Medical Center employees to take the stairs instead of the elevator. I designed multiple murals and painted a few in the stairwells, as well as guide employees to paint others. We started with a cave design for the basement level and as you reach each landing, you make your way up to Mount Monadnock and even outer space. People said they enjoy taking the stairs now. I still hear people talk about it. There are other local murals at Keene Yoga Center, Odelay Taqueria and the Gilsum Public Library. Most recently I painted the new Parrish Shoes mural in the foyer at Ted’s Shoe and Sport. As evidenced by these murals and others, I love projects that involve public engagement either in their creation or in their viewership; murals that serve a function with their visual interest.
I know you were involved in creating some of the Keene Walldogs murals around downtown.
I helped draw a train for the railroad mural the first evening of the Walldogs festival. I also worked on the Barry Faulkner mural on the side of Hannah Grimes and painted the word “toys” for the Kingsbury mural, but most of my time was spent on the Keene Sentinel and Abenaki murals. A lot of people in the area have roots in the Abenaki tribe; the mural is a great representation of their heritage. When you come down Court Street it has a lot of visibility.
Tell me about the mural-making process.
In many instances, I use a projector to transfer the design I create with computer software to the wall. During the Walldog event, some murals couldn’t be projected well because of the shadows casted by the scaffolding, so a method called “pouncing” was used. The process involves projecting the design offsite and using a pounce machine to poke tens of thousands of tiny holes along the design that be aligned on the wall. Chalk or permanent marker can be pressed into these holes to transfer dotted lines to the wall, which are later traced to reveal the design.
What other projects are you working on?
I have designed a mural for a hyperbaric chamber in Swanzey and am working on another for Keene Confections. I haven’t been taking on as many large or long-distance mural jobs as I once did due to health issues, but this has opened the opportunity for me to create new original art, many of which feature the beauty of America, chiefly in her wildlife and landscapes, including a lot of our own region’s local flora and fauna. I have some of my work for sale at Hannah Grimes Marketplace place and at the Walpole Artisans Co-op and Alstead Country Crafts.
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Learn more about Emily and her work on her website:
