Femininity, folklore and finding joy in negative spaces

Monday 26 December 2022

Whilst she has always been creative, it was until about five years ago that local artist Lucy Fleming “got hooked” on lino printing.

Her creative journey started at a young age, although Lucy admits she can’t pinpoint when.

 “My mum is very creative, so my brother, my sister and I grew up with creativity around,” she explains. “It led me to pursue art when I went to art college and university. I studied art in a few different ways but not in the medium I am using now.”

Lucy tried out a few different mediums at Highlands College before going to university where she majored in photography, with a minor in screen printing. However, it is lino printing she chose as her main practice.  

Pictured: "I like the tactile process and that you have to really think about the positive and negative spaces."

“I have done all kinds of different things, I just like being creative basically,” she says. “When my son was still quite young, about three, I wanted to do something to go in his bedroom. I found some things lying around and decided to carve some lino. I created the ‘Don’t care bear’ and I got hooked on lino printing.”

“With the lino, you are carving and then painting, I like the stages, there are so many, it tickles all my different creative buttons.”

Describing the stages, she adds: “You start by illustrating and sketching your design, then you transfer it onto the lino. I like the tactile process and that you have to really think about the positive and negative spaces. Then once it’s ready, you roll it and print it.

“There are different ways of doing it and there are so many different types of surfaces. There are so many possibilities of how you can approach it. I also like that you can repaint something from a block you have spent a lot of time on.”

From the initial idea to the printing, Lucy can spend 40 hours on a block. “It depends on the block you are carving, each block has a character of its own, and how much detail there is in the design, how careful you need to be and whether it goes according to plan,” she adds.

Pictured: Carving away the negative space for a piece called ‘Mine’.

When it comes to her influences, Lucy says there are many: from the surroundings of her St. Ouen home to nature at large.

“Nature is always an amazing inspiration,” she says. “I do have an interest in folklore writing, such as Nordic folklore or African stories. I like the illustrations that go with the storytelling, as a lot of the time with you need to compress a lot of ideas in a simple design. 

“Especially having a young child, I look at a lot of stories and their illustrations, drawn in a simple way that tells you a lot of information without being too complicated. I also look at a lot of art, from illustrators, print-makers and street artists.”

Her most recent work, which she presented as part of ‘Through Three Women's Eyes’, an ArtHouse Jersey exhibition alongside Lisa Troy and Sophie de Faye, was inspired by femininity, as ‘Envelop’, one of the pieces, shows. 

“There was a very feminine feel to it because I was making the work for the exhibition,” Lucy explains. “It was really nice to have a purpose rather than just whatever idea crossed my mind, I had a theme to work towards. I really enjoyed it, it was a lovely process.”

“A lot of the work I do is quite instinctual,” she adds. “I have a lot of thoughts and feelings that come out as I am sketching. With ‘Envelop’, there was that feminine background and the idea of feminity and connection to nature, as well as the idea that women can hold a lot."

Pictured: ‘Envelop’, which she presented as part of ‘Through Three Women's Eyes’ exhibition.

Lucy says a lot of visitors to the exhibition were drawn to ‘Envelop’, something she didn’t necessarily expect but was pleased with. “I did feel that it was a powerful one when I finished it, but I know that how it makes you feel and how it makes everyone feel is going to be different. I was pleased that people were drawn to it, it makes you feel like you have a connection with the observer. 

“’Envelop’ makes feel kind of comforted but it also makes me feel seen. I have got a lot of strong women in my life and this was always a comfort.”

For her new series, Lucy has decided to focus on the myths and legends of Jersey, although she admits it is more a long-term plan than a one that will see the light of day very soon.

“It’s a project I dip in and out off,” she explains. “I don’t do art full time, it’s something I do in the evenings, or on my days off or when I have free time. My job is completely not connected to art,  I work in a bicycle workshop cycling industry.” 

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This article first appeared in the special Christmas and New Year edition of Connect Magazine, which you can read in full below...