Storytellers Artist Talk - Jill W. Holder in conversation with Marg Mayne

Jill Holder is an artist living and working in the South East of England.  Brought up during the austerity following World War II she learnt to amuse herself with the things she found around her – A discarded matchbox, pebbles, scraps of paper, beads etc.  Her favourite Christmas present was given to her by her father when she was 13.  It consisted of a box full of odd bits of mirror, cogs, a small engine, tiny light bulbs, bits of wire, and more.

Following school, she joined the foundation course at Croydon College of Art where she was lucky enough to study under Clive Barker and Bruce McLean.  Then, as family pressure insisted, she studied “something worthwhile” choosing Fashion at St Martin’s in London.

She worked in fashion, interiors, even floristry, before giving up everything to concentrate on her work as an artist.

She is still doing what she did as a child. She says “Primarily, I make things.  With paint, paper, clay, found objects and glue and anything else that stays still long enough.  I also like interfacing with the public.  So often a chance remark will start a whole new chain of thought.”

For “Open the Box” in 2011, (Creek Creative, Faversham) she filled  one hundred boxes with treasures, then placed each box, closed, on a shelf for visitors to open and explore.

In 2014, interested in the human passion for collecting, she enjoyed collaborating with fellow artist Bob Lamoon as part of Holder and Lamoon. Their show, “The Essence of Memory”, following their Artist’s Residency at the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury, was packed with comments and thoughts about the subject, all packaged in an odd juxtaposition of boot market finds, painting and sculpture.  Both scholarly and humorous the show delighted visitors.

In 2015 she was involved in an artist led show “A Handful of Dust”  (Pie Factory, Margate), a hard hitting collection of new work by eight artists who wanted to raise awareness of the hundreds of thousands of children caught up in the adult world of war.  This has set a precedent for more serious work from this artist on a subject that still occupies her thoughts.  “For me,” she says “there is no glory, nothing to wave flags about, only destruction and decay.  Caught in the middle of every conflict are children. Children. They are starving through associated famine, losing limb or life in attacks, losing their families and their security, losing their innocence and grace as they are taught to use weapons to kill.”

There have been other exhibitions in between but recently Jill has been concentrating on family affairs.  Although she has only taken part in shows in a small way she has built a new studio, continued with her practice and is now turning her thoughts towards exhibiting again.

Kent Creative is an independent cultural organisation formed in 2009. We are based in Faversham and we operate throughout Kent. We promote arts and culture across Kent by supporting ambitious emerging and established a creatives and organisations. Our vision is of a society that values creativity, arts and culture and actively celebrates their positive contribution to our lives.

Kent Creative currently has 4 primary activities:

• Culture in Kent : online directory showcasing and promoting arts and culture in Kent.
• The Kent Creative Show: a podcast and Youtube Channel and podcast that offers conversations with artists and creatives who share their experiences, journeys and creative work. Each show gives an insight into their life story and how it led them to do what they do today.
• Art shows and cultural events: selling shows for Kent based artists, designers and makers to sell their work directly to audiences. All shows are curated for quality and consistency.
• Project 365: Community photography project inviting members of the community to take photographs taken each day of the year, depicting life in their community.

Across all our projects, we are particularly interested in developing relationships with the wider business community, offering sponsorship opportunities.

The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge is an Art Gallery, Library and Visitor Information Centre situated in the heart of historic Canterbury.