From Student to Professional Artist
Stories and Memories: an interview with Jenny Stevenson
In this interview, professional artist Jenny shares her formative experiences studying at the Frederick Street art college building from 1995-1997. Now a successful mixed media artist, Jenny reflects on how those early educational experiences at what is now becoming the Generator arts centre shaped her artistic journey.
Jenny Stevenson, interviewed by Pasha Kincaid
Q: Jenny, could you tell me about your connection to the building on the corner of Pack Street and Frederick Street?
Jenny: I went to college there between the ages of 16 and 18. I went straight from school to art college and did the BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design from 1995 to 1997.
Q: What sort of things did you study in the building?
Jenny: It was a bit like an Art Foundation course. We did a bit of everything in the first year of the two-year course. We rotated through different sections - the Fine Art department, 3D work, graphic design, textiles, and lots and lots of drawing and painting as well.
Q: Were you on one particular floor or throughout the building?
Jenny: That's a really good question! I think I remember we were on the first floor for a lot of it for the BTEC, but as we moved to different areas, we used different parts of the building. But mainly we were on the first floor.
Q: What are some of your most enjoyable memories from your time there?
Jenny: One of the most memorable and best experiences was my first day. I'd come from doing art at school, which was a good foundation and taught all the basics, but school's a very different environment. Coming into art college, everybody there wanted to do art, so immediately you've got that common connection.
On the first day, they set up a still life, gave us paper, and taught us drawing exercises where we had to look at the objects but not at the paper, or draw with our left hand, or draw the negative spaces. It was just so different and it blew my mind! I thought, "Wow, this is so cool - I can't believe I'm here doing art every day!" It was amazing to be doing what I wanted to do with people who were more like me than at school and into the same sort of things. It was just really exciting.
Q: Would you say that foundation within your BTEC influenced your career going forward as an artist?
Jenny: Absolutely. I knew I wanted to do art - that was what I was really good at in school, and I knew I wanted to go on and do something within art, though I wasn't quite sure what. The course really validated what I was thinking. I just knew that I was on the right path.
Q: What have you gone on to do since then?
Jenny: I'm a professional artist now, creating mixed media collage pieces. I exhibit my work all around the UK and sometimes internationally as well. I work on projects where I research an area, its history and industry, and then create work in response to that. I work a lot with communities too - running workshops and conducting interviews as part of my research to really get to know everybody as much as I can. All of that feeds into the work.
Q: After your BTEC, did you go on to do a degree?
Jenny: Yes, I did. One of the challenges during the BTEC was that in the first year, you try everything, but in the second year, you're expected to narrow it down and decide on one thing. I found that quite difficult.
I ended up choosing graphic design because they said, "You can do a bit of everything within that - add textiles, fine art, painting, or drawing." I still didn't want to specialise when I went to university either. I spent quite a lot of time in the printmaking department in my second year at Frederick Street and thought maybe that's what I wanted to do.
I'm glad I didn't specialise. I found a university course that was similar to what I had been doing but at a higher degree level. Looking back at where my work is now and the journey it's been on since Loughborough, I still don't specialise. I bring in materials that are important to the area and industry I'm researching. For instance, I just completed a project about boot and shoe factories and framework knitting, so I incorporated materials like leather, laces, eyelets, knitted fabric, and stitching.
What makes my work cohesive isn't necessarily the materials or media, but rather the colour palette and composition. I think I made the right decision in not specialising - and probably never will!
Q: Is there anything specific you learned on the BTEC at Frederick Street that has influenced your work today?
Jenny: Definitely! A couple of things - we were really heavy on drawing. We had to draw all the time, and that has stayed with me. It might not be immediately obvious in my current work that there's a lot of drawing involved, but in understanding a place or buildings I'm researching, there's so much drawing done on location and back in the studio that leads to the final work.
Also, that element of play and experimentation has carried through. We were always encouraged to push what we were doing - try anything out! Do a piece, then rip it up and collage it back together, or throw paint over something and scrape bits off. That sort of play and experimentation has definitely continued. In fact, I still reserve two hours every Friday to meet with others online and use that time for play, experimentation, and sketchbook work - just trying something new. I think it's really important because you can get quite stuck in comfortable ways, but trying something new pushes your work forward and develops it.
Q: Were there any particularly influential tutors that you met at Frederick Street?
Jenny: All of them were influential, but for me, Allison was probably the most significant. She conducted my interview to get into the course, and I felt like she believed in me. She led me through the programme, and when I was having trouble deciding which area to specialise in, we had a big chat and she suggested graphic design would be better because I could use all elements.
There were others too: Sue was there all the way through, Russ who did the drawing lessons and art history, Martin who was one of the drawing teachers, and Yanina who taught textiles. I've met some of them recently, and it was really good to reconnect and reminisce about our time there. I was proud to tell them I'm still creating art.]
Q: The old art college building and the Generator are being transformed into a new multidisciplinary arts centre. What would you love to see in the building, given that you're fairly local?
Jenny: I think it's great that it's going to be used for the arts! I'd love to see a connection back to its history as a college - perhaps having a connection with the current college or university and exhibiting their work if there's a gallery space. It would also be wonderful to see alumni work - people like me - exhibited there all these years later. That would be really special.
Q: You've brought some of your work to show us. Could you tell us about it?
Jenny: I've brought some pieces to give a taste of what we used to do and to show how some aspects of my work have remained similar. We used to do loads of drawing exercises - capturing the outer edges of shapes, measured drawings, negative space, drawing back in with a rubber into pencil.
I still feel drawing is really important now - I run a drawing club in Derby. When you've looked at something to draw it, you've fully observed it in a completely different way than just taking a photograph. You've had to examine all the different lines and how things relate to one another.
We used to create these sheets where you'd break the paper up into sections and do different drawings or textures in each part. When you complete a couple, it seems easy, but by the time you get to the last one, you're really having to dig deep creatively!
I've brought examples of work with different techniques - like this one with paper punctured with a needle from the back, which I still use all the time now. The grid format has really stayed with me too - I still do everything in grids! For me, it's about storytelling, capturing different parts of something and showing different aspects - maybe around a building, inside and outside, different perspectives with people's stories, coming together as a whole to tell a complete narrative.
We were encouraged to experiment - seeing what happens if you use scrunched-up masking tape, or draw over paint, or paint over a drawing and then draw back over the top of it. It makes you more daring. We were told never to throw anything away because it could always be useful - that's why I've kept everything!
Q: Given that you create art in response to buildings, how might you respond to the Generator building with its unique history?
Jenny: The first thing I would do is research its history, because I actually don't know what it was before it was a college. That's what gets me excited - digging into learning about something new. Then I would want to talk to people - "What did you do there? What was it like when you were there?" All of that feeds into my work.
I would also draw on location - visit, draw different angles, try to get inside and draw looking out the windows if possible. I've been working on projects in different areas, and they all seem to happen naturally through connections to places. I'd love to do a project in Loughborough again and have that connection back to the town.
It would be fascinating to revisit the building having studied there, seeing it decades on and responding to its transformation. I'd love to see what it becomes and be a part of that as well.
Jenny is now a successful professional artist creating mixed-media collage pieces that respond to local history, architecture, and community stories. Her formative education at Frederick Street continues to influence her artistic practice today.
