Artist

Q: Describe your experience at Art College – what were your opportunities, what did you learn, where did you struggle?

I studied Fine Art and Art History at Goldsmiths College, graduating in 2000. I came in as a painter, making work that drew heavily on my feelings. I was overly aware of the reputation of Goldsmiths studying there, and certainly in my second year felt that I froze under the pressure, not knowing what to make. It was also the first time that I had considered that my Christian faith might have a bearing on the work that I make (and indeed the whole of my life) which resulted in me making bad work which was merely propaganda. However, I was grateful for the support of the then Art Staffworker in thinking some of these issues through.

By the time I got to my third year I was starting to sort some of this through and working out what it meant to make good work that reflected God’s values but also related to its audience and the world around us. This made my final show a stressful experience as starting to develop interesting work in the third year felt like it was a bit too late!!

I don’t know if I am a typical example of what Goldsmiths College does to people but I entered as a painter and left doing photography and video.

Overall, my time at college was a formative time for growing in my Christian faith as I got involved in the Christian Union and I am grateful for how God used that time in me.

Q: What made you want to carry on as an Artist?

I absolutely love the process of making work. When I have an idea and it starts to come together, it is such an exciting feeling - although the reverse situation of a looming deadline when I know that what I am making isn’t good enough is incredibly frustrating. I enjoy talking about my work with people and watching how they interpret it. Also, I have a passion to see Christians involved within Art and Design, witnessing for Christ as they work with designers, gallery owners, and clients and so on. I want God to use me in that area.

Q: Describe the kind of work you are involved in. What do you enjoy about it?

I have been working as a freelance artist for the last five years. For my first year out of college I was just finding my feet, not really making anything that I was happy with. I also changed the direction of my work more towards sculpture, with the sculpture being placed within a specific setting, being displayed either as an installation or as a photograph. The sculptures have drawn on a craft aesthetic as I have used textiles and plasticine to create different figures. This change of direction is one of the best decisions I have made because since then I feel that my work has come on leaps and bounds. Recently I have been looking into mythology and fables, whether it is classic Greek mythology or fables drawn more from daily experience such as commuting, or living in the urban environment. For my most recent show, I have made work which looks at creating a mythological character and trying to appropriate a history for it.

I am also involved in a partnership of nine people called sparks who do both commercial work and self-initiated projects.

I enjoy trying a new idea and experimenting with different materials. I enjoy it when people select my work or the few times when people have bought it because it feels like someone else is interested in what I am doing. I also enjoy the feeling when I have worked hard for a show and it is finally up and finished.

Q: What are your opportunities and challenges now?

I have some great opportunities coming up, as I start my MA in Fine Art. It will be good to get more input into my work and my research ideas, and I am looking forward to getting to know the others on the course. On my BA course, I was very shy and lacked confidence in my work so I didn’t make enough use of the opportunities to get to know my course mates and have good conversations about each others’ work. I hope to do more of that on my MA, not just so I can sharpen up my work, but so I can take opportunities to talk about real things – hope, despair, fears, and so on, things that the Bible has plenty to say about.

My challenges are to not let my desire for success as an artist become greater than my desire to love God, to not become boastful when an opportunity comes up but to give thanks to God and to not forget that everything I have comes from Him. Particular challenges as I begin my MA will be facing possible hostility to my Christian faith and avoiding the temptation of keeping quiet about it to make things go easier for me.

Q: What keeps you going as an Artist?

Other Christian artists and designers keep me going, as well as people who are interested in the work that I make. I have a friend who I met at Goldsmiths who now runs a gallery in South London, and she has always given me honest feedback and opportunities to show my work. The other members of sparks keep me going as we meet regularly and bounce ideas around. My husband also encourages me to keep going. I am grateful for the way that he wants me to do well as an artist, even if it means that I am bringing in less money right now.

I will continue to make work as an artist for as long as it is possible, but if at some point I have to give it up because as a family we need more money, or because God leads us in a change of direction, then I must be willing to let it go - it is not more important than my relationship with God.

Q: Who are your role models?

The person who has perhaps influenced me the most is the person who was my Art Staffworker. I was really impressed by the way that he had exhibitions and was ambitious to make good work. He also helped me to think through the question of what my work should look like as a Christian working as an artist.

I have also been helped greatly by different books such as “Imagine” by Steve Turner, “Bearing Fresh Olive Leaves” by Calvin Seerveld and “The Freedom and Responsibility of the Artist” by H.R. Rookmaaker, (available in the Student Artists packs). I have had great moments reading those books and thinking, ‘Yes! Someone else understands what I am trying to do!!’

Q: Are you part of any support networks for Christians in Art or Design?

I feel that I get a lot of support from the partnership that I am involved in, but I am not involved in anything official. As I have been working as a Staffworker in Art Colleges, I have received support as I have worked things through with the students. I need to look into support networks as I move on from that.

Q: What advice or encouragement would you give to a Christian student at Art College?

Having been involved in the Art College scene for the last eight years, this is what I would say to a Christian at Art College:

• Get involved in a CU, get to know your staffworker and get to know the Art Staffworker. Get all the support you can as you think through what it is to be a Christian in the Arts and take all the opportunities you can to glorify God with your work and share the gospel.
• As a student, this is the most free-time you will have, so use that time to grow in loving God more and in evangelism. People used to say that to me as a student and I never believed them but now I know what they were talking about!
• Don’t expect that being a Christian at Art College guarantees your success. You are not owed anything. We are not even owed our salvation but God graciously gives it to us!!!
• Your tutors may well not like the fact that you are a Christian but don’t be intimidated by them; it could lead to some good discussions. Take the time you have to work out a defence of the gospel that starts from where they are at.
• Don’t be scared or put off by teaching on God being dead, Christianity being irrelevant or facist, or by any of the postmodern theories that you might get taught, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25).