Urška Stropnik Šonc

Urša Stropnik Šonc was born in Slovenj Gradec in 1973. She graduated from secondary school (natural sciences and mathematics) in Velenje and graduated in fine arts (book illustration) at the Faculty of Arts in Maribor. Since 1998 she has been working as an independent cultural artist. Her first book illustration (a picture book by Rok Poles, About Three Bats) was published in 1997. In her twenty-year career, she has illustrated more than 80 books, participated in 20 solo and 10 group exhibitions, and has taken part in the Slovenian Biennial of Illustration three times.

She collaborates with many publishing houses, e.g. Obzorja, Pivec, DZS, Didakta, Izolit, Aristej, Hieroglif, etc., and magazines such as Zmajček, Cicizabavnik, Trobentica, Dodo, BIM-BAM and others. Her contribution enriched the children’s colouring books by Kristina Stropnik, which are among the best quality examples of this genre. In the framework of cooperation with museum institutions, she illustrated a guide to the museum collection of the Maribor Regional Museum for children (Tigi the Castle Kitten: A Walk Through the Maribor Regional Museum for Young Visitors, 2001) and illustrated thematic sections of the permanent installation at the Faces of Ljubljana exhibition at the Ljubljana City Museum (2003-2004).

Her paintings adorn the paediatric wards of the Velenje Health Centre and the General Hospital of Franca Derganec in Šempeter pri Novi Gorici. She has designed wooden puzzles and toys (e.g. Animal Garden, 2010), she is the author of the art templates for the puppet show Dr. Eko performed by the FRU-FRU theatre (2010). She also works as an art pedagogue, she taught at the Nazarje Primary School in 1998, and now she teaches subjects in the field of art and design at the People’s University in Velenje.