An Interview with Alex Jordan

Our latest interviewee is lovely Alex... carry on reading to find out what she's been up to!

 

 

What did you study, where and when did you graduate?
I studied Textiles in Practice at Manchester School of Art and graduated July 2016
 

Describe your work in 3 words.  

Detailed, colourful and expressive
 

Tell us about your favourite piece of your work  

One of my favourite workshops is inspired by Wassily Kandinsky. We listen to music and then 'conduct the music on to our pages' - I call it "seeing sound and hearing colour". There are some really interesting results from the different groups of people I work with - especially those with mental health issues, and dementia. I've got a series of paintings and drawings from these sessions I keep adding to that are my current favourites.
 

Tell us about life after your degree.

Adjusting is interesting, not having that close network of people that are inspired by similar stuff can often make you feel quite isolated. It took me about 6 months to feel like I was getting to where I needed to be, it takes a while for the hard work to pay off and to get the momentum moving. Keeping yourself inspired and interested is so important. Whether that's gallery trips, visual research or just taking pictures of things that you find aesthetically pleasing, you have to keep that creative side of you working.

I now work with multiple charities, running art sessions with vulnerable adults with mental health issues, acquired brain injuries, learning disabilities and dementia. I aim to create a safe place for participants to feel free of their issues without judgement and a time for them to enjoy being creative. I'm working towards a Masters in Art Psychotherapy and once trained will be able to offer services to those in need. I keep a blog about my experiences and my research and I am slowly building an online archive of articles of interest to Art Psychotherapy.

I'm also keeping up my own creative practice as much as possible with creating textile based products towards an Etsy shop and challenging myself to do a self portrait each day (Instagram: @_a_portrait_a_day_) as well as creating my own art work in all of the workshops I run.

 

If you could give your student self some advice, what would it be?  

Find the people that both inspire and intimidate you a little on your course and work near them. Their work ethic and enthusiasm will help push your own creative practice.

Also, understand that post-graduate life is hard work and you have to be equal to that and understand it's about patience, playing the 'long game' and having faith in a years time you'll look back and be proud of how far you've come.

 

What item could you not function without?  

Something to write notes in - writing things down helps me remember and reminds me of my ideas for future projects
 

Bonus question: if you were a cocktail what would the ingredients be? 

There's an amazing cocktail in 'Dusk till Pawn' in the Northern Quarter of Manchester which is my favourite. It's made with tomato and watermelon juice and gin with a salt encrusted rim

Website: https://www.alexandrajordandesign.com

Instagram: @alexandrajordandesign