Jo Blaker - Artist & Educator

Welcome to Studio Notes with Sasha DeWitt - a new podcast for creatives where I'll be chatting with a variety of artists about their creative journeys as well as the nuts and bolts of what goes on behind the scenes when making artwork. This podcast is for artist and art lovers alike. I hope it'll inspire those who are thinking about pursuing art as a career as well as those who are already on their journey.
Episode Notes:
In this seventh and final episode of season one I chat with Jo Blaker. During this conversation we cover her journey from childhood through art school and her time doing an MA at the RCA to her current practice and a glimpse of what this year might bring.
Over her journey she talks about rebelling against herself and her work as an illustrator. Then through voluntary and paid work starting to find themes such as drawing, nature and creativity that resonated with her and are still a part of her current practice.
We chat about the need to balance staying true to yourself, working spontaneously and finding a way to support yourself. How in the best circumstances they are feeding into each other.
She reflected back over the 100 day project of mini-sketchbooks that she filled as well as starting to take life drawing classes again and what these things bring to her practice.
This year she’s reflecting on how the drawing side of her practice has grown. She hopes to focus more on her own drawing while keeping up with workshops. She enjoys the way that they feed each other and work nicely together.
Mentioned:
Into Art
https://intoart.org.uk
To find out more about Jo’s artwork, projects and courses visit:
Website:
https://www.joblaker.com
On Insta:
@jo_blaker   https://www.instagram.com/jo_blaker/
Also with big thanks:
This episode has been made possible with funding from the Arts Council England as part of a DYCP grant I received.