Jill Skulina: Artist Q & A
Firstly, tell us about yourself! Where do you live, what sort of art do you make and how many children do you have?
I’m Jill Skulina, I live in Newport on Tay; I make sculptural work using ceramics, drawing and textiles. I have one 16 year old daughter.
How do you continue to engage with your art practice alongside raising children? Do you have a dedicated studio space and routine, or do you work from home in between other things?
How I’ve engaged with my art practice has changed over the years as my daughter has grown. I have a studio but tend to switch between there and home, I like to know I can still make work if I can’t get to the studio. The only work routine I have at the moment is getting my blog written for Thursday mornings, the rest of the time I wing it.
What does a typical day look like for you and how much time do you manage to carve out for your own work?
A lot of my day seems to be taken up with pilates/exercise and dog walking, I don’t seem to be able to get round to working ‘til after lunch. But then I will tend to work into the evening. Since lockdown most of my time can be spent on my artwork since all my paid work was cancelled, it’s been really freeing and luxurious to spend as much time as I want making art. I’m trying to hold on to that now resticitions are loosening but I’ll always make time for creativity in some form, regardless.
Have you come up against specific challenges as an artist and mother? What were they and how have you navigated these challenges?
I have an issue with residencies, and the professional weight given to them by funders and galleries, I stopped looking at residencies many years ago because they never catered to parents let alone single parents. Even if the residency was promoted as family friendly, childcare or travel costs of having to take your child with you aren’t considered. It’s only recently I’ve been able to think about looking at residencies but even then, I’ve got my daughters school and exam commitments to consider. Lockdown was the perfect residency, proving that all I needed was time to make work, I didn’t need a hut up a hill or a historical building to ignite inspiration, I have it all in me. Saying that, a forgeign residency would be a different kettle of fish. New York, Chicago or Paris anyone?
What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
So many words of wisdom have reached my ears recently, my current favourites are ‘say what you think’ ‘no one’s going to do it for you’ and ‘do the thing’.
Who are your role models? Who or what inspires and encourages you?
Before doing a course on women and confidence all my role models would have been artists like Louise Bourgeois, Kiki Smith, Susannah Montague and Paula Rego but now, in addition, they are feminist dynamos like Professor Maja Jovanovic (How apologies kill our confidence), Sophie Walker (former leader of The Women’s Equality Party) and Tarana Burke (founder of the Me Too Movement). I’m inspired by strong, feisty, honest women who are living how they want to live and following their calling.
How has the experience of motherhood impacted your practice on an emotional/intellectual level? Has it made you view yourself/your work differently? Are there things that influence your work now that you didn't think about pre-kids?
My birth experience was hugely traumatic and the best way I found to work through that was by making work about it, but not til 14 years later. I couldn't face it before then, I’d hidden it away in an emotional lockbox with all my other emotions. Before dealing with the trauma I made work relating to the repetitive, monotony of domestic life. Domestic chores didn't seem such a big deal before having a child. When my daughter was 2 I went back to art college to study an MFA inspired by a dream about what my final show would look like.
If your child(ren) were asked “Tell me about your mother” what do you hope they would say? Are there particular things you are trying to show/teach them as an artist, a mother, a woman?
I hope she’d say she felt ok about talking to me about worries, troubles and triumphs. I like to buy her feminist books like Girl Up by Laura Bates (Everyday Sexism) and The Illustrated Guide to Feminist Sex by Florence Perry, they tend to get thrown under her bed but glad she has them if she needs them. Physically giving her the book also allows an opening for conversations that don’t naturally come up. I know her friends think I’m cool. So that’s the main thing...
What drives you to continue to create work?
I get incredibly grumpy and down if I can’t create work, it’s mentally essential for me to make art of some kind.
Anything else you would like to add?
A few weeks ago I started a blog about being a feral freelancer, as well as my own experiences I interview other ferals about theirs. If you want to be interviewed you can get in touch through my website or DM me on Instagram or Facebook.
