University of Central England 

Q: Describe your experience at Art College – what are your opportunities, what are you learning, where are your struggles?

I found the first two years at Art College really difficult. I was at Warwickshire College, which was a small college local to me, and only really discovered how good college could be when I transferred to U.C.E. (University of Central England) for my third year. I found the smallness of Warwickshire difficult-2 main tutors whom I didn't particularly "click" with and a student body of 12 in my year. I found it under-resourced, claustrophobic and frustrating. Another problem for me was that I was a mature student of 27 who'd done a previous degree at Cambridge University. I found it really hard to go from a learning environment that I'd found excellent to one that I struggled with. Having said that I think I could have struggled more. I tended to feel defeated by the difficulties I faced whereas I think God requires us to struggle, to engage with difficulties, to battle them.

Q: What made you choose the course?

I didn't really have an art background so I just phoned up my nearest college and applied there! I wouldn't recommend this approach, not all art colleges are of equal standards. Go to as many degree shows as you can. If the work is generally good and the sort of work you connect with it's probably a) good and b) a good place for you.

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

I'm making work about people's perceptions about art. I'm hoping to work from the idea that nothing can be said about art, to suggesting values for this vacuum as an appealing alternative.

Q: What do your course mates and friends think about your Christian Faith?

I made some explicitly Christian work in my 1st and 2nd year, which I don't think I would make again in that environment. The paranoid part of me worries that my fellow students thought I was a fundamentalist looney, but actually in conversations about the work, they approached it with real respect and interest.

Q: How are God’s values incorporated into your studies?

I need to remind myself that I'm a Christian first and everything else, including being an artist, flows out of that. I want to model God's values in my work e.g. love, redemption and truth. Having said that truth is the opposite of nice, which would be the banal view of Christian art.

Q: What keeps you going as an Artist?

I suppose fundamentally the thought that this is what God wants me to be doing. No matter how hard it is sometimes, I feel it is God's purpose for me and I want to be in the middle of that.

Q: Who are your role models?

My friend Ness for the ingenious ways she finds to make a living as an artist and the discipline and hard work she puts into it. Also, my grandma for being content.

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

I'm part of Interface which is a monthly meeting for Christian art students. Even though it's a bit of a hike down to London, I try to make it as I always find it encouraging and inspiring.

Q: What advice or encouragement would you give to other Christian students at Art College?

1) Pursue excellence - but include in that remit the knowledge that you're a student and it's ok to make mistakes, so be excellent about making mistakes! Find a tutor you can click with whose work or whose personality you feel a connection with. Pursue having them as a tutor or get feedback off them. Be persistent in getting help and the resources you need off staff and facilities. Don't lack confidence in yourself - "You are a temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 -Cor 6 v 19).

2) " As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (Proverbs 27 v 17) This is true of your Christian friends but also of your ones at college so find passionate, enthusiastic artists to sharpen your practise.

3) Lastly, enjoy your time at Art College and trust that God has a purpose for you being there. He is a God who loves to do good things - he will not give you a stone if you ask for bread or a snake if you ask for a fish (Matt 7 v 9 - 12).