Jacqueline – who works under the name Willow and Crafts – followed a meandering path towards her artistic career as a child, she loved nothing more than exploring her natural surroundings and making mud pies and rose petal perfumes.
Her father’s work meant that her family would move to a different location every few years and making and uncovering the sparks of magic outside her doorstep was often her way of connecting with her new home.
As she moved into adulthood Jacqueline realized that she wanted to share this sense of creative discovery with others. She spent several years working in community engagement roles where her love of creating came into its own,this led to her opening her own art workshop business in 2007. Soon after, a chance visit to a festival in 2009 brought her to the wonderful world of creating with willow and as the saying goes, the rest was history.
Jacqueline work demonstrates a playful spontaneity – she is a strong advocate for ‘learning by doing', and she strives to inspire others to lose themselves in the process of creating, her work is rarely about the final product, and instead of the joyous act of harvesting and collecting materials before centring herself in the artistic journey.
In the autumn of 2019, Jacqueline was awarded a “Talent Development Grant by the arts organisation a-space arts, to spend time as an artist in residence at Furzey Gardens located in the New Forest where she was able to spend time investigating and experimenting with discarded materials in the garden.
In 2021, Jacqueline was awarded her first Art’s Council grant which funded her artist residency at Tudor House Museum and Garden, Southampton and allowed her to take time out to explore different ways of working, several of her works are now on display in the house and gardens.
Her ultimate goal is to continue exploring new ideas and to share her passion for creating with others. If you are interested in finding more about her experimental practice pop over to her sister website www.jrolls.co.uk
To discover a little about Jacqueline creative journey watch this film was made during her residency.
If you are interested in finding out more about her experimental this can be seen on her sister website jrolls.co.uk