This young artist is already making waves in the North East just six months after graduating

The young artist has had her art exhibited at the Bridge Gallery and had three pieces featured at Baltic Open Submissions.

“It has all happened so quickly after graduating. I never expected this and I thought I would have to get a full-time job and make my art on the side” said Lucy.

Lucy hit another huge milestone in her career as she was recently announced as one of the winners of the North East Emerging Artist Award.

The North East Emerging Artist Award continues the rich history of artistic patronage at Seaton Delaval Hall. It was established to showcase site-specific contemporary art in a historic context and to encourage emerging artists to develop proposals at the hall.

Seaton Delaval Hall is a stately home in Northumberland that was built in the early 18th Century for Admiral George Delaval.

The artists were given free rein to create artwork that was inspired by the hall and its history.

Originally, Lucy wanted to explore the hierarchy of the staff who worked there at the time. However, she realised that most stately homes would have had similar social structures so her idea wouldn’t have been unique to the hall.

“I started to look at the family and the line of inheritance, which always went to the males. They would sometimes gamble it away or lose it or not engage with the property to the best of their ability,” said Lucy. “The women were sidelined in the history so I wanted to create a piece that brought them back into the narrative and highlight things they did that aren’t documented as broadly.”

Lucy has a distinct signature style of ceramics that was heavily influenced by the blue china plates prominent in many of our grandparents’ kitchens. Her art also always includes the recurring motif of her family home and the houses on her street.

“When I was looking to see if I was eligible for any scholarships when I was applying for my masters course, I had to put my postcode into the site to see if I was eligible. It flagged in big, bold red writing that the area I lived in was deprived,” said Lucy. “I was quite offended, but also, I thought it was quite funny, so I decided to incorporate my family home into everything I do going forward.”

The scholarship situation also heavily inspired how Lucy approached art as she started to research the socio-economic state of the North East.

“When I’m making pieces, it’s a way of articulating things that I’m feeling. If I feel a certain way then I might not be able to articulate that in any other way than through art, or I just wouldn’t bring up those certain topics,” said Lucy.

She added: “When I made pieces for the masters show for my degree, I hadn’t shown anyone before putting it out there, and I was quite shocked by the positive feedback because I felt like it was personal to me.”

The process of painting and designing is incredibly soothing for Lucy as she said that it’s beneficial for her mental health.

“I’ve had a lot going on recently where I haven’t had time to make art as consistently as I was, but I love to sit and paint,” said Lucy. “When I haven’t done it for a while, I almost crave to make a piece because I have this uncomfortable feeling where I need to relax and get into the making process again.”