» Artists & Makers

ARTISTS & MAKERS OF FROME

With JENNA HERMAN

What is your artistic background? I studied at the Ruskin School of Art - the really tiny Fine Art department of the University of Oxford. The degree course allowed us to work closely with other university departments - teaching us how art intersects with politics, psychology, philosophy, history, science and medicine. I was really drawn to anatomy, and weekly dissection lessons enabled us to fully understand the human form and to study traditional drawing methods.

From there I went into a 15-year career in magazine publishing - mainly enjoying photoshoot production. Then I had a major career crisis (and a baby!), and decided to try an evening course in children’s book illustration at RACC, which inspired me to focus solely on my design and illustration.

What made you follow this path? My first job was doing admin for the Dictionary of National Biography at Oxford University Press. This led to me feeling torn between pursuing medical and botanical illustration or publishing. I chose publishing because I thought it would land me a regular salary (unlike illustration?!) but eventually the yearning to put pencil to paper became way too much. I’ve always had a craving to create, and was itching to do my own thing. My good friend Lucy Reynolds approached me with a beautiful kids’ story, and my maternity leave felt like the perfect opportunity to pull together all my experience in traditional drawing, along with page design, production and printing.

Lucy and I mocked up our ideas, and we only approached one publisher before we realised we’d probably never hear back from anyone. So we had this mad idea to pool all our skills and launch our own publishing company. Looking back, we were extremely naïve, but the timings were perfect for us to dedicate the required time and energy. Now we have three children’s books distributed across the UK and beyond - all selling consistently and competitively within the industry. Our most recent title is We Are Family (hardcover) which has received wonderful reviews for its empathy and inclusivity, and we’re delighted that it will be launching in paperback in February 2023.

What is your physical creative process? What materials and techniques do you use? I’m obsessed with taking photos of all kinds of surfaces - natural or man-made. It could be tree bark or a gravelly path or some rusty metal. I’ve curated such a huge library of textures that I should probably launch a downloadable image library. I draw (in pencil or on the ipad) and then pull everything together on my Mac.

What inspires your work? I’m inspired by the beauty of nature all around us, and I imagine looking through the eyes of my kids when we’re exploring the great outdoors.

How did lockdown affect the way you work and create? I became way more active on Instagram, which was really useful. I got involved with various 30-day challenges, or marketing exercises (like actually showing my face and introducing myself!). This was super helpful as it enabled me to pick up some work, and personal commissions like pet portraits which I love doing. I also really needed these challenges for my own mental health - to give me focus when I was otherwise homeschooling or making mud-pies.

Where do you work from? Tell us about your studio. I have a studio at the back of our house - it’s the only room that’s consistently a total mess. I’m surrounded by paints, paper, boxes, crafty stuff for kids, and display shelves of mounts, frames and artwork. The kids sometimes break in to look for my stash of favourite pens. I practise my window displays on the windows, and have a stunning view of the garden from my drawing table.

What is your favourite place to be for artistic inspiration? Out for a run by myself, or on walks with my family - always collecting images in my head or on my camera (I am very annoying to walk with). I tend to make notes rather than sketch them out, but my 2023 resolution will be to sketch these ideas more!

What artists inspire you, and why? I’m inspired by kid’s book illustrators - faves include Coralie Bickford-Smith for the darker elements in her creations, the late Eric Carle for his textures and layering, and I admire Rob Biddulph for his absolute precision design and the clever humour of his illustrations.

If you hadn’t become an artist, what would you have done? Perhaps be an architect - it was something I seriously considered during my A-Levels, but I didn’t have the patience for so many years of study!

How do you find the Frome area, in terms of creativity and artistic community? It’s inspiring to live in such a creative community, where artists and small business owners love to collaborate. People genuinely want to support each other with their ideas / events / photography / marketing / printing / websites / proof-reading / babysitting!

Are there any artistic processes/disciplines which you haven’t worked in/with, but would like to? Well funnily enough (!), myself and local supertalented artists/illustrators Tamsyn Gill and Louise Boulter are collaborating to launch the Naff Art Club. This is the brainchild of Jess Francombe, who’s really keen to help people rid any inhibitions they have around making their own art - and just to have fun creating. We’re planning to have guest artists show us their processes - so I’m personally hoping to get stuck into lino-cutting since I have zero experience. Our new monthly club will be supported by the wonderful Emergence Festival, and you don’t need to have any arty background whatsoever.

How can people see and buy your work? I’m @jennadoodles on Instagram, and my website is www.jennadoodles.co.uk. You can also find me with a suitcase stall at the Frome Independent Market.

For all things booky, we’re at www.doodlesandscribbles.co.uk and our books are available at all good bookshops.

For the Naff Art Club, follow us at @thenaffartclub