One of the most useful aspects of the Professional Practice module has been the encouragement we've received to 'get out there' and talk to as many professionals in our field as possible. The people who have generously given of their time and advice have enriched my experience both as an artist myself and as a new creative professional with my foot on the very bottom of the ladder, looking up at these inspirational people. For the final interview for this blog series, I collaborated with Sarah Duke-Parker, my illustration colleague and partner in crime, and we went to see local Nottingham artist, Jackie Ward, owner of Treehuggery. Jackie lives very close to me, in the Nottinghamshire countryside and we visited her garden studio one sunny morning where she welcomed us, made us tea and answered all of our nosey questions.
I've known Jackie for a couple of years but had never had the opportunity to ask her so much about her practice, ethos and methods and she was very open and inspirational to speak to. One of her key pieces of advice is to have belief in yourself and to also believe others when they say that they like your work. Until last year Jackie also had a 'pay the rent' job but is now making a living full time with her art. She lives and works 'small', meaning that the Treehuggery ethos, about living slowly and simply and enjoying life at a slow pace is true for her work - Jackie doesn't go after the high paying, big commission multi licence work, rather, all of her work is unique, meaningful and created with love and care. While I would like to reach a wider audience for myself, as I want to publish my own books and also illustrate for other authors, I think that working in a similar way to Jackie would be a very enjoyable portion of my portfolio of work, as one of my own reasons for career change was to slow down a little and take notice of what happens each day rather than speeding ahead in the fast lane.
Jackie works with found materials, especially with those materials that are disappearing as the world changes; bus tickets, tax discs and other ephemera. She creates meaningful art on a commission basis from personal effects, wedding invitations, literature from an important holiday or visit etc, or with pieces of a treasured watch. Here, Jackie talks to us about her influences, her art heroes, her methods, what is coming next, how to keep sane and motivated and she has some fantastic advice about branding ourselves. In a sympathetic echo of the Treehuggery ethos we didn't video Jackie, (she didn't want to be filmed) but we took along a tape recorder and listened to what she had to say. It is an enjoyable and humble listen.
So pull up a comfy chair, make sure you have a cup of tea and press 'play'.
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