Emma Winterschladen is an artist, illustrator and writer – living, working, playing, art-making and home-educating in Hexham, Northumberland, alongside her husband and two young daughters.

Although the shape and form of my work has evolved over the years, it continually finds its way to the places where love, loss, creativity and ‘can-you-believe-we-get-to-be-aliveness?!’ intersect – what my late mum would call the ‘big fat juicy things’ in life, alongside the smaller everyday things too.

The first part of my career was built around words. I worked as a food and travel editor on a lifestyle magazine before going freelance. My work has since been published in Grazia, Red, Stylist, YOU Magazine, Psychologies and Delicious, among others, and I’ve also appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and BBC London to discuss some of my published pieces.

Since the birth of my first daughter in 2021, my work has shifted, and also paused for periods of time too, whilst I’ve been the primary caregiver in my girls’ early years. Words haven’t always come as easily as they did, and the projects I took on became more art-focused and embodied – more making with my hands, less screen-focused – be it through collaging, painting or facilitating in community.

This has included the slow development of my own studio practice, which now has a home over on my Etsy shop Art by EJW, where I sell originals, fine art prints and print-you-own digital artwork. I also create a monthly illustration for Writers’ Hour Magazine, and take on (the now-occasional) private, brand and editorial commissions.

Most recently, I was selected as one of the artists for Peter Rabbit™: Tales on the Tyne, a public art trail in support of St Oswald’s Hospice. My painted sculpture Once Upon a Tyne brings together my love of reading, children’s literature and the North East. For the summer of 2026, it lived in Northumberland Park, North Shields – the park of my own childhood.

Another continually evolving area of my work is facilitating creative workshops. I hold an Advanced Diploma in the Therapeutic and Educational Application of the Arts (completed in 2021 at IATE in London) and this – alongside more recent professional development workshops and courses with The Creativity Project – has deeply shaped how I think about holding space, and nurturing creativity within local communities, schools, learning spaces and my own home. Over the past few years I have hosted creative workshops for children and families when I can – all different, but all rooted in collage, open-ended play and process art. This is something I’d love to do more of in the future (so please do get in touch if you’re interested).

I now find myself in a season of life where the two main strands of my work – writing and visual practice – are feeling ready to come together meaningfully. One way this is manifesting is in my (long-held!) ambition to write and illustrate children’s picture books. My children’s illustration portfolio is always evolving, and I’m currently working on my first picture book project with a dear old friend (watch this space), alongside working on my own too. I’m also currently – very slowly, very joyfully – researching and writing a historical literary novel (though don’t watch this space, you’ll be here for years!).

I hope this online home offers an insight into my creative work and life, who I am, and the different areas of what I do, which somehow feel part of the same whole. If you’d like to discuss a project, commissioning me, working together, potential workshops or have any other enquiry, please email me on ejwinterschladen@icloud.com.

You can also find me on Instagram here.

Thanks for reading,

Name 'Emma' written in elegant, pink cursive script.
A spiral notebook with blue crayon sketches of a garden or outdoor scene, including flowers, a fence, and other details. A person's hand with red nail polish is visible holding the bottom left corner of the notebook.
A woman wearing pink earmuffs, glasses, a striped sweater, and a long puffer coat, standing on a paved path surrounded by greenery.
A woman wearing pink earmuffs, glasses, a striped sweater, and a long puffer coat, standing on a paved path surrounded by greenery.
A framed watercolor painting of pink flowers on a beige background, with the artist's signature and date 'Ely 16' in the bottom right corner, placed on a red, blue, and green plaid fabric surface.
A framed watercolor painting of pink flowers on a beige background, with the artist's signature and date 'Ely 16' in the bottom right corner, placed on a red, blue, and green plaid fabric surface.
Close-up of pink and purple flower petals with a small torn paper labeled 'Hope'.
A decorative display on a wooden mantle with framed artwork, a red candlestick, a sculpture, a striped candle, and a red, silver, and blue ribbon.
A decorative display on a wooden mantle with framed artwork, a red candlestick, a sculpture, a striped candle, and a red, silver, and blue ribbon.
A colorful crayon drawing of a young girl with closed eyes, wearing overalls with a pocket, and a sweater underneath. The girl has curly hair with a small ponytail tied with a hair band. The drawing is on a white sheet of paper, on a wooden surface, with a black pen next to it. The artist's signature and the date 'Mom 3/25' are in the lower right corner.
A person holding a coffee mug with an illustration of a mother and child, while lying in bed with a striped blanket and several greeting cards or postcards spread out on the blanket.
A brown paper bag labeled 'The Materials Table' with smaller text '(Take what you fancy!!)' written on it. Surrounding the bag are torn paper pieces with printed words, color markers in a dish, rolls of pink and white string, and a jar of multicolored chalk pastels on a work surface.
A young girl with curly hair wearing a floral apron is drawing on a piece of paper on a pink desk, with her arms wrapped around a pink, fluffy pillow. The background features art supplies, books, and colorful artwork on the wall.
A young girl with curly hair wearing a floral apron is drawing on a piece of paper on a pink desk, with her arms wrapped around a pink, fluffy pillow. The background features art supplies, books, and colorful artwork on the wall.
A decorated Christmas scene with a red and white striped string, yellow stars, and a paper cutout of a red sailing ship on top of a colorful map with swirling green and blue lines.
A decorated Christmas scene with a red and white striped string, yellow stars, and a paper cutout of a red sailing ship on top of a colorful map with swirling green and blue lines.

Instagram @hungryromantic
Etsy Shop Art by EJW
emmawinterschladen.co.uk

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