I wake up every morning thinking about art. My earliest memories are of making, drawing and painting things using any materials I could find.
Landscape and nature are the biggest influences on my work though I also create work in response stories and objects. When I get a chance, I love to stop off at woodlands on the way home from work, take photos, make a quick sketch or just sit and listen to the birds and absorb the ‘energy’ of a place. It is about finding small pieces of time to keep my practice going. During the school holidays, I visit places around the UK. I always take my sketchbook and camera (in fact, my car ends up being a portable studio, I do not travel light!) and try to spend some time walking and drawing and even plein air printmaking!
Drawing is vital to my practice. I like to draw in different materials- brush and ink, chalk pens and wax crayons are my favourites. Drawing is key to my understanding a place, object or person. I love sketchbooks. Being able to look back through visual diaries and remember ideas, places and moments. Though I have never felt overly confident in my sketching ability I think, it is a good thing to challenge myself. For that reason, I have been involved in Leicester Urban Sketchers, Leicester Sketch Club and Leicester Society of Artists. It has been great to meet with other sketchers/artists, share a love of drawing, discover new techniques or materials and just have a coffee and a chat.
I love to work in a range of ways and media ranging from print and painting to textiles and more recently ceramics. Sometimes this is influenced by finding quick ways in which I can fit my practice around work and life – I can find half an hour to work on a digital piece without needing to spend time prepping and clearing up. I like to combine different ways of working, using sketches from visits and combining with photography, print, rubbings and found objects in digital pieces.
I think one of the most important ways being an artist teacher impacts on my work in the classroom is in my enthusiasm for creativity and always learning myself. I have worked in both mainstream and SEN settings and I have found that communicating the joy and fun of creating and making, whatever your skill level or starting point, is the biggest motivation to inspire students to explore and take risks; mistakes are positively encouraged!
The most valuable piece of advice I have been given is to ask for help when needed and I would advise anyone starting out to do the same. Share ideas, share when something hasn’t worked and share having a laugh before you go home at the end of the day. There is a brilliant range of groups on social media so generous with their resources and willing to help, it’s fantastic.
