Using a palette inspired by the architecture of the ancient city of Venice Jessica Maskery’s work is filled with bold blocks of rich considered colour and form. She effortlessly respects the heritage of her surroundings whilst giving it a vibrancy that at once feels modern and timeless. Find out more about Jessica and her work…
Where did you study and what was the course title?
University for the Creative Arts, Farnham. Studying Textiles for Fashion and Interiors – Specialising in Printed Textiles.
Name of your lecturer – course tutor?
Sharon Ting
Have you got a creative mission?
How important is colour in your work and how do you choose and narrow down colours?
Colour is always very important; throughout the development of my work I often work on my compositions and my colour separately. For this collection I have taken my inspiration from Venice Architecture, the colour ways I have chosen are very important in making my compositions work. Using a monochromatic colour scheme for my work brings the compositions together due to the amount of layering of shapes it balances them.
Tell us about our creative process – where do you find inspiration?
The inspiration for my work always comes from places I have been, I take hundreds of photographs. This builds an archive for me to go back to, to draw and paint from, this is a very important part of my process. I always work out my structural ideas and colours separately, playing around with the colour runs along my whole process, right up until the end. It develops with each piece I create.
What is the best bit of the creative process – journey or destination?
The journey is always the best part. Each piece you are working on sparks more and more ideas, I love bouncing between printing and processing ideas through my sketchbook. My process can be very unexpected at times. It can be very frustrating at times, but you also have some amazing unexpected colours come through. When discharging out colours you never know what the colour might turn out like, I have made a piece that the discharge has come out as a bright vibrant colour and has finished off the whole piece when I thought it was layers off being finished. This makes up for the times things didn’t turn out quite how you wanted.
Creative low point?
There have been many creative low points throughout this year. Working with colour is always challenging, I had a point where I couldn’t get my colour right, it wasn’t working. Taking a step back to try and see what isn’t working, it took a while to get it right. It was as simple as changing the fabric, each fabric takes colour differently. This was definitely a creative low point, but in the end helped to bring my work together.
Creative high point?
My creative high point this year links into my low point, finally getting my colour working with my composition. This made my whole collection and spring boarded everything that came from that moment.
Where do you want to be in 3 years’ time?
I love the hands on making, the hand dyeing and screen printing is very satisfying, so in three years I would love to be still making and creating. By this point I would love to be in the process of setting up my own studio to work on my own work.
Is there one person during your studies/life who has really made a difference to you?
It is very hard to single out one person who has helped me, everyone around me have helped me through. My family and my friends have been a massive support for me. The tutor and technicians UCA Farnham have been amazing with pushing me to try new ideas.
What is your favourite colour?
I wouldn’t say I have a favourite colour, for me it’s hard to decide. There’re so many colours I wouldn’t be able to narrow it down. Even if I could, it would likely change day to day.
Contact details: JessicaMaskery@hotmail.co.uk
Social media details Instagram: ByJessicaMaskery
Image credits: Jessica Maskery
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