ARTISTS OF FROME WITH STEVEN JENKINS
W
e talk to Steven about his love of abandoned buildings and doodling in margins. We also award him an imaginary prize for the best dog name ever. What is your artistic background? I studied Printmaking/Illustration after a Foundation course, which lets you dip your toe into all sorts of things. Trouble is then you have to decide which of those you want to carry on with. What made you follow this path? I was only ever ‘good at art’ so fought to go to college, and thankfully won. What is your physical creative process? What materials and techniques do you use? I work with both ceramics and print, so I cast and slab-build my pottery and, as with the printmaking, the decorative angle is the most enjoyable part. I mainly work with lino in print, but am a member of the Bat Print Studio at the Silk Mill so I can work on stone and plate lithography and the fabulous presses they have there.
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THE LIST FROME
Artists of Frome
What inspires your work? Well… such a broad range of things. I collect all manner of tat and am always picking things up on walks that ‘may be useful’. I love old and abandoned buildings where nature starts to reclaim them - and any wild part of the country, especially the coast. How did lockdown affect the way you work and create? Alternating periods of stagnation and mad creativity! Thankfully I settled latterly to something in the middle. I turned my tiny dining room into a work area and am still using it to start and finish work. I always work funny hours so it is handy to work late or get up early and just continue, with everything there waiting. Where do you work from? Tell us about your studio. The Silk Mill is my main work area. I’ve worked in a shared studio there since 2013, and thankfully we’ve had access for most of lockdown. I share with a stained glass artist, Jenny Raggett, so there is a lot of crossover with ideas and techniques.
