Educational Project Residency

Making Faces Exhibition

20 July - 4 Aug

Thurs -Sat 11am-4pm

CAS is delighted to present this exhibition of work by Jet Treacy and the children of Anton Junior School.

As a recently graduated portrait painter, Jet Treacy was awarded an educational project residency with Chapel Arts Studios (CAS) in January 2023, to develop her work within an educational setting, sharing her techniques, skills and inspiration with primary school children.

Making Faces: A portrait project

Jet Treacy is an Andover based artist and graduate from the Winchester School of Art with a BA in Fine Art in 2022. Predominantly an acrylic painter, Jet is interested in investigating the significance of portrait painting in today's age. When she was accepted for the residency at CAS, she felt like she had more to explore and was drawn to continue developing her portrait practice through this subject matter. Working with children also provided a good opportunity for her to reflect on her own practice by sharing what she had learned so far from

painting portraits.

Jet's Statement:

‘I view painting as a step back from the constant scrolling through social media and a way to reconnect with the human familiarity of mark-making. This involves connecting what I see with the physical action of making marks. I have been working on breaking away from my self-taught, refined painting technique and instead embracing the materiality and agency of paint through raw brush strokes. In my portrait investigations, I am particularly interested in a candid profile with the subject turning away. I find that this approach feels more tender and shows more vulnerability than a direct gaze.’

On working at school:

‘I have valued the opportunity to show the students a variety of artists that are all so

individual in terms of painting technique. I showed them artists that inspire me, that make wonderful and thought provoking paintings out of everyday environments and people. By showing the students these artists, I hope to have left an impression on how diverse portraits and painting can be. During most of the sessions I would do a quick painting demonstration.

I would share tips on proportion, highlight any mistakes I would make and emphasise the

characteristics of the medium. I wanted to find a balance between sharing traditional

techniques and letting the students find their own voices through the paint. I think the end

collective of work is a great representative of them stepping out of their comfort zones,

embracing their own individual techniques with the mediums and taking on what I have

taught them within the art sessions.

The project has given me the opportunity to learn a great deal about teaching art, reflecting on my own practice, and being able to verbally communicate my practice. For the students, I hope to have given them more confidence in themselves artistically and to think more subjectively about art and the different factors that make an art piece “good”. The exhibition presents an interesting contrast, the students' work shows front facing and confident figures, and my accompanying work represents my developed interest in painting more candid and turned away figures, a representation of my evolving practice venturing into deeper and experimental compositions.’

Bio:

• Accepted for CAS Artist residency Jan 2023.
• Graduated from Winchester School of Art in 2022 with a BA in Fine Art.

Facebook: Jet Treacy Artwork.

Instagram: @jettrey