“We are not simply given our world, but we construct it through our perception and categories of thought.”

Ellen. Siegelman

Jo Stevens BA(Hons) Fine Art

I have been painting abstracted scenes and memories since trying to capture and understand the link between emotion and visual language as a student. I apply oil paint and mixed media through a layering and expressionist process, to try and achieve this intention. I hope that by removing obvious or exact representations, it leaves the viewer open to find and experience their own memories and the feelings these evoke. I love the idea that Art can be cathartic and healing for both the viewer and the artist. Recently, I have been trying to capture and create the sense magic and discovery felt as a child by providing an aesthetic that triggers these memories.  

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I am interested in the communication that occurs from this interaction with an artwork, from a psychoanalytical perspective. I experiment with different forms of representation and expression and how/ why a work of art is created and viewed in a particular way as a result. I am concerned with how our minds understand and interpret information, based on conscious and unconscious processes. I am specifically interested in how the use of metaphor can bypass these processes in order to communicate unconsciously.   

I have been teaching Art for over 11 years. During this time I have also had three children, and recently set up a studio to work in at home – which has been great to have a space to create.
I am very interested in how Art can assist with mental health and wellbeing in the educational setting I work. Having recently completed Articulate Art Therapy Course, with British Association for Art Therapists, and becoming a Youth Mental Health First Aider, with MHFA England, I have started to offer sessions for our students to explore their emotions creatively. I am hoping to further explore this creative process, the ways our minds are usually forced into a typical language or thought process, and to consider the possibilities of using alternatives within Art.