When did you start your creative practice and why?
I was always making things as a child - drawings, paintings, toys, my own clothes - and so I followed my creative dream and, after a foundation year at Bournville College of Art in Birmingham, studied Fine Art and Art History at Goldsmiths College, University of London. But at the end of my degree in 1997, I felt a little lost artistically, and following stints working in an independent gallery in London and beginning a dressmaking apprenticeship, I moved back to Derbyshire, started a family and didn't really do anything creatively for myself for many years.
But there was always a creative itch, and in 2012 I happened to stumble upon an exhibition of felt art by Moy Mackay and was instantly intrigued. My husband bought me a place on a 3 hour wet felting workshop the following Christmas and I fell in love! At the time I was running an indoor play centre, but I found time to develop my new hobby, and when we sold our business in 2014 as I was about to have our third child, I knew this was my chance to follow my dream of being an artist. So I squeezed in felting sessions when my daughter was at playgroup and by the time she started school, I had shown my work for the first time at our local art trail.
How would you describe your artistic style to someone unfamiliar with your work?
Rich, colourful, striking from a distance but full of texture and visual detail close up.
What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to most often?
Walking in the landscape, the marks we, as humans, have left and continue to leave there. Also, the feeling of being drawn into the landscape, and experiencing fleeting moments as the light changes for example.
What is your creative process from idea to finished piece is it always the same?
It often begins while I’m out walking, with a quick photo taken on my phone. It then becomes a sketch in the studio, or I return to the same spot with my sketchbook to really get to the bottom of what caught my attention. I create little black and white thumbnails as I begin to design, playing with visual interest in the contrasts of dark and light, and I will spend some time thinking about other artists that I’m currently enjoying and why, and whether I can capture some of that magic in my own work.
Lately, I’ve begun a series of large felts after playing at a smaller scale first, with studies that then influence and inform what I’m interested in and how I move forward. I always have several pieces on the go, to give me mental space, and so that they help each other evolve. And, of course, each piece develops a life of its own as it comes into being, almost as if it's telling me what it needs!
How does your immediate environment or location play in your work?
Trees play a big part in my work, and living in Ambergate, Derbyshire, I’m surrounded by woodland and walks from my front door. I’m also very close to the Derbyshire Portway, a route that dates back to the Iron Age, crossing the county from Nottingham to the Peak beyond Edale, and which can still be followed in many places. I love spots that are steeped in history, where you can feel slightly lost in time, and parts of this route, which have been worn deep into the land from centuries of traversing feet, are truly special and have found their way into my felts.
Who are the artists (past or present) who have strongly influenced you?
I love the atmosphere and drama of JMW Turner’s captured moments, the thoughtfulness of Cornelia Parker’s installations and the beauty and richness of Clare Maria Wood’s abstracted landscapes. And I’m thoroughly enjoying the art world’s current obsession with textiles!
How has your style or perspective evolved over time?
My work has become richer and more considered. I’ve developed my own painterly techniques in my felting, creating layers, lines, depth and texture using fibre, thread and fabric as I might use paint, drawing and collage. I like to introduce new materials and ideas to keep things fresh and exciting, and hope my style will continue to evolve.
What tools, materials, or techniques are essential to your practice? Is there a colour you just couldn't do without?
Blues and golds appear again and again in my work. Sometimes I have a break, but I always go back!
How do you balance artistic expression with practical concerns like income or marketing, social media?
I’ve recently discovered that allowing myself mornings for practical tasks frees up my headspace to get properly stuck into my studio work after lunch. And it’s been a bit of a game changer!
If you could give the younger you advice what would it be?
Do what you need to do now, at this stage in your life, without regret or shame. In my twenties, I felt a bit of a failure because I’d gone to art school with such promise, and couldn’t find a way to make a career from it. It wasn’t until my early forties that I felt confident enough to follow my artistic path again, and to begin with I felt that I’d wasted all that time. But I’ve come to realise that everyone's journey is unique and makes them who they are. It’s never too late and you’ve been laying down the foundations, not wasting time!
If your work could evoke one feeling or reaction in viewers, what would it be?
There’s little better than hearing that my work is drawing the viewer in, as though they were following a path into the woods!
What is your website and how do we find you on social media?
www.stephjansenfinefelt.co.uk
www.instagram.com/feltsteph
www.facebook.com/FeltSteph
