First Impressions

‘First Impressions’ is the title we give to our student shows, where we dedicate the gallery to the work of art students from the South West, from school through to college. This is a great opportunity for students to experience the process of submitting work, have it accepted or rejected, and potentially seeing their work on the white walls of a commercial gallery.

Jess, winner of our first student prize, made a real impact with her vibrant organic dresses, which were simply stunning and skillfully made. Jess’ prize was to feature in a future exhibition and she proudly saw her work in the following Summer Show. We talked to Jess about her experience.

What did it mean to you to win the prize of showing your work in an exhibition?

It meant a lot to know my work was at the standard to be displayed in a second exhibition. It also gave me some encouragement to carry on what I am doing and develop and experiment to achieve pieces, which I felt were even better than the ones in the first exhibition. It also helped me think in a more professional way when creating recent pieces, I was constantly thinking about display ideas and the whole aesthetic as well as creating pieces which would help me gain marks in my A levels.

Could you describe your work in our Summer Salon show in just a few words?

The pieces I have in the exhibition are very different, My cell-like pieces I would describe as colourful, textured and interesting, as I wanted to create pieces which had impact when looking at them from a distance but also intricate and interesting when coming up close and seeing the layers

of burnt fabric. My plaster pieces I would describe as precise, smooth and thought provoking. This is because when creating the pieces I wanted the viewer to see the idea of positive and negative spaces and how solid colour could be used to create different shapes on surfaces.

Do you think the approach to your artwork has changed since ‘First Impressions‘?

I think since last exhibiting I have become more confident when trying out new materials and experimenting more to gain more knowledge. My plaster pieces are a good example of this, as I have used pigment to create the vivid colours and by using many different coloured pigments I could see how the pigment effected the hardening time and texture of the plaster. Through many hours of experimentation I was able to gain enough knowledge to feel confident with the material and feel that I could create quality pieces with it.

How do you know when a piece of artwork is finished, what makes you happy with it?

I am not really sure of the answer to that. I know when I am happy with a piece when I can’t see any further changes that I would want to make to it, but quite often I will feel like that but later on once I have not been working on the piece for a while I will then pick up on something new I want to change.

The excitement of trying out new materials and finding things that work effectively to give me my desired outcome. I think this is just down to the pleasure of finding something that works but also having the flexibility to try anything that just may work as a material. For example, earlier this year I had a fascination in what I could create with sugar and coloured toffee which created some really interesting pieces and textures through experimentation.What part of the process of creating artworks do you enjoy the most?

What personal interests are reflected in your practice?

Being constantly interested and involved with modern art which is being created today. I spend a lot of my time researching new artists and viewing exhibitions to give me new ideas and seeing how other artists display and present their work.

What new artists have been an inspiration to you over this last year?

Anish Kapoor and Rachel Whiteread have been huge inspirations for me. Their work has really made me see things differently and gain a new understanding on positive and negative space.

What would you like people to think/feel when interacting with your artwork?

I would want them initially to be interested in the work and look at the colours and textures involved in the work and seeing it from different distances. I don’t believe you can get a feel for a piece without trying to work out the logistics of the materials used and think about how it has been made, but that may just be me as an artist as I am constantly nosey to find out peoples techniques!

If you were to travel and work on your practice, where in the world would you like to go and why?

I would go somewhere where there would be a lot of vibrancy of colour such as India. As the majority of my work involves bright colours to create impact and somewhere like India would be amazing due to the fabrics, spices and their culture. It would also be interesting to see if there were any new materials which could be exciting to use and see how they use materials in a more creative way such as in shanty towns.

Last time you exhibited you pushed boundaries creatively in sculptural medium, do you think you always continue this method of practice?

Most definitely. Materials are what give me inspiration for my work, for example the orange dress which I created was made by having the oranges and then working out what I was making while I was making it. I am not a very good planner, I am better with seeing things as they go along and different materials always give me a stimulus to start. I also like the impact that you can create in the simplest of designs through using a material that people wouldn’t have thought of being used as an artistic material.

Thank you