Category: Q&A

Georgia Peskett graduated from the Epsom School of Art and Design in 1984. She has displayed her paintings across the country and belongs to a number of Notable Collections.

Do you come from a creative family?

My father and mother are artists. They got together in the 60’s. She was studying fine art at Kingston art school and he was studying at the Royal College of Art.
I grew up into a fairly bohemian world of artists and eccentric characters. My mother tells me that when I was a baby, David Hockney would stop by for coffee and discussions at the bedsit they had in Ladbroke Grove, off the Portobello Market (a very different place then.) My father was part of that Pop art movement that came out of the RCA in that period along with his other contemporaries Derek Boshier and Peter Blake.

I learned a lot from growing up in a home that was also a working studio: I think it all kind of becomes second nature. At an early age I believed that most other people were also artists. Large abstract canvasses lined the halls. I recall clearly the colours and the smell of the fresh oil paint, that’s the stuff that stays with you. Continue reading “Q&A with Georgia Peskett”

Lex Thomas, born in 1972, gained a BA degree in Social Science at the University of Greenwich before studying Fine Art for three years at the University of the West of England followed by a Postgraduate Diploma at Chelsea Collage of Art. She has been shortlisted for the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, the Rising Stars Prize and won third place at the Woolgather Art Prize.

Is the medium you use more important than the subject matter/message?

I’m open to a multidisciplinary approach as there are various ways to explore the same themes, but paint is, for me, an endlessly fascinating medium. I find the glossy buttery substance of paint very beguiling and the origin of pigments and the alchemical recipes and processes involved a kind of wonder. I like getting my hands dirty; grinding resin, making glaze. But ideally I’m interested in a marriage of ideas and process. I find it interesting to draw attention to both the painting as representation as well as its physicality and the act of painting. These ideas are integral to my work. I like the Bacon quote: ‘the paint is the image and the image is the paint’. You can’t avoid acknowledging the history of painting, whether it’s embedded in the work or tackled head on. It’s another of its appealing complexities. Continue reading “Q&A with Lex Thomas”

Sophie was born in Bristol in 1979 and graduated from Falmouth College of Art with a BA in Studio Ceramics in 2001.

How did your time at Falmouth Art School help in the development of your practice?

I spent all of my time at Falmouth wondering what I “should” be making, it was only the disappointment of leaving with an average grade and a motley collection of work that then spurred me on to work hard, forget the “should”, and find what I wanted to make myself. Continue reading “Q&A With Sophie Woodrow”

      Camilla Engman is a Swedish born artist and illustrator who lives and works in Gothenburg.

Do you come from a creative family?

No I don’t, I could even say the opposite. I’m from a working class home. There was no encouragement, but not otherwise either. I do not remember when I decided to work towards being an artist. I think I needed another way to express myself than those which was available. Continue reading “Q&A with Camilla Engman”

Ashley Yeo completed her MA at Chelsea College of Fine Art in 2012. She currently lives and works in Singapore.

In what way did art school help in the development of your practice?

It definitely built a strong foundation for me, that’s what I feel. Going through the processes of experimenting, and having critiques does help a lot to keep me going and continue making different things. it provided a base through the process of research, guidance from mentors and experience of actually having tried things out and knowing what kind of works and what don’t. Burning out does happen but when you are surrounded by people making art, and it’s a healthy competitive environment, as students, we just kept going. The real difficulties as an artist started when I graduated, but I feel that what I’ve learnt in art school keeps me grounded. Continue reading “Q&A with Ashley Yeo”

       SUPER FUTURE KID was born in East Germany in 1981. SFK Graduated from KHB – School of Art, Berlin and currently lives and works in London.

How did art school help, if at all, in the development of your practice?                         

The time in art school was quite difficult and confusing for me for the first 1 or 2 years but on the long term, it helped me to find my own way. You find out what you like doing and what you rather don’t enjoy, but what you might not have tried doing on your own. Continue reading “Q&A With SUPER FUTURE KID”

Claire Partington is a ceramic artist based in London. She graduated from Central Saint Martins and has shown work at the James Freeman Gallery as well as being selected for the Young Masters Art prize 2012 at the Cynthia Corbett Gallery.

How did your time working in museums help you to develop your practice?   

Working anywhere for a long time gives you a work ethic. Working in museums specifically, helped to round my Art Historical Knowledge, but it also allowed me to actually see the objects I’d previously only seen in books and see the imperfections and bodges up close and realise that my ability as a maker was worth pursuing.
It also gave me unrestricted exposure to exhibitions, both seen from the artist and organisers viewpoint. Managing projects in that environment has helped enormously with my scheduling and figuring how much work I can actually take on. Continue reading “Q&A with Claire Partington”