Making It: Cardiff School of Art and Design Alumni Magazine

MAKINGIT

CONTENTSPAGE No

3 .................................... PAUL JOHNSON 5 ...................................... LYDIA MEEHAN 7................................... GARETH McNEIL 9 ................................ INGRID MURPHY11 ................... MEIRION GINSBURGH 13 ...................... JULIA RICHARDSON 15 ................................. JOSH SPINDLER 17.................................LAURA SORVALA19 ................................. AMANDA AGYEI21 ............................... VICTOR HAGGER23 ...............................CLARA WATKINS25 ..................... CHARLIE CHARLICK27 ..................................... NICOLE MILES29 ................................. ALEX JOHNSON31 ............................... ALEX McCARTHY33 .............................. DAVID EMANUEL

FRONT COVERGideon Petersen, Sculptor, with Jacob Bowen, with their installed sculpture of the University’s Crest.

INSIDE FRONT COVERPortrait of Sir William Goscombe John (1860-1952) by ROILOS,George (1867 - 1928). By kind permission of the National Museums of Wales.

CREDITSCopywriting: Vikki HuttonPhotography: Mal Bennet, CSAD, Cardiff MetDesign: Sarah Garwood, Corporate Design Team, Cardiff Met

1

There are some disturbingly false assumptions about thecareer trajectory of art and design graduates. Perhaps the mostannoying, because of its sheer persistence, is that ourgraduates are somehow duty-bound to leave behind threepassionate stimulating years of creating, exploring and makingthings and fit into a nice nine to five job that conforms to an allpervading stereo-type of what is or isn’t, proper graduateemployment. Without this, they and their education aredeemed to have fallen short in some way.

We would beg to differ and the evidence of this collection of essays gives an insight intojust how extraordinary our graduates are. To turn all of this on its head, art and design graduates are people whomake their own opportunities, whether this is on their own or in large organisations. They are more likely to bepeople who run against the grain of the ‘norm’ and, through doing so, situate themselves to make a genuinedifference in whatever it is they do.

The sheer guts of these savvy people are what marks them out. They have no desire to starve in a garret and haveno expectation that in some Macawber-like way something will ‘turn-up’ and land in their laps. Instead they maketheir opportunities and will move heaven and earth to achieve their ambitions. That might mean holding down allkinds of jobs, menial and otherwise, as they build their body of work, make their connections and deliver theirprojects. It can be a long road, but most of them make it nevertheless. We’re proud of them.

It is the nature of many Universities to celebrate the success of those alumni who have reached the status of being‘household names’. CSAD has a few of these. Arguably, the most influential of our alumni is Sir William GoscombeJohn (1860-1952), leader of the ‘New Sculpture’ movement, a significant force in the late nineteenth century culturalrevival in Wales, whose work is most frequently known through his war memorials. To his name can be that of thecartoonists and illustrators, Joseph Morewood Staniforth (1863 -1921) and Leslie Gilbert Illingworth (1902-79), painterErnest Zobole (1927 –1999), the award winning film production designer Brian Savegar (1932 –2007) and the fashiondesigner David Emmanuel (1952-).

Importance is a relative quality. Notwithstanding the School’s association with celebrity, the fact is that, over a periodof 150 years, its thousands of graduates have enriched the world with their creativity; quietly, emphatically, but withlittle celebration. They have been the teachers, designers, makers, architects and artists whose inspiration has madethe kind of difference that drives forward the qualities of our lives.

We know something of the first generation of students in Cardiff Art School. We know that they came to improvetheir skills and hence their opportunities and that they undertook their classes in central Cardiff at the end of a day’swork.

They were benefiting from a Government initiative that over a forty-year period in the nineteenth centurypurposefully established, maintained and enhanced art education in art schools through out the UK, primarily toensure that British industry could remain competitive, especially with the French. Regardless of a central curriculum,the scope of training in the UK art schools varied to some degree in response to local economic need.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, because of the docks, Cardiff was a boom-town, with an emergentmiddle class whose needs were met by both retail development and the kind of new housing that lifted aspirationswhilst deepening the class divide. It followed that the first generation of Cardiff Art School’s students weredeveloping drawing and design skills that would lead to employment in the construction industry. Today, with theirdesigns for fireplaces and chimney decoration, they would be on either our Architectural Design and Technology orour Product Design Programmes. We recognise them and believe they would recognise the commitment and driveof our current students.

Here are the names of the Cardiff Art School Prize winners from the first ten years of the School, from 1866: BassetJones, TH Riches, W Coe, H C Harris, Edward Seward, William Bidgood, M E Foster, Miss E E South, R S Boyer, E CMorgan, and R S Boyer.

We know that E C Morgan, particularly, attended classes on three evenings a week, walking five miles each way,through winter and spring. He won the silver Science medal for his drawing. We salute him and them, and all ourgraduates. They are made of stern stuff.

Professor Gaynor KavanaghDean, Cardiff School of Art & DesignCardiff Metropolitan University

Above: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Above: Bristol Old Vic

www.gds.uk.com

3

“But they’re quite different, aren’t they?” I ask, a littleconfused.

“Yeah, they’re totally different disciplines,” he replies witha laugh, his frankness amusing me. “I just enjoyedlighting and I liked old buildings… It was going to be oneof the two.”

When I learn what he does now – a truly unique rolecombining his knowledge of both – I briefly entertainthe question of whether Paul may have ever beentempted to make it look like part of some grand plan,rather than a happy coincidence after a lot of hard work.

But I sense he’s not a showy person who’d like to dressup the details. He’s someone who doesn’t have a jobtitle – just “I’m the architectural lighting guy…” – andwho has to be asked about the projects I’d have forgivenhim for namedropping (from the Old Vic andHammersmith Apollo to Wembley Arena and Sadler’sWells). Even then, the only credit he’ll take is as the manwith a hard hat and a yellow vest on over a suit, “puttingcrosses on everything with a marker pen so theelectricians will know where it’s all got to go.” Everythingis understated, and lined with good humour.

Yet it was a serious decision to step out of a career ingraphic design, in which Paul had been rising throughthe ranks at pace. “I’d done my HND at UWIC and spenta number of years working in graphic design”, heexplains – but something was amiss.

“I’d always had this feeling of wanting to do somethingwith architecture. I’d hankered after the idea for such along time that I realised maybe this was the moment todig my heels in and commit to doing it.”

After almost a decade on the career ladder, Paul re-enrolled at the newly-named CSAD as a mature student.

“It was huge step, and it was hard-going,” he admits. “Thethought of not achieving was too much; I cancelledeverything outside of studying to achieve what I had setmyself to do.”

“It was odd,” he remembers, “after graduating, to besitting on the other side of the interview table again.”

Paul’s first job in architecture saw him working onGeorgian manor houses in Bath with Watson Bertram &Fell. “It was a very steep learning curve!” he laughs. “Iwas working alongside the director, doing contracts,documentation; designing; extractions, frontages,

When Paul Johnson graduated from CSAD as a maturestudent of Architectural Design and Technology, he faced a

choice between two specialist areas to pursue: historicalbuildings or lighting.

PAUL JOHNSON

swimming pools, orangeries – everything you canimagine.”

When the recession hit, and work slowed up, Paul otherfascination – lighting – came back into focus.

He got in touch with a friend who had started acompany called GDS, neither knowing then the impactthat collaborating would go on to have.

“There had been all these discussions about makingwirelessly controlled LED lights work like a traditionaltungsten light bulb. GDS had the products and the ideasbut they didn’t have the skills to integrate them intobuildings. That’s where I could come in, witharchitectural and design ability to take over where theguys were already selling the products.”

That was three years ago, at which point GDS weregaining more of a reputation in the theatre world, before– as Paul puts it – “we realised we had somethingspecial.”

“We were the only company in the world thatcould do lights like we do and control themlike we do,” he explains.

Now they have projects the world over, and Paul gets totreat as his office exceptional venues such as Sadler’sWells, Wembley Arena, and the Lyceum theatre. Herecently returned from Ghana, where he was working ona church which hosts 25,000 people.

But the project he’s proudest of? Much closer to home.

“The Bristol Old Vic,” he tells me, where he was broughtin for the redesign. “The location of all the house lights,the gallery front fittings – that was me going aroundwith a pen marking everything out, designing it in 3D first,locating everything; then I’m there with a hard hat onand bright yellow vest over a suit putting crosses oneverything so the electricians know where it’s all got togo.”

“I loved that process,” he tells me, still chuffed (andunderstandably so), “and it looks fantastic.”

“We do stuff everywhere now; America… Australia… butit’s Old Vic, you know? There’s something special aboutthat place.”

“Yeah…” he adds, thinking aloud, “I’m really proud of that.”

BSc (HONS)ARCHITECTURALDESIGN &TECHNOLOGY 2006

Above: A collage of Lydia's grandmother's belongings

Below: Lydia studying

Above: 'She used to be a scream' – Video work inspired by Lydia's grandparents' golden wedding anniversary

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“I never imagined myself going into community work,”she tells me, “but I really enjoy working with peopleevery day, talking through ideas and being creative.”

Arriving at CSAD to study Fine Art in 2010, Lydiaenvisaged three years dedicated solely to painting.Instead, she found inspiration in three-dimensionalpieces; conceptual work; and people – all of whichwould wonderfully frame the opportunities in her nextchapter.

“It’s strange; the transition between what you think youwant to do when you arrive, and what your eyes are thenopened up to,” she says. “I reached a point where I felt Icouldn’t express my ideas through painting, so I beganworking more conceptually focusing on ideas; writingand thinking about things and how they made me feel.”

With newfound vision, Lydia made a successfulapplication for the Dulcie Mayne Stephens MemorialTrust travel bursary and set off to Glasgow for a shorttrip which would prove a pivotal moment.

“I think it taught me that I needed time to appreciate asingle piece of art. I tend to rush around and look at alot of things as I have such a broad spectrum ofinterests,” she says, “but in those few days in Glasgow Iwas looking at just two pieces of art by one specificartist – Karla Black.”

“That was amazing; the things you learn from taking thattime, listening to other people’s observations, thinkingabout the use of space and architecture and how thatreflects upon the work.”

By the time her third year came around, Lydia had seenher installation work featured in an exhibition; she wasinterning for new initiative The Attic Galley; and she hadtaken up a place on the degree show committee – allthis, in addition to her academic work.

After graduation, she became a Project Co-ordinator fora community art project and a facilitator for visual arts inprimary schools. Later, when she took on the additionalrole of co-ordinating volunteers for Cardiff’s Made inRoath festival, Lydia found herself back at CSAD.

“I spent a day there getting people excited about thefestival and signing people up, when I met a colleaguefrom Cardiff Met’s Centre of Student Entrepreneurship.”

Thirty minutes after Lydia learned they had a vacancy forsomeone to look after Launch Pad, their enterprise

The making of every great story is having an ending, jumpingback to the beginning, and unfolding the middle in such a way

that the outcome fits just perfectly. What’s endearing abouttalking to 23-year-old Lydia is that, as much as she says thepast couple of years have come by surprise, to the reader it

feels inevitable that she’d find herself in exactly this role.

LYDIA MEEHAN

society, she was sending off her CV. During apresentation in which she was expected to focus onhow to run Launch Pad in a way which would involvemore students in enterprise activity, Lydia instead gavethe spotlight to the curriculum and the degree show; “Itwas something they weren’t really looking for,” she says,

“but they liked it.” It secured her a paid internship inwhich she ultimately became responsible forstrengthening relationships at CSAD and inspiringstudents to get involved in extra-curricular activities.

“It would have been nice to have stayed longer,” shereflects. “If I could go back to studying at the art school, Iwould in a second. You have to appreciate everythingyou have while you’re there; the space, the people, thefreedom to direct your own projects… the tech support!”

“And the career advice,” she adds. “Not many peopleutilise the career services, but I couldn’t have got herewithout them.”

‘Here’ is the Wales Millennium Centre, where Lydia hasrecently taken up a one-year, paid placement as aCommunity Engagement Assistant – an exciting andvaried role tapping into Lydia’s artistic background,appreciation of space, and her natural ease with people.

“Today, for example,” she tells me, “I’ve been setting upfor a children’s workshop, researching Chinese New Year,talking to a theatre director, brainstorming ideas forRoald Dahl celebrations in 2016, and having meetingsabout the centre’s five-year strategy plan.”

“There’s so much that I’m interested in,” shesays. “But what I think I love the most isseeing the effect that art has on people;particularly people who wouldn’t necessarilyget involved with it otherwise.”

Later this year, she’ll have the opportunity to take upthree placements; one in Wales, one UK-based, and oneinternational. “It’s as much about my professionaldevelopment as it is bringing back better practice to theCentre,” she explains.

Ultimately, Lydia would like to balance the sort of roleshe has now with some time to dedicate to her ownpractice. And as she speaks with equal passion on thesubject of both, I’m sure she’ll be successful; with greatstories, after all, a perfect ending leaves a hint of asequel.

BA (HONS) FINE ART 2013

Above: Joseph Joseph adjustable dish rack

Above: Joseph Joseph waste separation unit

Above: Mothercare Myhi highchair

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Currently a Product Design Manager for the iconicJoseph Joseph contemporary kitchenware company –with products being sold in 102 markets worldwide – 33-year-old Gareth explains that globalisation has beenone of the biggest changes to the industry he’s knownfor over a decade.

So what does it mean to have to think, and work, on atruly global scale? “Even though I work for a UK business,we have to deliver products which work across differentglobal markets,” says Gareth. “So, launching a new dishrack, for example, we have to think about the fact thatpeople wash up differently in the US than they do in theUK, and it’s different again in Japan.” It’s a point soglaringly obvious once you’ve acknowledged it that Ibriefly drift off and wonder how many would-bedesigners have been mid-pitch when their thousands ofpounds worth of research and design has fallen apartwith one such knock.

I’m brought back to present as Gareth explains that he’salso seen a substantial shift in attitudes towards designitself.

“People are much more aware of design now,”he tells me. “There’s a greater understandingof what value design adds to a product, orcompany, or service; it’s more of a provenentity.”

Having trained for two years in Glasgow, Gareth joinedthe second year of the Product Design programme atCSAD (then UWIC) in 2001. “I wanted to do a multi-disciplined, creative design course, and Product Designat UWIC was the best fit,” he says. There, he couldimmerse himself in the different elements of thecreative process, which is what had always drawn Garethtowards a career in Product Design – “the chance tolearn a lot of skills from being creative, and makingsthings, right through to presentations and marketing.”

“But the onus, then, was on the student to make themost of the opportunities available,” he adds. “Thereweren’t, by default, live projects or international travel aspart of the course.” The upshot of that was that Garethrelied on a strong portfolio and the ability to network,which I realise is, incidentally, not bad advice for soon-to-be graduates today.

Before my conversation with Gareth McNeil, I’d never thought about how people wash-up dishes

in Japan. “Design is really all about the people,” hetells me. “It’s not just about the product,

it’s behaviours and attitudes.”

GARETH McNEIL

Gareth sought out summer placements whilst he wasstudying, and the impression he’d left with lecturersmeant his name was put forward when Alloy, then oneof the top 5 Product Design consultancies in the UK,contacted the school looking for graduates to join theranks.

“It was a great opportunity,” Gareth remembers; not ayear out of education and he was putting into practiceuser insight, product development, and marketing withdifferent clients in mind, which included working with BTon their home telephone ranges.

He later joined Mothercare’s Home and Travel division,rising quickly through the ranks to become SeniorProduct Designer.

“Working in-house, for a retailer, you take a design rightthrough to the point it hits the shelves,” he begins, whenasked about the highlights of his time with thisinternationally recognised brand. “I spent a lot of time inChina working with suppliers and would oversee thewhole process; from the materials used and keeping themanufacturing costs down, to shipping and marketing.”

“Mothercare have more than 1,000 stores across theworld, in over 60 markets,” he adds, “seeing yourproducts in different cultures was really exciting.”

That hasn’t changed since he joined Joseph Joseph asProduct Design Manager, where a typical day starts earlyfor calls to the Far East and involves working with designagencies, marketing, and strategy teams as Garethmanages up to 15 projects – at different stages andacross Joseph Joseph’s Spring/Summer Autumn/Winterseasonal calendar – at any one time.

Keeping him grounded at the height of responsibilityand innovation are the universal truths he’s alwaysrelied upon: “The simple, clever ideas will always be thestrongest,” he says. “You’ve got to be working onproducts that interest you, but it’s not really about theproduct category. It’s about creating that point ofdifference; a product which is desirable not onlybecause it looks nice, but because it’s going to be veryuseful, and make a difference, in the lives of the peoplewho are ultimately going to be using it.”

BA (HONS)PRODUCT DESIGN2003

Above: Teaching Art History in La Perdrix

Above: "Things Men Have Made" - AR interactive Object & Film

ingridmurphy.wordpress.com

Above: "Home" - AR Interactive ceramic pinhole camera & sound object Above: "Hacking Histories" - The artist as St George

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During college, she was taught by a graduate of theschool and inspired by alumni who would presentvisiting lectures; mindful of its reputation, she stillremembers the excitement of arriving for herself in its

“hallowed halls.” Twenty-five years later, Ingrid’s backunder the same roof – now known at CSAD – havingbeen subject leader for Ceramics and a key member ofthe team to launch the flagship Artist Designer: Makercourse.

When we (virtually) meet via Skype, Ingrid is in Francemaking work for exhibition, whilst hosting visitors to theretreat she runs with her husband; a beautiful 13thcentury property between a church and a graveyardwhich, as well as having 15 bedrooms, has a ceramicsstudio and space for painting and drawing. She’s alsopreparing to give a speech at the International Academyof Ceramics conference on the future of ceramics.

“Well I don’t watch telly…” she says with alaugh when I ask how she compartmentalises.

“I’m lucky. Everything I do, between Franceand Wales, it’s all conducive to creativity.”

It’s also all related to the idea of exploring newpossibilities within art and design, starting in 2011, whenIngrid – then course leader of Ceramics at CSAD – wasawarded the Creative Wales Award to study how newtechnologies affect the role of the sole practitioner.

“I’ve always been a bit of a geek,” she says, explainingrecent work ‘hacking’ herself into famous historicalobjects, as well as 3D printing her husband, “but it wasalso about what I have to teach.”

“We started up-skilling on a lot of digital process, 3Dprinting, 3D scanning, augmented reality; looking veryclosely at how, in a sense, there was a social revolutionhappening in making… I felt it would be lovely time tocreate a new type of programme.” This was thebeginning of Artist Designer: Maker, now in its third yearof recruitment.

Since its formation, Maker students have been regularsat Ingrid’s art retreat in France, where a week ofadventure and challenges await.

“We use the house and its objects as starting points forprojects,” she says. There’s a strict schedule; work startsat 9am and often continues after dusk. But there’s alsothat lovely team atmosphere, with well-earned rewardsfor hard work, like a dip in the picturesque river nearbyor a trip to the market.

In 1990, Ingrid Murphy – who always knew that shewanted to teach – applied to complete her post-graduate

diploma, followed by a Masters degree in Ceramics, at the South Glamorgan Institute.

INGRID MURPHY

If the spectacular setting wasn’t enough, it helps thatthe work is – well – pretty cool. Recent projects includeceramic funerary urns featuring pinhole cameras toallow for ‘selfies’ taken at arm’s length. “You couldattach any digital information you wanted to that image,”Ingrid explains. “Life stories… photos from your everyday,or a special place… it was about what you might want toleave behind and how you might want to beremembered.”

This is when I first understand what Ingrid will go on tooutline as a key feature of her upcoming speech; thatnew technology not only changes how we design andmake art, but also how we conceive and perceive it.

“I’d always made objects – art which sits there,” she says.“The beauty of new technology is that you can makesomething, which has been formed through an inertmaterial, do something interesting.” Like the tea-cosyshe made for her father who lives alone back in Ireland;an idea I fall in love with instantly. “I designed it toinclude a heat sensor and wifi shield,” Ingrid explains, “sowhen the tea cosy goes on the pot in Ireland, it activatesthe light where I make the tea in my kitchen in Cardiff.So I’m connected to him, in a way,” she says,

“through objects.”

“That’s the thrill of what we’re doing on the Maker course,”she tells me. “New ways of making are becomingpossible; ideas once intangible are now very readilyrealised. We really feel like we’re moving with the times,but we’re bringing with us an incredible heritage of craft skill.”

“If you’ve got a confidence in materials, skills, ability andreally interesting processes – like bronze casting, glass,clay, or textiles – and you’ve got your finger on thepulse of how things are being created, you can diversifyquickly but with skills that are very special.”

“That’s the beauty of what our students can do,” she says– and I sense the feeling is mutual. Proud as Ingrid is ofthe work produced for her Creative Wales award (finallycompleted in Spring 2014), she’d sooner speak of theprivilege of helping students see their potential inFrance, and the pleasure of receiving the Student LeadTeaching Fellowship for Innovation in 2013, as voted forby CSAD students. It perfectly illustrates that Ingrid hashelped create, for thousands of students, the sense ofpossibilities she remembers when first arriving at CSADas she now ventures with them into an excitingunknown – the future of design.

MA CERAMICS1992

Above: Girl With Orange Background Above: Grump

www.maginsberg.co.uk

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“That’s the reason that I’ve been able to make art for aliving,” 29-year-old Meirion says, reflecting on theopportunity to showcase his work to an internationalclientele. “I’m really grateful for that.”

Graduating from CSAD with a degree in Fine Art in 2007,Meirion was always going to be a painter; it’s the onething which comes across so clearly – in how he speaks,and how he works – that makes his natural shyness sosurprising, and his decision to leave the factory for amakeshift studio in his spare bedroom such a relief.

Meirion’s paintings make up a collection of striking,sunken-eyed, textured faces; colourful figures in vibrantrooms and patterned surroundings. They have nameslike ‘Grump’ and ‘Girl with orange background’.

“I don’t think my work is a million miles fromwhat I was doing when I was studying,

” he says. “Those three things – colour, thefigure, and pattern – are really important inmy work today, as they were then. But I’vebecome more experienced and gained a betterunderstanding of the medium since.”

When we start talking about work ethic, I get a glimpseinto the mind of a 19-year-old Meirion; an undiagnoseddyslexic whose attention was rarely distracted fromwanting to create paintings. A decade later, he remainsincredibly focused without having lost his old habit towork with an almost frantic-level of creativity.

“I try to work as energetically as possible,” Meirion tellsme. He likes to start and finish one portrait beforemoving on to the next, and he improvises often –sometimes going from blank canvas to finished portraitin a matter of hours. “If I slow down, I get into troublewhere I overthink what I’m doing.”

“My work is quite conservative in the sense that there’salways a figure, and a definite composition,” he says,

“but if you look at the brush marks, they’re pulled backand forth.” Occasionally, he’ll arrange a figure on top ofolder paintings which have been rubbed out.

“Improvising can be risky because you don’t always knowwhere the picture, or the face, is going,” he says. “But Iwant that energy and spontaneity when I’m working.”

Meirion Ginsberg tells me quite frankly that, at onepoint not so long ago, he was quite sure he’d be

working in factories and as a labourer for the rest ofhis life. Yet in February this year, he had a solo show

at Cardiff’s Martin Tinney gallery.

MEIRION GINSBERG

For his latest show, most of Meirion’s paintings weremade in a day, though not all would make it to thegallery wall.

“I’d say I destroy about 50% of paintings,” Meirion says,which pains me to hear. “If the door was hanging off inyour house, you’re not going to just leave it there, areyou? You’re going to fix it. Sometimes it’s better ‘out ofsight, out of mind’.”

“Somewhere down the line I’ll realise I’ve chucked outsome good things,” he admits. “But that’s just how it is.”

Isn’t it exhausting, I ask, working at that pace all thetime?

“It’s an interesting question, actually” he says. “As I’vegotten older I’ve realised I have to burn energy in adifferent way; I go running, I record music. I’ve got toclear my mind in a way that’s not always painting – butthose things are still helpful to the creative process.”

Such is the flip-side of that frantic focus – never beingable to switch off.

“You’re constantly trying to absorb things that surroundyou in your environment,” Meirion explains. “I can bewalking down the street and see a colour combination –like a door and a wall colour together – and I’ll have totake those ideas with me.”

And what about faces, I’m dying to ask – does he noticepeople in the street whose image could end up oncanvas?

“There’s definitely that,” he tells me. “Some people… I’dlove to go up to them and ask if I could paint them, but Idon’t have the courage to do it. Maybe when my profileis a bit bigger, and if I bump into someone who mightknow me – but I feel I’m out of my bounds to do that atthe moment.”

I understand, of course, and although I’d like to seemore confidence for Meirion, I think in its absence thereis a beautiful bittersweetness. To lock eyes with hiscollection of nameless faces is to see – in the strokes,colours and layers – the patterns of lives you’ll neverknow any more about. And that sort of curiosity has,evidently, universal appeal.

BA (HONS) FINE ART 2007

Above: Showing CSAD students around International Greetings

Above: Julia at International Greetings

13

“We can work all year for a presentation for Christmas –until there’s a room full of wrapping paper,” she says,doing nothing to dispel my office/grotto illusion. “Forone customer last year we made around 400 designs,from which they would choose about thirty.”

“Other briefs are short and sweet,” she adds. “We’ll have afew weeks to create a range and, as soon as thecustomer is happy, it all goes ahead.”

Much of Julia’s role is customer-facing, as she bringstogether different teams at IG to create new lines andproducts. As we speak, she’s turning her hand toeveryday gift wrap, including gift wrap for flowers. “That’ssomething I don’t know much about,” she explains, “soI’ll spend a day researching and talking to managersbefore I write up the brief. Then I’ll pull togetherinspiration and design ideas and brief the designer.”

These essential project management skills are oneswhich Julia traces back to her time at CSAD over tenyears ago, granting her the flexibility to work beyond herinitial aspirations of a career in fashion and to join theranks of International Greetings, not with an Illustrationor Graphic Communication background, but with adegree in Textiles. “Your course teaches you to take anidea; research it, refine it, then carry it through design tothe final product in response to a brief. It’s the sameprocess we use on a daily basis,” she says.

Originally from France, where she was studying FashionDesign in Paris, Julia came to enrol at CSAD through theErasmus programme; what was meant to be a year-longplacement evolved into a love of Cardiff that has kepther in the city ever since, and the beginnings ademanding, rewarding career.

By 26, Julia was a manager at a Cardiff-based fashioncompany, overseeing everything from design andtechnical drawings to quality checks and photoshoots.

“It was the real deal,” she remembers, “the sameexperience you’d have had in London, but - being asmall company - you could take on a bit of everything.”

Later, realising she didn’t live to work for fashion – “itwas all a bit too much pressure over a pair of trousers!”– she successfully applied for the role of designer at IG.

“It was a bit of a step back for me, at that point” she says,“but I didn’t mind. I wanted to start again.”

As Julia Richardson describes what it means to beDesign Manager for International Greetings,

I conjure up the image of an office overrun withglitter, glosses, colourful gift bags and cards for

every occasion.

JULIA RICHARDSON

It meant getting to grips with a new world of greetings,after years buried in knitwear and womenswear. “After awhile, you start to find your way,” she says. “We have agreat team of fast-working designers and there’s a lot ofspace for discussion; we learn a lot from each other.”

It’s such teamwork that Julia was keen to emphasisewhen she returned to CSAD, this time in her professionalcapacity. “IG did a project – a competition – with theuniversity last year,” she explains. “We set the students agreetings-based brief, something they didn’t know a lotabout. They had to go through our process; we cameback in twice to give feedback, answer questions, andhear their presentations.” The winners received a cashprize and an 8-week placement at IG.

“We insisted on teamwork,” Julia recalls. “It’s easy to feelprotective about work – it’s a student thing, I think – tothink your idea is ‘the one’.”

“So we said: nobody is going to take anythingaway from you. It’s important to be open-minded and to talk to people. When that’s notencouraged it stops creativity and interestingdiscussions, and creates problems.”

“It was nice to be able to assure them it would all be ok,as well,” she adds, remembering the pressure to find theright opportunity after graduation. “I told them:everyone has their journey. Some people get amazingjobs straight away. Others work awful jobs for five yearsand then get their break; some fall into somethingcompletely different and discover they love it.”

Looking at Julia’s own professional journey – one whichproves the route to success and happiness isn’t set instone – I’m keen to learn what she believes gives a jobthat little bit of magic appeal; Christmas crackers allyear round is a novelty, I imagine, but making a careerout of a job you love is a true test of time.

Julia’s conclusion? “I value a company which is alwayslooking for something new,” she says. “One that’s notsitting comfortably, relying on customers coming tothem, but always trying to top what has been donebefore.”

BA (HONS) CONTEMPORARYTEXTILE PRACTICE 2007

Above: Josh's signature style combines contemporary themes with old technology. This image - of a picture in a film room at an art gallery in Paris - was taken using a Nokia 3360

vimeo.com/joshspindler

15

It requires a lot more character to confront a dead-endin your creative practice and choose not simply tofashion a quick fix but, rather, to pick up everythingyou’ve carried thus far, turn right back around and followa gut feeling in a new direction.

“I realised I wasn’t doing anything original anymore,” hetells me. “I was just copying people that had beenbefore me.”

Having enjoyed and pursued art throughout hiseducation, Josh began studying Illustration at CSAD in2010 without the set notion of becoming an illustrator. “Igot lucky with the course,” he says. “At Cardiff it was anopen floor; you could try what you wanted.”

Josh’s focus had originally been print-making, until hecould no longer ignore a niggling feeling that it wasn’tthe right platform for him. “I was finding it difficult tokeep still image fresh or exciting,” he remembers.

“Finishing a piece lacked any sense of gratification.”

“When I got to third year, I just sort of… started again.” In aperiod usually reserved for dissertations and final yearprojects, Josh spent his spare time becoming self-taughtin video editing.

“The ideas I was coming up with… they weremore suited to work which could move,” hesays. “I enjoyed experimenting with newtechnology; having a new output. I thought ofediting as having infinite possibilities.”

Infinite possibilities. It was the perfect word-choice, Ithought. Since first encountering Josh’s work on hiswebsite – where a dark screen folds into moving image,and a low voice crowds you like surround sound – I’dbeen searching for the right description. With this, I hadit: vast, ominous, and all-encompassing. Through video,he creates a real experience for his audience, and toconfine it to a silent, still image would be to stifle hisbest work.

He carries none of this weight when discussing hisdecision to embark upon video over traditionalillustration; even though, for some time, naturally, histechnical production skills fell short of his artistic ideas.Bridging that gap, Josh successfully applied for aMasters course in Visual Communication at RoyalCollege London. Now at the half-way point, he canreflect on the valuable lessons learned at CSAD.

There’s a fine line but significant difference between re-inventing yourself and going back to square one. The

outcome might look the same – in Josh Spindler’s case,it’s the story of how an Illustration student found his way

with video – but the journey it takes to reach that pointdefines two very different types of artist.

JOSH SPINDLER

“On a weekly, if not daily, basis, an idea you have mightnot work out the way you want,” he says. “Speaking tosomeone else can shed new light on the situation andgive you a different perspective. People who are like-minded, or not; people who are on form and want tocreate something; keep them near enough that you canconnect with them on a creative level.”

“It’s the early-on concept I want people to connect withmost,” he says of his own motivation. In which case it’s awelcome non-surprise, then, when I ask about his latestproject and the concept instantly ‘clicks’.

“I bought an old smartphone,” he begins, “to film thingswhich are beautiful to people every day. That might besunsets, landscapes, relationships… I wanted to do whatpeople do today on their HD-capable iPhones, but withreally low-process technology.”

The end result will be a series of these moments strungtogether using only the phone as an editing tool – “bytoday’s standards, it’s completely useless”, he laughs.

Yet the feel of it completely encompasses the approachin which Josh has made peace with originality; to taketraditional or out-dated technology, processes, or craft,and to create something new and relevant today. It alsogives away his underlying fascination with theexperiences of people, with truths of human nature; anda romantic way of taking these two things andcommunicating them back to an audience who mayhave missed them otherwise.

“A year ago, I would have said that one of the big drivingforces for my work was for it to be innovative,” he says.Now the word I’d use is honest.”

And to be honest with himself, today, puts Josh on thebrink of another major milestone in his creativedevelopment. This time, it’s not the medium that’s inquestion, it’s how he sees himself using it.

“What I want to do has taken a massive U-turn recently.”It’s on longer to turn a profit. “Now, I would say beinghappy,” Josh says. “As long as I have the time, space, ormoney, to make my own work and can continue living alife, I’ll be ok.”

BA (HONS)ILLUSTRATION 2013

Above: 'Our vision of Wales' bright future' – commissioned work for the Sustainable Development Alliance

Above: A piece for Laura's regular contribution to CQC magazine

Above: 'Our vision of Wales' bright future' – Laura designed five slides in total

www.auralab.co.uk

17

“It’s super competitive,” she tells me, when I ask howgraduates might take their creative vision into thecommercial world with confidence. “Good things comeonly from really knowing your creative self and doinggood work. Knowing your specific strengths and quirks iswhat can make you stand out for clients.”

Laura’s strength, in her own words, is “understandingcomplexity”. Her talent is in lifting from a haze of themes,ideas, discussions and processes, the parts which makethem important, relatable and memorable.

Having graduated from CSAD with a degree in GraphicCommunication in 2005, 33-year-old Laura stillintroduces herself as an illustrator. “People often thinkthat means book covers or magazines,” she says, “but Itell them, my job is really to take complex ideas andexplain them to others with visuals.”

Now, she runs her own business doing exactly that.Laura founded Auralab a little over four years ago,eventually making the transition to freelance full-time in2012. Yet, looking back to graduation, she says shehadn’t know then that this would be the direction hertraining would take her in.

Laura arrived at CSAD “almost by accident”, havingspotted an opportunity for an exchange during herstudies on home soil in Finland. With a long-held love ofillustration, she was initially interested in expanding intointeractive media but grabbed every opportunity at theschool to experiment, crediting her tutors for how they

“really encouraged students to discover their owncreative voice and approach.”

“Personally, and considering the long haul,” she reflects,“the most important thing was to develop my owncreative voice. Now that I’m finally running my ownbusiness, the learning process about my own visualpractice seems very poignant.”

“The first time I came across visualisation was through afriend who I went to university with,” she remembers. Atthe time, Laura was enjoying working full-time forCardiff-based branding agency, ‘Stills’, as part of a six-year chapter she calls “learning everything possible.”

Being introduced to hand-drawn visualisation (whichyou could describe as illustrating information) andgraphic recording (illustrating information in real time),Laura’s thoughts and inspiration began to multiply

For all the buzz and anticipation which surroundsgraduation – the stepping into the relative

unknown and wondering, ‘Am I going to make it?’ – Laura Sorvala has some sound advice:

don’t lose yourself in the rush..

LAURA SORVALA

excitedly. “I remember trying [graphic recording] for thefirst time and the buzz of recording everything live;listening to people and capturing everything as ithappened,” she says.

A little research confirmed that there was agap in the British market for it, where bycontrast it was already big in the States. “Itwas a period of self-discovery,” Laura recalls,

“for me to realise that understandingcomplexity was a major skill that I had, and Iwondered – how far can I take this?”

The answer? Almost anywhere now; from corporatemeetings to public art exhibitions and, recently, even a12-day excursion reporting Europe’s untold stories. “Forthe Transeuropa Caravans project, there were six orseven caravans travelling across Europe at the sametime. I was basically in a motorhome of strangers,” shelaughs. Recruited by European Alternatives – atransnational civil society organisation who had beencrowdsourcing, for some time, what it meant to peopleto be a European citizen – the creative teams weretasked with giving a platform to the concerns andstories of the people they met during their travels.

It remains a stand-out project, she tells me, reflectingon her portfolio of work; “I’m not an activist, as such, butI think my work needs to contribute towards somethinguseful and good,” she explains. “I couldn’t doing what Ido if it was about supporting a consumerist mindset orliving in a bubble about what actually goes on in oursociety.”

Through hard work and by building strong workingrelationships, Laura found her creative voice and learnedhow to lend it to a brief and its team. She loves herregular work for CQC magazine – where she wasrecently commissioned on the strength of “that weirdbrain of yours” – and tells me that the greatestfeedback is often a simple case of someone saying: shegot what we were thinking. And though she may nothave known, at CSAD, that her alumni story wouldprofile a visualisation artist/graphic recorder/businessowner, others have seen it in her all along: “When I toldmy Dad I was starting to freelance successfully full time,”she tells me, “he said: Well, you were always a bit of abohemian making your way in the world.”

BA (HONS)GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION2005

Above: A collage workshop for the Italian organisation Anelli Mancanti

Above: Amanda volunteering in Italy

amandaagyei.tumblr.com

19

Her journey to Italy, where she teaches English andvolunteers with arts and languages in the community,began with the ideas she developed studying at CSAD.

When she enrolled in the Fine Art course beginning inSeptember 2009, she says “I tried mainly to focus ondoing the best I could in every year.” Yet, from the outset,Amanda’s developing interests and specialisms alignedwith a longer-held aspiration: to work with and supportpeople, through art.

“I liked the set processes,” she says, as she explains howshe came to focus on print-making and photography.

“They’re portable skills. I could take those and doworkshops anywhere in the world.”

“If I could teach someone the process of taking a photo,”she adds, “they will learn a new skill and get somethingto take home with them.”

“I’ve always felt that if something feels more tangibleoutside the art world, it’s more accessible.”

That’s a consistent theme across Amanda’s portfolio;works of art without any air of exclusivity – hers arespecifically designed to be given and experienced.

It was only five days after graduating that Amandadecided to leave her home in East London and beginvolunteering in Italy. Over the next two and half months,she travelled and volunteered in places including Lucca,Tuscany, Sora and Lazio.

“I met so many amazing people,” she remembers of thattime, “who were all bringing their ideas to life.” Her mind,she realised then, was set: “I really wanted to run acollaborative art project.”

A chance meeting on her way back to Londonintroduced Amanda to a woman named Carol Barbieri –

“she was really amazing,” Amanda recalls – who advisedthat Atina would be the perfect setting for my work.Back in the UK, Amanda started planning the projectthat would become ‘Colour.itAtina’, with a friend,Natasha Sabatini, she’d met at CSAD. Twelve monthslater the pair met in Italy to bring the idea to life.

“We had ten different artists from all around the world –illustrators, a print maker, a photographer, fine artists –all coming together for ten days to create collaborativework in relation to Atina, alongside the people who liveand grew up there.”

Amanda isn’t defiant, she’s what trust in a good ideasounds like. She’s learned from experience that

things don’t always work out and that sometimesthey’ll cost you, but that if they bring joy to others,

the journey will invariably have been worth it.

AMANDA AGYEI

It seems she touched upon a little bit of magic, becausethe project has been taken over for its second run thisyear. “Hopefully it will go well,” says Amanda. “A lot ofpeople said the first one wouldn’t happen but it did; thebasis was a good idea. We just had the guts to give it atry.”

Next on her agenda is making waves within thecommunity support sector, where she spends asignificant part of her time in Italy working.

“I’ve been doing collage workshops withpeople who might be seen as ‘outsiders’ byothers,” she explains. “We’d make littlecollage pieces out of different materials andcolours, stick them up, and have anexhibition.”

“I’ve done this twice over the course of six months,” shecontinues, “and now what I want to do is print them onto postcards and T-shirts. That way, the art becomesmore tangible, and everybody else can learn the names,and something more, of the people that made them.”

Also in the pipeline is an atmospheric idea to use spaceand surroundings to create a shared experience forcommunities in Florence, which Amanda is developingwith a friend who also teaches English in Italy.

“We wanted to find a way of information sharing,”Amanda explains, “and decided we’d take films that we,and others, think are important, and project them on todifferent walls and spaces.”

“There are loads of abandoned buildings and beautifulplaces and piazzas in Florence, which would make theperfect setting.”

The work will begin on her return to Italy in September,with – I’m baffled to hear – a non-existent budget. “Wedon’t need much,” she tells me, giving away that she’salready invested her mind (which, on evidence, is reasonto believe it’ll be a success). “Funding might make thingsmore comfortable, but you can’t always get it, and youcan’t choose not to do things just because you don’t getfunding.”

“Maybe it’s the Cockney in me,” she adds, with a littlelaugh, “but if you really want to do something, you’ll finda way to do it.”

BA (HONS) FINE ART 2011

Above: One of Victor's signature 'Rich Pictures'

Above: An illustration from Victor's brief with Samsung

informationillustration.wordpress.com

21

I don’t get to meet him in person but his energy comeswhittling through the phone line at such a pace that,despite the fact he wasn’t pitching (and that 30 minutesearlier I hadn’t heard of ‘information illustration’), Iinstantly want to hire him.

“It’s quite funny,” he tells me, when I ask if he could havepredicted his career after graduating from CSAD in 2010.

“I don’t think anyone in the class expected me to be theone getting hired and going off to be an illustratorstraight away,” he laughs.

I suppose I can see why – if where I’ve credited his‘energy’, friends might affectionately remember anapproach they’d sooner call ‘bouncing off the walls’ –but I can also see how it’s worked in his favour. I imaginethat spark to be the point where the wires of technicalskills, creative vision and – quite simply – the ability toconnect with people, are crossed. And it’s no surprisethat big-name companies, such as Samsung, havealready spotted the ways in which it can uniquely ignitetheir ideas.

“I really enjoy working with clients,” Victorsays, “I love to ‘get’ exactly what they have intheir heads and make it work in the waythey’d imagined it.”

In any brief, he is the visual thinker of a collaborativeeffort. “I definitely believe that everyone is creative,” hetells me, “it’s just that some people can’t implement it inthe same way as others.”

With Samsung, the task was to convey (to in-housestaff) the company’s ‘Design Identity 3.0’. The result wasa charming animated short, ‘Make it meaningful’, whichillustrated, in real time, a voice-over on everything fromhow to emotionally connect with customers to whySamsung, as a global company, has an ethical andbusiness imperative to look after the planet.

“Information Illustration, for me, is about cutting throughthe big picture,” Victor explains. Animation is just one ofthe mediums he has called upon to do this; more often,his illustrations take the shape of what Victor calls ‘RichPictures’. These images, which he likens to ‘Where’sWally’, are eye-catching, colourful scenes, characterisingthe key points within a narrative in far more engagingways than your typical PowerPoint. For his clients todate, Victor’s Rich Pictures have helped to map outbusiness plans and rework complex data into single,accessible images.

What I love about Victor’s work is howwonderfully it reflects his character;

all but overspilling with ideas, colour, detail, and creativity, yet somehow streamlining into a

seamless narrative – a collected thought.

VICTOR HAGGER

“It’s quite a simple idea,” he says of this service. “If youlook at language, we also use metaphors to frame anobject within a subject, or to represent something;they’re visual cues. In the same way, this helps peoplemake connections within a broader subject, so that theycan understand how everything fits together.”

“On that basis, companies can win bids, or communicatewith internal staff…” he adds. “It’s just more inspiring thanhanding out heaps of paper.”

So what is it, I wonder, that inspires him?

“I always knew I would be drawing,” Victor says. Born inMoldova and moving to Cornwall aged eight, he’s beenmaking art for as long as he can remember – a hobbyhe held onto throughout his education. After an HND inArt and Design at Penwith College, Victor joined theIllustration course at CSAD. It was during his degreeshow, for which he’d illustrated a children’s book, thathis work struck a chord with a local company, See WhatYou Mean, who would introduce him to Rich Pictures.

From that point onwards, he’s been freelancing. Herecalls the usual obstacles – the occasions when it’sbeen slower to find work, or when someone tries to takecredit for a piece – but his advice is to be pro-active.

“When you’re looking for clients, you want to build upyour personal work to show people what you can do.”

“I would sometimes get a list of companies I’d like towork for – and be happy to work for – try to get hold ofthe right people and start up a connection,” he tells me.

“You get a feel for the type of thing you’d be able to helpthem with, and then you can bring in your knowledgeand creative input to show them how it can be done.”

This is what I mean about wanting to hire him. If I was tostep into the shoes of a big business, Victor would haveeffortlessly sold me a new demand for exactly theconcept which he supplies. Yet there’s a total absenceof that competitive edge to his character, which says alot about his motivation – the collected thought uponwhich he has built such a vast portfolio for someoneonly four years out of university: “I like to pick projects Ifeel passionate about,” he says, “and I’ll put in 100%effort every time. That way, I know I’ll always be happywith it.”

BA (HONS) ILLUSTRATION 2010

Above: A snapshot from Clara's field trip to Zambia

Above: Clara's looked closely at life in the Chongwe district

23

But what I learn from speaking to Clara Watkins, is thatthese two identities need not be seen as worlds awayfrom each other. After all, they both depend on findingwhat it is that inspires you and motivates your work,shaping your practice and your unique stance on theworld, and having the skill and patience to constantlyreflect in order to grow.

Clara developed an interest in ethical design graduallyover the course of her studies in Product Design at CSAD,where her final major project as an undergraduateultimately focused on design in developing countries;working with the London Tropical Medical Centre, Clarawas linked with a research centre in Malawi and taskedwith designing prototype packaging for Malariatreatment.

“I found it really interesting,” she tells me, explaining thatthe brief contextualised her understanding of howproducts have to be altered to suit different cultures andenvironments. At the time, she’d never set foot in Africa– in fact, a big part of the challenge was designing fromafar, and relying on Skype for communicating with herfellow team members overseas – but before long,Clara’s tutors realised she’d tapped into both a passionfor designing for developing countries and an obvioustalent for research. “My lecturer suggested I should takeit to a higher level of education,” she explains.

Following a Masters in Philosophy, Clara secured ascholarship, through Cardiff Met’s Research andEnterprise Innovation Scholarship scheme, to embarkupon her PhD. She began working, alongside Welshcharity Mothers of Africa, which trains medical staff inSub-Saharan Africa to care for mothers duringpregnancy and childbirth.

That was almost three years ago, with Clara’s first trip toZambia taking place in March 2012. She vividlyremembers this earliest first-hand experience of theculture in which she’d set her next academic challenge:to produce a prototype-led ethnographic analysis ofhealthcare in the Chongwe district, so that her findingsmight inform the development of culturally appropriatehealth products for the region.

A big part of her research has depended upon theinvolvement of Chongwe’s communities; Clara hasworked with Zambian staff from healthcareprofessionals to charities and government officials in

Going into an undergraduate degree, it’s probablytrue to say that most students are preparing for up to

three years of learning. Many at CSAD will identifythemselves as artists or designers, primarily, and

academics after that – if at all.

CLARA WATKINS

order to devise healthcare design solutions which aresuitable – and sustainable – considering the areas lackof resources. Her PHD has focused heavily ondeveloping a first responder pack for road trafficaccidents.

Her progress has benefited equally from understandingthe area’s shortcomings and difficulties – the barriers ofpoor living and working conditions, and the challenge toimprove education standards – as it has fromrecognising its strengths. Chongwe has an impressiverecord of embracing innovation, and Clara’s motivationwas to meet their aspirations with ideas that could makea real and tangible difference.

“We forget that there are other countries,”she says, explaining why she has become sopassionate about culturally relevant design.

“When you go to hospitals in Africa, they’veoften been donated the same things that weuse, but it’s not always relevant. That’s a bigissue that needs to be addressed; they needstuff that they can actually use and that issuitable for their surroundings.”

It is in addressing this problem throughout her PHD thatClara has already set in motion the next phase of herwork. In fact, there is not even the suggestion of a breakfrom academia as Clara talks excitedly about becominga Research Assistant at CSAD, where she’ll work oncarrying her prototype solution through the productionand implementation stages.

So how is she feeling, with one deadline looming and awhole new set of aims in sight? “Stressed!” she admits, ingood humour, “there’s still lots to do.”

“But the experience really has been fantastic,” she says. “Iam extremely grateful for my amazing supervisors,Cardiff Met, Cardiff Uni and Mothers of Africa for all ofthe support they have provided me, and for theopportunity to be involved in a project that has not onlyenabled me to better my own understanding of designin the developing world, but which holds the realpotential to benefit the lives of those less fortunatethan myself.”

BSc (HONS)PRODUCT DESIGN2011

Above: Charlie helps construct exhibition stands in locations across the UK, as well as for international shows

Above: 'totaljobs.com exhibition stand' – with built-in widescreen TV

charliecharlick.co.uk

25

Yet he doesn’t strike me as somebody impressed by airmiles alone – and I’ll come to understand that hismotivation is much more ‘hard work’ than ‘big talk’.

It started with an ad on Gumtree, he tells me. But whatbegan as some temporary work in the summer afteruniversity, paved the way for Charlie to become aProduction Assistant with Alchemy Expo.

“The company builds stands for marketing events andtrade fairs,” 24-year-old Charlie explains. “We build thestand and the graphics,” he says, “and video tiles as well,where the clients can have their content on screenwalls.”

One of his favourites to have worked on to date was formake-up giant Mac at this year’s London Fashion Week.

“It was three meters high,” Charlie remembers, “with amassive video wall.”

“That was quite a big client…” he reflects; Mac being oneof the biggest names in his professional portfolio ofbarely twelve months, alongside the likes of EmiratesAirlines. “Then another week you’ll be working at theHeating and Plumbing exhibition for a company thatdoes underfloor heating,” he laughs.

“They can be in quite cool places, actually,”he says. “We went to Old Trafford FootballStadium for one, and another one was in theChelsea Stadium – my little brother thoughtthat was cool.”

“It’s quite interesting to see a cross-section of companiesand how they use different marketing tools,” addsCharlie. “And I really enjoy the practical work; the hands-on building stuff,” he tells me.

Perhaps because, in this sense, Charlie’s found acommon link with what was his biggest interest duringhis studies: sculpture.

“I don’t know exactly what it is about sculpture,” heponders aloud, asked about the moment in second yearwhen he chose to specialise within Fine Art. “I supposeit’s making something three-dimensional within a space,”he says.

Charlie’s signature pieces were twisting forms madefrom plaster, with bright interjections of colour acrossthe surface. “I liked the colouring to seem moreunnatural, while the form was more organic,” he explains.

I speak to Charlie almost a year to the day that he graduatedfrom CSAD, and I learn that his first job has taken him to Lyons,

Paris, and Copenhagen; to London from Cardiff regularly; to Fashion Week, Old Trafford and the Chelsea stadium;

and, soon, he’ll be off to Berlin.

CHARLIE CHARLICK

“I always thought plaster was a nice material to use. It’s avery workable material. You can paint it when it’s liquidand work with it then, and once it’s dry you can sand it,cut into it and chop it.”

Yet it doesn’t last, I say to him, in the same way as otherforms of sculpture might.

“No…” he admits, without melancholy. “I’ve got the threepieces from my degree show in my back garden, andthey’re beginning to crumble.” It is a new lesson for methat there can be as much joy in the production andmaking of something that has a finite lifespan, as theremight be comfort in any sense of permanency.

At the time, Charlie’s degree show pieces made quite animpression, particularly with Roanna Larson, of the WestWharf Gallery, who was organising a rooftop exhibitionand invited Charlie to have his work featured as a result.

“That was brilliant,” he remembers, “to see the finalproject move on in that way.”

“I’ve just started doing a little bit of work again,” he tellsme, bringing the conversation back to present day.

“Working takes up a lot of time and I’ve been enjoyingmy job so I’ve been concentrating on that, and trying tocarry on going to galleries in my spare time,” he says.

“But now I feel I want to be making things again.”

With every hope of continuing to progress withcommercial exhibitions – the field in which he hasgained so much experience in the past year alone –Charlie is also keen to explore museum and art galleryexhibitions. Whilst at Cardiff, he worked on a number ofexhibitions with Modern Alchemists, which played to hisinterest in forms and their arrangement within anenvironment.

By the time our conversation comes to an end, I realisethat his creative and commercial worlds revolve aroundthis idea, and wonder how his time at CSAD bestequipped him for the role. And as he paints a picture forme of an inspired studio spaced littered with emptycoffee cups, I discover that skills are one half of theequation; the other, equally valuable half is the mindsetthat comes from total commitment to your craft.

“I think what I learned from CSAD is that you work as hardas you want,” he says, “and that taught me to be self-motivated, and to work hard.”

BA (HONS) FINE ART 2013

Above: 'Constellation' – a digital illustration pattern

nicolemillo.tumblr.com

27

Originally from the Bahamas, 25-year-old Nicole joinedthe newly-established Illustration course at CSAD in2008. It had been a shared love of comics among herfriends in High School that first prompted her toconsider a career in art.

“It was really dinky stuff,” she says, laughing as she looksback at her 14-year-old self. “We were into anime andmanga, and drawing and writing our own comics.” Withhindsight, she realises, “that was when I got seriousabout art, as a reader and as a maker of comics too.”

Although she began the course with every intention ofconcentrating on comics alone, Nicole has no regretsthat her earlier interests gave way to new creativeavenues.

“What you’re into as a teenager is very different fromwhat you might do at university,” she says, “and whatyou do at university is different again to the types ofthings you might go on to do.”

Reflecting upon the parts of her time at CSAD that havemost influenced her illustrations today, Nicole singlesout the introduction to screen printing; the lessons incolour now so unmistakable in her work.

“Screen printing breaks down how you actually makework,” she tells me. “Building each layer on top ofanother, you go back to your very earliestunderstandings of how colours are created.”

“It makes you think more economically about what yourelements are,” she adds. “It’s a stripping down of whatyou do, so that you can construct the whole pictureagain.”

In the months that followed her graduation, Nicolelaughs that there were “a lot” of part-time jobs. Herfocus returned to working digitally, having spent muchof her time at university exploring more traditionalapproaches.

“I wouldn’t say that I consciously separate traditionalwork from digital,” Nicole explains, “but I prefer workingdigitally. It’s a lot less pressure – if you make a mistakewith a colour, you can erase it and start again.”

With the very first click on to Nicole Miles’ website, I’m taken by an image which maps out in vibrant yellow a

constellation of stars against a backdrop of dark, chalky blues. When I tell her I love the colours, she laughs and says

“I was always told at university that I shied away from colour.It’s true I never used it, but I really do love it.”

NICOLE MILES

She began voluntarily contributing to exhibitions, andgetting her work into galleries she’d long-since admired;like the Light Grey Art Lab in Minneapolis, which Nicolehad known was her kind of space since she first cameacross their exhibition on Pokemon. “They wanted over70 illustrators to contribute to an exhibition of Tarotcards,” she recalls. “I was one of them.”

“Volunteering to be part of things like that was fun, and itmade me do work that I was proud of – and to adeadline.”

Later, Nicole contributed to the striking ‘WomenWarriors’ zine, where an Art Director at Kaboom/BoomStudios spotted her work. She was asked to design thecover for Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time magazine.

“It was one of the first paid-for things I’d ever done that Iwas really excited about, and which was personal to me”Nicole remembers, explaining that Adventure Timeremains one of her favourite shows.

Now she continues to freelance, alongside a new part-time role with Hallmark. “I work in Licensing andProperties,” Nicole explains. “Hallmark has a lot ofbrands which they own, like Forever Friends. If they’reasked for a new look for the season, I might put aproposal together.”

“I thought there would be pretty strict ruleswhen you’re working in-house, but the role isreally flexible.” She chooses which three daysof the week to be in work, and spends the restof the time concentrating on her freelancecareer, or learning skills like HTML, Java Scriptand web design, which she endearinglydescribes to me as “things there’s no realreason for me to know…”

“I just feel like it’s healthy to learn as much as you can,all the time – from everything,” she tells me, and I leavethinking how essential it is for any creative to connectthe dots of the different skills they call upon; and howapt that message is coming from an artist I’ll rememberfor a piece which mapped the stars.

BA (HONS)ILLUSTRATION 2011

Above: 'Elixir ales' – packaging design

Above: 'Smugglers caravan park' – print advert design

29

In Alex Johnson, there’s an antidote to this particularlycrippling expectation; here’s someone happily without astrict five-year plan, proving that being flexible is just asrewarding, and that you can be taken seriously withoutbeing so serious all the time.

A year ago he said – on record – he had no interest inmoving to London to work. He didn’t want to be

“another cog in a big machine.” Now he’s a GraphicDesigner for international ad agency McCann, taking mycall outside the company’s office in Camden. So whatchanged?

“I got made redundant,” he tells me, explaining how histwo years as a designer for Matthew Fairweather, inBristol, came to an unexpected end in June last year. “Itwas weird to have that experience so early on. We wereall working fantastically, but the work suddenly dried up.They had to let the juniors go, which was a shame, but Ithink it just happens in small businesses sometimes.”

On the bright side, it freed Alex up while the weatherwas good – “If I’d been let go in winter I’d probably havebeen in tears, but because it was so sunny I was prettyhappy,” he jokes. He spent the next few weeks with astrict, self-imposed schedule. Weekdays from 9am -5.30pm were spent sending out CVs or working on sideprojects – “doing up websites” – and on weekends heplainly refused to anything. It paid off, because in July hejoined McCann.

“I figured that since I’d been made redundant, I might aswell look around and apply somewhere I could progressa bit more; work in a bigger place,” he says. “It’s been acompletely different experience, and a nice step up.”

A typical week for Alex revolves around the team’screative schedule – the rolling list of current projectswhich are assigned to different members of the team tomanage. Recently, he tells me, he had been responsiblefor creating the concept drawings for World Vision, aninternational children’s charity. Other weeks he could beworking on anything from press ads and direct mails, tobranding, using much the same software he trained withwhilst studying Graphic Communication at CSAD;

“mainly a Wacom tablet, Mac, or the traditional creativesuite.”

When you’re starting out in your career, there’s an awful lot ofpressure around what ‘success’ looks and sounds like. It feelslike every choice to be made carries with it the weight of your

entire future whilst at the same time, quite involuntarily,snowballing into a statement about Who You Really Are.

ALEX JOHNSON

I learn that he’s cheerfully in an ‘in-between stage’ of hiscareer now. “There are junior designers under me, butI’ve only been out of university for two and a half years –I think it takes three to become a full middleweightdesigner,” he says, explaining how that moment isgradually sneaking up on him. “I remember interningand seeing what middleweight designers did and beingreally impressed by that. Now I realise I know a lot ofthat stuff! That’s just progression, I suppose.”

But Alex isn’t rushing to achieve everything at once, he’shappy to be one step ahead at most. At present, forexample, Alex is finding the time to build his skills inanimation, having noticed a constant demand for digitaldesigners. “I figured if I learned how to do that properly,”he says, “then I can offer the people I’m working for thatadditional skill.”

“I’ve learned that you do need initiative,” he adds,pressed for his advice to current students. “I was told offa lot, whilst I was studying, for sitting around and waitingfor stuff to happen. You need to think about whatpeople want and be clever about finding stuff to do –impress people. I think that’s what employers look for.”

“If I’ve ever got nothing to do, I try to think abouthow the company I’m working for could improveitself or promote itself better, or if there’s anyprojects I could add to just by saying ‘Why not trythis?’ Being proactive sets you apart and makesyou more senior than junior, I think.”

That’s not to paint a picture of Alex as a workaholic – he admits he’s has quite a talent for ‘switching off’ inthe pub after work. But it does illustrate what a fewyears in the industry teaches you about success –what’s most rewarding to Alex is not the salary, thelocation, the job title, company, or individual brief, norwhat any of these things supposedly say about him. It’sjust being able to keep up in a world much more intensethan he was used to; meeting deadlines without whining about the workload; and having his ideas takenon board.

BA (HONS)GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION2012

Above: Alex's signature metallic lustre Above: Inspired by rough landscapes, the vessels are rough to touch

Above: The latest collection includes Japanese tea bowls and sake bottles Above: The improvised path of the smooth lustre means no two pieces are alike

www.mccarthyceramics.com

31

The truth, in fact, is that it’s a very opportune time forour schedules to (eventually) align; capturing one ofthose fleeting and few moments in someone else’s life,one that is just before a really big decision becomes areality.

“I don’t know how to put it,” he says, “other than to sayit’s ‘to take the next step’, really; to immerse myself inthe business side of things.”

It’s the penultimate week of the term and Alex’s last atthe secondary school in Devon where he first took upthe role of Artist in Residence and later became an arttechnician. Although he has been lucky to strike a goodbalance between working at the school and continuinghis ceramics practice, Alex has had an inkling forsome time that he could take his business further. Nowhe has found a place, just over the bridge from where herefined his craft at CSAD: a studio space in Bristol, whichhe’ll make his own in the new year.

I learn that a major catalyst for the change has beenAlex’s involvement in the Craft Council’s Hot HouseScheme, which supports emerging makers.

After a competitive interview process, the six-monthscheme pairs successful applicants with a professionalmaker mentor, as well as a buddy (someone whocompleted the scheme themselves more recently).Being back in a peer group – “where you can discussthings and share creative criticism” – was whollypositive for Alex, who says it spurred him on to makingthe move to Bristol a reality.

The scheme also enhanced his skills in businessplanning and target marketing. “I’m not the best at‘pushing’ my work,” he admits. “That’s the thing,especially with hands-on makers; we enjoy what we do,we make things, but we forget – we could be sitting inour studio for months on end wondering ‘Why am I notselling anything?’ It’s usually because we haven’t doneanything with the work other than put it on the shelves.”

His best bit of practical advice, then? Invest in goodimages of your work. Alex’s site serves as the moststunning gallery of his ceramics, giving centre stage tohis signature pots and vessels – rough to touch,monochrome in stone colours and all beautifullycontrasted with their own improvised downpour ofmetallic lustre.

“Images are so important,” he says; a fact he hasunderstood even more clearly since accepting the

I’m convinced it must be a bad time to be contactingAlex – it’s taken us several attempts to find this thirty-

minute window, into which we have to squeeze the pastfour years and the sizeable subject of life after CSAD.

ALEX McCARTHY

invitation to join this year’s panel of the Hot Housescheme. “In any application process, yours mighthave twenty seconds – if that – to make a firstimpression. If they’re poorly lit, or have your dog in thebackground, you’re going to get a ‘no’ straight away.”

Our conversation is peppered with mentions of rejection,how it’s part and parcel of ‘putting yourself out there’ inthe hope of becoming successful (not just in making,Alex adds; much can be applied to any career). Evennow, with an inspired portfolio, several hows behind himand, at present, a large order to meet, Alex won’trest on his laurels. “There are still a few shows, likeCeramic Art London, which I’ve been trying to get intofor five years or so. You just have to keep at it andbelieve in your work.”

“Once you’ve made contacts, be good to them,”he advises. “Be reliable, be friendly; I deliverall my pieces personally – I think peoplereally appreciate the effort of going to meetthem in person; it lets them put a face to thename.”

This he says with much conviction; an artist fluent inprofessionalism, trusting of his own ability andexperienced in his trade. And if these are thecornerstones of a great career, Alex is free toconcentrate solely on the thing that binds them – hiswork.

“This move to Bristol may be perfect timing to trysomething new,” he says. “I’m conscious I don’t want tochange my work too much – if you’ve got a signature, itdoesn’t make sense to change dramatically. But mywork has been similar for a couple of years now, and Iknow I do want something about it to change. I thinkthat’s enough of a starting point.”

He’ll start the new year in a shared space – “whitepartitioned walls that I’ll have to make my ownsomehow” – and hasn’t thought a whole lot furtherahead. But when I ask what will be the first thinghe’ll hang to make those walls his own, he doesn’thesitate: “This is going to sound really sad,” he laughs,

“but probably my logo, my name, which was made byone of my friends from Uni. I take it to every show as mybranding, I think it’s what makes me feel like I’ve arrived.”And, for me, that image alone sums up the excitementahead: that 2015 for Alex brings with it the chance to getcreatively, onstructively lost, without ever veering too farfrom himself and all the many qualities which make hispractice so unique.

BA (HONS) CERAMICS 2010

Charity project: Bespoke, Wearable Gown Made Entirely From Toilet Tissue

Above: The finished gown Above: Designed exclusively forBonmarché, the David Emanuel collection

Images: David Emanuel and John Swannell

33

I’m originally from Bridgend and applied to both CardiffCollege of Music & Drama and Cardiff College of Art andwas fortunate enough to be accepted to both. It just sohappened that the envelope came from Cardiff Collegeof Art first, so I decided to go there.

Coming to Cardiff was extremely daunting. Back then,Bridgend was a very sleepy market town, so coming tothe big city was an enormous deal. I remember thinking

“I'll never crack this”, but within 3 months I had. After myFoundation course, I applied to study fashion at Cardiffand moved into a flat with all girls and I had the besttime, I loved student life.

A lady called Miss June Tiley was Head of Fashion. Shewas marvellous. In those days, Cardiff had a fantasticreputation for winning fashion competitions.

I loved my time in Cardiff; it was liberating and I wasdoing something that I adored. With the encouragementof Miss Tiley, I was able to complete my three yearcourse in two and transferred to Harrow School of Art. I used this as a stepping stone to get into the RoyalCollege of Art.

One of my best stories of when I was a student waswhen Miss Tiley organised for me to have an interview atHardy Amies and they offered me a Summer job.

One day, Hardy Amies himself asked me to go down tothe stock room and find some cloth to designsomething. So I went and I pulled out a big bale ofmohair and dragged it up to the design studio and Idecided to design a coat.

I sketched this coat and it took roughly a week to finish.I was fitting it on the house model and it just sohappened that Hardy Amies came through the door andhe really liked it - it was added to the collection, then onthe press day Vogue magazine picked it up and I had totake the coat over to the Vogue's headquarters.

When I returned to College and opened the Septemberissue of Vogue, there was my coat! I have Cardiff andMiss Tiley to thank for all of this and it really set me up.

The iconic fashion designer reflects on theearliest years in his career, and leaving his

hometown of Bridgend to embark upon an Art Foundation course in Cardiff.

DAVID EMANUEL

We are opening our brand new Cardiff School of Art andDesign building, how important do you think this is tothe current, prospective students and what advicewould you give them?

The new building is extremely exciting but the importantthing is to have great staff, with great imagination andstrong links to the industry.

I think it’s important that the students understand thatto be successful they need to have some businessacumen. It’s also important to manage students'expectations and ensure that they realise they won’tjust jump out of college and have their own labelinstantly.

There is a lot of work to this game; they willmost likely start off as an assistant designer.Students need to know about other optionsand be made aware of different possibilitiessuch as becoming a designer buyer, howphoto shoots work etc. and the more thatstudents can open their minds to this thebetter.

With the number of government cuts there have beenover the past few years, how important do you think itis to keep up continued funding for UK arts and culture?

To me, arts and crafts are fundamental. They’re mybackground and they're my future. Without getting toopolitical, cuts to the arts are hideous, but it is what it is,so we have to tighten the belt. I was fortunate to have agrant from the council when I started but now things aretightening up.

That is desperately sad but if you are really passionateabout something you will find a way and you must find a way.

Interview by the University's Development and Alumni Office.

FOUNDATIONCOURSE

cardiffmet.ac.uk/csadcardiffmet.ac.uk/study

Cardiff School of Art & Design, Llandaff Campus, Western Avenue, Cardiff, CF5 2YBTel: +44 (0)29 2041 6070 Fax: +44 (0)29 2041 6640

email: [email protected]

TAUGHT POSTGRADUATE• Master of Fine Art (MFA)• Master of Design (MDes)• Master of Design (MDes) SADI

• MA (Cardiff School of Art & Design) Specialist Pathways only• Art & Science• Philosophy• Ecologies• Death and Visual Culture

• Postgraduate Certificate in Research Skills:Art & Design

• MA Ceramics• MSc Advanced Product Design

UNDERGRADUATE• HNC Building Technology and

Management (Ystrad Mynach)

• BSc (Hons) Architectural Design &Technology

• BA (Hons) Artist Designer: Maker• BA (Hons) Fine Art• BA (Hons) Ceramics• BA (Hons) Textiles• BA (Hons) Graphic Communication• BA (Hons) Illustration• BA (Hons) Product Design• BSc (Hons) Product Design• BA (Hons) Photographic Practice

(Bridgend)

RESEARCH DEGREES• MPhil• PhD• Professional Doctorate in Art• Professional Doctorate in Design

FOUNDATION• Cardiff Diploma in Foundation Studies

(Art & Design) (Bridgend) - allied programme only

• Foundation Degree in Applied Art & Design(Bridgend)

• Foundation Degree in Ceramics (Cardiff and The Vale College)

• Foundation Degree in ContemporaryTextiles Practice (Cardiff and The Vale College)

• Foundation Degree in GraphicCommunication (Cardiff and The Vale College)