ART
From the dark into the light 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 Jacqueline Croft. Hers is an uplifting, hopeful story that many of us can be inspired by, especially after these last two difficult years. There are many elements to Jacqueline’s work. She enjoys playing with materials, and when I visited her bright, light-filled studio, she had me joining in. 40
Prepared boards were waiting for me, with gesso primer and imprinted textures. “Leaves, paper, bits and bobs,” says Jacquie. “Flat is quite 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, squirrelled away in wooden drawers. Jacquie 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 Jacquie emerged from her personal dark, into a gradual light. “My breakdown was the catalyst for discovering art,” says Jacquie. “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 difficult.” Having abandoned art at school, Jacquie 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.” Jacquie’s husband Nick, also a retired teacher, became her full-time carer during this very difficult year. In time, Jacquie 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
