Every month Brave Island runs a Young Creative of the Month fund, where we spotlight a local young creative with an interview on our blog, and support them with funding of £100. This month its artist Rosie Johnson. This fund launches at the beginning of every month, you can apply to be Young Creative of the Month for May here.
Please tell us about your creative practice
I am an art student living in Ryde and currently doing an Art Foundation year at the Island VI Form. I am intrigued by many fine art forms but particularly enjoy mixed media work. As an artist I am resourceful and experimental, I enjoy process and like to see how work evolves rather than being solution based. I have learnt to love printmaking, finding the physical activity pleasing and the unpredictable outcomes rewarding. At sixth form I have tried out dry point etching, lino, gelli, screen and mono printing and particularly enjoyed using etching press. I am mindful of waste and reworking materials is something I like to do with prints and sketches, whether that be through collage or watercolour painting. My next steps after foundation are to move off Island to study Fine Art – currently deciding on which university to choose!
Where do you draw influence from for the art you create?
For as long as I can remember the natural world has fascinated me and ultimately been my main source of inspiration for my art and creative practice. Growing up on the Isle of Wight has allowed me to explore the environment through the observation of local wildlife, and this has been a constant passion throughout my life. I also love to spend time bird watching as it enables me to tune into my surroundings and seeing and hearing nature keeps me grounded and fuels my creativity! Of course I am inspired by famous artists but the creative people that have surrounded me all my life inspire me the most – my parents, family friends, art teachers and local creatives.
Can you tell us about a piece of Art you’ve created that you are particularly proud of?
Something I am proud of is my A-Level coursework final piece. My coursework theme surrounded the idea of ‘Unlocking The Biosphere’ in which I focused on my connection with the environment on the Isle of Wight. I mapped out three coastal locations and recorded my observations, highlighting species and photographing natural forms to build a visual diary. All of this research culminated in creating three map-like folding books, each intertwining with one another – the foldable nature of the books lend themselves to being portable. The project as a whole took many months and the final outcome took a couple of weeks. The part I am most proud of is the range of mediums I managed to incorporate, including watercolour, lino and etching, ceramics, cyanotype, photography and ink drawings.
Where can people find your work if they’d like to support you?
You can follow me on Instagram: @rosie.skylark for art and @secret_skylark for wildlife.
