We recently had the chance to connect with Sophie-Elizabeth Thompson and have shared our conversation below.
Sophie-Elizabeth, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I start my day with an early-morning by listening to guided meditations by Dr Joe Dispenza. Before, I wasn’t a natural morning person,
but having him guide me helps me to set the day helps to cut through that nonsense chatter that we all have going on in the background of our minds.
Dr Dispenza states that approximately 90% of an individual’s thoughts each day are the same as the day before. To develop new ideas for my work
and evolve into the best version of myself, I feel it is imperative to meditate and create coherence between my thoughts, feelings, heart and mind.
I believe that in order to create anything new in my life, it is so important to check in with my energy and thoughts at the start of each day and throughout it.
It’s all too easy to slip back into old programmed thinking (Our subconscious does its best to protect us by keeping us safely in the known,
and therefore old actions which would in turn keep me recreating my old reality). I also like to meditate before going to sleep. I’m naturally more relaxed
at night and can often meditate without guidance — although Dr Joe’s guidance makes it much easier!
Next in the morning is coffee. While drinking it, I listen to something inspirational as I look through my sketchbooks, think about my work, and write.
I’ll write down thoughts that I choose, along with some positive affirmations. I try to catch thoughts that won’t help and start my day by thinking
from the perspective of the person that I want to become, rather than the person I used to be. I’ll also do some sketching – anything to raise my vibe.
Once I’m feeling more awake, I focus on moving my body and exercise. Recently, I have been doing Pilates to improve my flexibility and strength.
While eating breakfast, I sometimes then add notes on Slack and Trello for my studio and admin assistants regarding any immediate tasks for the day.
Then I get ready and walk to the studio while listening to music or something inspiring on my headphones to arrive at the studio ready and inspired!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a British sculptor working from my studio in Barcelona. My work is expressed through both sculpture and drawing, though the sculptures themselves are never drawn first. Each piece is born in the carving process — instinctive, direct, alive.
Working initially in plaster, I develop forms that evolve into their final materials: bronze, stone, steel, glass, or resin. This breadth allows every work to exist at its right scale and in its right body — from monumental commissions to intimate collector’s pieces. My process is not one of premeditation, but of discovery.
There comes a moment, sometimes after minutes, sometimes after hours, when I fall into absolute stillness. Time dissolves, thought recedes, and form evolves.
It is this gap between thoughts, the quiet place beyond analysis, where the truest marks are made.
All of my previous experiences, all I have seen and felt, move through my hands in these moments. Each sculpture becomes an expression of that presence
— a resonance of stillness, coherence, and beauty.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
What must now be released is the part of me that believed I had to do it all alone. For years I carried the weight of independence — like armour, necessary
at the time, as it served me well, but armour eventually becomes too heavy. To step into the next chapter, I had to release the part of me that equates
independence with survival. I don’t need ro fight anymore; I can collaborate, expand, and let others carry parts of the vision with me. What remains is not
smaller or softer – it´s freer. And that is liberating.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I would tell her – You don`t have to rush. Everything you dream of is already on its way to you, and your only task is to keep creating.
Trust the rhythm of your own hands, trust the stillness that guides you. The paths that feel heavy will fall away, and the spaces that are meant for you will open.
Also something that I think everyone wants to hear – You are more loved, seen and held than you can imagine. Keep creating – it´s already yours.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My closest friends would probably say that what matters most to me is keeping a positive outlook – finding the light, the fun and the silliness in things
even when life throws challenges.They tease me for disappearing into the studio too much, and also for going out dancing,
but they know those are just two sides of the same coin. Creating is how I make sense of things, and dancing is how I celebrate them.
Both bring me joy, and both keep me connected.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I don´t think of legacy as something left behind at the end – Its about the resonance you create while you’re here.
For me, that´s twofold: through the sculptures, which I hope bring stillness and presence to the spaces they inhabit,
and through the life I´ve chosen.
I want people to feel that they, too, can live by doing what they love. That anything is possible when you trust your rhythm
and your vision. If my work and my life give even one person permission to follow their own path with courage,
then that’s the real legacy,
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sophie-elizabeth-thompson.com
- Instagram: sophie_elizabeth_thompson
- Linkedin: Sophie-Eizabeth Thompson, Soforbis Studio S-L
- Youtube: @Sophie-ElizabethThompson
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
