Jessica Palmer

What a year. What a time. I feel I can't write this piece without referring to the times we are in. The strangest of times in which we have all had to rethink. For me it has been about continuity and keeping going when all your projects are tumbling like skittles!

As an artist, you work for yourself first and foremost because making art in any medium is a vocation and a passion. You need to find a way to keep doing it, by hook or by crook. But I delight in working with clients or to a brief or for a specific site.

A recent example is a project I did just before lockdown for the National Trust which involved making a series of 3D paper sculptures in glass domes, responding to objects and artworks on display in Stourhead House. I like the collaborative nature of the relationship and the feedback.

In 2020 I made a large folk-art collage to celebrate Bath City Farm’s 20th year. For this, I made all the pieces, chickens, pigs, Shetland ponies, more chickens, bees and goats first. Then I painted a watercolour background and composed the piece.

This artwork is to fundraise for the farm's work in a socially deprived area. We hope to raffle it so that anyone can have the chance to own the artwork.

I had the good fortune to meet one of the founders of the Bath Women's Fund at a Forest of Imagination event. I thought it sounded like a brilliant venture. I am very happy to be part of it.

If you want to see more of my work please look at my website. If you are interested in commissioning me to make something for you, whether you are an individual or an organisation, you can email me or text me on 0770102453. On Instagram, I am jessicapalmer_studio.