ART
rom the dar into the li ht Village People is delighted to welcome a brand new art writer – award-winning Suffolk author, illustrator and artist, James Mayhew
Jacqueline Croft in her studio
T
he festivities of Christmas are now just a memory, and we are all impatient for spring. Perhaps this year, more than ever, the early signs of new life, as we emerge, hopefully, from the pandemic, seem more precious than ever. You may just catch the last of the snowdrops at Ickworth House or Sheringham Park, or see glowing aconites huddled around burgeoning trees, with swollen buds. The days grow longer, the skies brighter. The turning seasons, and the ever changing elements of nature have proven to be especially significant for Norfolk-based artist Jac ueline Croft. Hers is an uplifting, hopeful story that many of us can be inspired by, especially after these last two di cult years. There are many elements to Jac ueline’s work. She enjoys playing with materials, and when I visited her bright, light-filled studio, she had me joining in. 44
Prepared boards were waiting for me, with gesso primer and imprinted textures. eaves, paper, bits and bobs, says Jac uie. Flat is uite dull. Texture you can sand back, it’s more organic. This process of serendipitous exploration seems to suit her especially well. Things are not planned, and old canvasses are often reworked into something new, layer upon layer, then rubbed back and painted again. There is clingfilm to lay upon watercolour washes, and paints galore, s uirrelled away in wooden drawers. Jac uie has me using brave colour combinations, and using a non-dominant hand to draw a dried seed head. Experiment. Play. These are words that crop up time and again in our conversation, as we talk about how Jac uie emerged from her personal dark, into a gradual light. My breakdown was the catalyst for discovering art, says Jac uie. I think it is for many
people when you have a sudden change in your life you have the potential to do different things. If you are a busy person, to stop suddenly is really di cult. Having abandoned art at school, Jac uie went into teaching, and ended up a head teacher at a school in Suffolk. I’d always been capable, the one who did everything, she says. But after being a successful career person, there I was, suddenly unable to even talk or leave the house. Jac uie’s husband Nick, also a retired teacher, became her full-time carer during this very di cult year. In time, Jac uie realised he needed a break from looking after her, and on a walk through Bungay she stopped outside the Art Trading Company (Bungay’s excellent art shop) and saw a painting course advertised. Although the thought of being alone with people she didn’t know was daunting, she said to Nick, I think I could do that. It proved
