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Nicola opts to follow her art
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| Waste not, want not - artist Nicola Burrell with Milldene Primary School pupils and their creation, made from recyclable items. Picture: NIGEL BROWN (76939-2) |
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Nicola Burrell pondered the question.
Finally, she said: "I see the point Tracey Emin was trying to make, but it is a different world to the one I am in."
We are talking about Tracey Emin's 1999 work, My Bed, exhibited at the Tate Gallery in London.
Ms Burrell, a practising artist from St Mary's, Colchester, admitted Brit art, such as My Bed, has brought art into the mainstream.
In fact, who hasn't got an opinion on modern art?
But it is becoming more than that and Ms Burrell, who teaches art at Colchester Institute, is noticing a rise in students studying the subject.
"Artists like Tracey Emin have raised the profile of art, which is a good thing. But I like to see the artist's hand in their work and their imagination. That's what makes art interesting to me. How I make something is what I am about," she explained.
Some people may recognise Ms Burrell, 42, from her work with primary and secondary school children in Colchester, something which she is just as passionate about as the work she is commissioned to produce by councils and organisations across the county.
She first began working in schools when she finished studying - she completed a diploma at Colchester Institute, a degree and masters degree in fine art at university in Northern Ireland, before training to be a teacher.
Most recently, she was at Milldene Primary School, in Tiptree, where she helped children create a lifesize sculpture using nothing but recyclable materials.
"Children respond so positively to things. They love having a day making things. It's fascinating watching them in different tasks, it's uplifting."
But there is a more serious side to what motivates her to dedicate time to children.
"Art is crucial, because people, generally, are making things less and less. During my childhood we would make things usings sticks, cardboard, paper and start drawing things.
"Now, children are more screen-based, with television and computer games. Art helps people develop their spatial skills, but they also develop other skills, such as maths and descriptive language," she said.
Ms Burrell has a point. How many people remember waiting impatiently for the kitchen towels to run out so they could take the cardboard roll and craft the masterpiece created by Blue Peter presenters on television? And how many children do that today?
As well as being an important development tool, Ms Burrell, a former St Helena School pupil, said making things also defines who she is as an artist.
She describes herself as "a maker", who interprets the environment around her in a contemporary, artistic way. So, rather than conforming to people's ideas of what an artist should be, Ms Burrell is at her best using her hands, experimenting with materials and sculpting, mainly using cardboard, concrete and steel.
Using unusual materials means some people may not understand what she does - but thankfully, family and friends are all on board.
"I have a very supportive network who understand what I do, which is really important.
"If I am talking to someone about what I do and they say why don't you paint a watercolour of local scenes because it makes more money, that would be the worst thing. I do need to make money from my work, but money is not what drives me."
Ms Burrell's sculptures have been displayed across Colchester, and you could hardly miss them.
Ever seen the nine-foot tall grasshopper in Colchester's High Woods Country Park? Or what about the stars in Colchester Castle Park to commemorate the anniversary of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - and don't forget the life-size cardboard people reading books in Colchester library a few years ago?
Her most recent work is a concrete mill sculpture for Harlow canal, and she has also sculpted giant steel flowers for a green area in Redbridge, near London.
But Ms Burrell's work is not just well known in Essex. Earlier in her career, she completed residencies in Northern Ireland, Spain and Germany, where she produced work that, in Spain and Germany, were exhibited in public places.
"The residencies were fantastic. I got a real buzz from meeting people from different countries, talking to them and having that intense concentration, because you are there to focus on your work," she said, full of excitement.
While some of us may fancy ourselves as a bit of a Picasso from time to time, art is more a way of life for Ms Burrell.
She explained: "For me, art is just something I have to do. It is part of my make up. I think places are enriched if they have art. That's my aim as an artist."
She has certainly enriched Colchester with her work.
But what of the future? Are the bright lights of London, Brit art and fame beckoning, now artists are the new celebrities?
"It sounds ridiculous, but I just want to carry on with what I am doing now," said Ms Burrell.
"It's not a case of wanting to make something bigger - I am always experimenting with different materials and, between the workshops with the children, teaching and my commissions, I am already doing what I have always wanted to do."
9:46am Monday 28th April 2008
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