Ireland (EUR)
Among thousands of entries in this year’s edition of Pen Store Talents, it was ultimately Meja Hardin who took home first prize. Her colourful and vibrant artwork immediately captured the jury’s attention with its confident linework, thoughtful composition, and that hard-to-describe feeling of summer, togetherness, and nostalgia that lingers long after the first glance. With great creativity and technical skill, Meja has succeeded in creating a piece that both vibrates with movement and invites the viewer to discover new details every time they take a closer look.
In this interview, we get to know the artist behind the winning entry a little better. What went through her mind when the randomly selected pens landed on her desk? Where did she find inspiration for the motif, and what did the process look like from the first sketch to the finished piece?
Hi Meja! Tell us a bit about yourself and your relationship with creativity
My name is Meja Hardin and I’m 24 years old. I come from Säffle in Värmland, and I’ve really been creating for as long as I can remember. I come from a truly creative family with five siblings, and everyone is incredibly artistic. That might come from our dad being very talented at drawing. He has always encouraged us, and growing up with someone like him to look up to is probably one of the reasons why I fell so deeply in love with creating and being creative, something I’m incredibly grateful for.
I try to create something every day, whether it’s big or small, with a pen or a brush, and I notice that I feel better when I do. It’s one of the greatest joys in my life because it’s both relaxing and gives me a way to express myself. Most often I make pencil drawings, but I also really enjoy working with ink, and when I paint, it’s usually in acrylic or watercolour.
How did you hear about the challenge?
I actually took part in Pen Store Talents 2024 and thought it was incredibly fun. So when I saw that the competition was back again this year, I ordered a competition kit straight away.
Which pens did you receive, and how did you get to know them?
I thought the pens I received had a great variety of colours:
- A pink Faber-Castell watercolour pencil
- A light green Tombow Irojiten coloured pencil
- A gold metallic Sakura Gelly Roll
- An orange Stabilo Pen 68 Brush
- A purple Pentel Sign Pen
- A black Staedtler Pigment Pen
- A red Pilot FriXion ballpoint pen
- A light blue Sharpie acrylic marker
First, I tested the pens individually, and then layered them on top of each other. I also tried diluting them with water to see how I could combine them. I immediately felt that the blue colour in the Sharpie acrylic marker was going to be the main character in my drawing, so the idea of water came almost instantly.
Tell us a bit about the wonderful motif
I spent quite a long time thinking about different motifs that could work, but I kept coming back to the blue. Summer and swimming in the lake are some of the things I love most, so that was the feeling I wanted to capture. The light and shimmer on the water’s surface, but stylised and vibrant. Maybe a little like a childhood memory.
What did your process look like, from sketch to finished piece?
Sketching out the motif came quite naturally. I wanted to create a scene rather than just an image, so that was how I approached the composition. I used myself as a model for the figures to get the proportions and poses exactly how I wanted them. It was important to me to capture movement and life in the figures, so it became a bit funny pretending to balance on a log in my living room, but it helped a lot.
To create the shimmer in the water, I used masking fluid. One of the most enjoyable moments was scraping it away after adding the blue and watching the image almost emerge from underneath. I used a lot of water and brushes, and mixed the ink on a glossy plastic surface so it wouldn’t dry too quickly. It’s a technique I’ve never used before, so it’s exciting to see how this challenge encourages you to try new things and constantly find new ways to use your tools.
The creative corner
An early sketch
What did it feel like to have your artwork exhibited in the Stockholm underground?
I thought it was really exciting that the artworks were displayed in the underground. I wish I could have been in Stockholm while they were up, it would have been so fun to see. And I don’t find it particularly difficult to part with my artworks either. It almost feels funny to think about where all the pieces eventually ended up, maybe some of them are hanging on people’s walls right now?
What was your reaction when you got the winning phone call?
At first, I couldn’t believe it was true when I got the call and found out that I had won first prize. Seeing all the artworks on the website was so impressive that I never thought it would happen. But I became incredibly happy and grateful, it really warms my heart to know that my artwork was appreciated.
What will you buy with the prize money?
There’s already a lot that I know I’m going to buy, I shop regularly at Pen Store anyway. Mostly paint, paper, canvas, fixative and things like that. But I especially fell in love with the Sharpie acrylic marker that I received in my competition kit, so I’ll definitely be buying more of those. And I’d also like to start painting more with oil paints in the future, so that will be exciting to invest in too. And of course, the whole family will be getting presents.
Meja Hardin
@mejahardin.konst
