In your own words, how would you describe your work?

My work is very much focused on fat bodies and what I would describe as ‘general heathenry’. So it features an awful lot of fat nudes [laughs] and a lot of pagan/Satanic symbolism, but I work in lots of different media. Perhaps because I’m not artistically educated I just tend to pick up whatever it is that I want to be working with that day. Some days I’ll fancy doing some painting, and other days I’ll fancy working with ceramics, so I do have quite a lot of freedom in my artwork. I’ve also enjoyed life drawing with pencil and charcoal, and I occasionally produce digital art.

When did you first discover your passion for painting/design/photography?

I’ve always felt creative and I’ve always felt a drive to be creative but I think I choked those feelings down until I was in my late twenties (and I’m only in my mid thirties now). I would constantly try and pick up new creative projects but due to a lack of confidence I never really progressed with any of them. As a small child I enjoyed drawing, and I enjoyed creating stories and narratives, but never really progressed very far because I felt painfully shy and had no belief in myself. I never took any art subjects when I was at school even though I was intrigued by them so my art education began in my 20s with life drawing classes. Around that time I started working on my self-confidence and challenging myself more, and I became committed to the idea that I needed to express myself creatively. That’s when I started getting really fed up – consciously, of not seeing diverse bodies in artistic works and the media. I deeply questioned why I could not see myself or other fat bodies represented in any way other than a warning label or as the butt of a bad joke. That’s why my work focuses on the fat body. Typically my body type and the body types that I represent in art aren’t really shown anywhere. I couldn’t find the art that I actually wanted to see, so I decided to make it instead.

What’s your creative process?

I don’t think I really know what the creative process is. Some days I feel a real drive to make something or paint something or I have a burning idea. Other days I feel very congested creatively, and I can get quite frustrated, and I’ll try to make something but I won’t enjoy the process or the results. I definitely use creativity to process a lot of my own emotions, my trauma, and to address issues within my own mental well-being. I tend to have no idea of what it is that I want to finish up with, particularly now I’ve started working with ceramics. I don’t really have an idea of what the body will look like when it’s finished. I just work with the materials and see what happens at the other end.

What does a typical day look like to you?

Unfortunately I don’t get to do Corpse Wax seven days a week/full time. A typical day for me tends to start quite nicely with a dog walk. Then I work in social care which can be very stressful and very emotionally demanding. My spare time is predominantly spent creating or thinking about creating, or I suppose more practically planning the next market or event that I’m taking my work to. I really enjoy the very banal aspects of running an art business. I actually really love packing envelopes and writing addresses on things, because it makes me feel… validated, I suppose, or as though my art business is actually making progress. Which can be quite hard to see when you’re running it. The idea that anyone would like my art enough to support Corpse Wax financially, and to have a piece in their home is very heart-warming.

What have you learned most about yourself in recent times?

As someone who struggles somewhat with socialising out in the world, I’ve definitely learned that I have gone too far and over-isolated myself, so I’m trying to use Corpse Wax in particular as a social device for myself. I am an introvert but I do still enjoy connecting with other people. I struggle with negative attention I get outside the house and the way that people perceive my body and feel the need to comment on it at every opportunity in public. Being a fat, heavily tattooed woman is not always the easiest existence. However, I’ve started to practise socialising a little bit more and taking risks… taking chances on myself, I suppose, would be the better way to word it.

Do you have any wisdom you can share with others who are thinking of launching a creative business?

I think every artist I’ve met has impostor syndrome! So if you’re thinking that whatever you create isn’t good enough, I suggest just giving it a go anyway. Corpse Wax is by no means a financially viable full-time income business, but that’s very secondary to me now. Actually I’ve built some amazing connections with people that I never would have met if I had not taken a bit of a chance and run a market stall, and submitted work to the Gravesham Community gallery. I’ve started to create something that I’m increasingly proud of, despite all of my hang- ups about thoughts like “nobody will like it, it won’t speak to anybody, why would anyone pay attention to this”, or “it’s not as good as [xyz] artist’s work”. So I suppose my suggestion is just to try it because if you’ve already decided that you’re going to fail… then you can’t disappoint yourself in the long run! [laughs] I think also, create just for fun and not for monetary gain, ultimately. Because that’s when you do your best work, when you’re just creating for the enjoyment of it or to express something. That tends to be when you actually learn anything about what it is that you’re making. So I would just try and take the business out of it as far as possible.

What is on your mind right now?

Hoping that I don’t come across terribly in the written word! [laughs]

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