About the artists

Jocelyn Leigh

Jocelyn's work picks up threads from all her studies and work, and is displayed in an austere manner shaped by the workbooks and note taking through school while taking A levels in Pure Maths and Physics, and at university where she first studied Geography and much later Fine Art.

For 'Experiment 2' she has explored the use of archives in her work, inspired partly by the World Ship Society Chatham Archive, by her professional work in Reference/Archive libraries, and also her own family links with dockyards. The exhibition also features artwork inspired by her own field trip notes to the marshes at Cliffe on the Hoo Peninsula.

Instagram: @jocelynleighartist
Facebook: @JocelynLeighArtist

Rosie James

Rosie James is an artist working mostly in textiles. Her work explores the use of the sewing machine as a tool for drawing. The ways in which stitching and textiles figure in our everyday lives is a continuing fascination. Rosie uses screen printing as well as machine stitching and applique to create layers of imagery.

In ‘Experiment 2’ she has decided to look back to her time when she had a workshop in the House Carpenters Shop at the Historic Dockyard Chatham. She would do a lot of dyeing and screen printing onto silks and turn these into scarves, ties, cushion etc. The imagery was primarily of boats on the river with references to nautical charts and the moon. This navigation theme seems like a perfect match for the exhibition which features mostly samples and test pieces never shown in public before.

https://rosiejamestextileartist.wordpress.com/
Instagram: @rosiejamestextileartist

Rosie Melville

Like many creatives, Rosie was directed towards science and away from art at school. She graduated from Kent University with a Biomedical Science BSc in 2004 but returned to university in 2009 to complete an Access to HE: Art & Design diploma at UCA so she could change career direction. She followed this with a Foundation Degree in Fine Art from Greenwich University, and has been a practicing artist since 2014. In 2020 she completed a teaching qualification and enjoys working as a lecturer and technician alongside her own practice.

In her own words: "Although I felt I had left my science background behind, I realised I was approaching my practice through experimentation. I mix my own glazes and this requires you to work methodically and to make meticulous notes. It is an ongoing learning process. It is often assumed that art and science are opposites, however, they do in fact complement each other very well, and in ceramics, both are essential.

​For many years now, I’ve had a growing interest in family history and social history. Working with The World Ship Society Chatham Archives I discovered the ship that my grandfather served on during WWII. The destroyer HMS Zephyr took part in several operations and played an important part in protecting the arctic convoys, which took essential supplies between Scapa Flow in Scotland to Northern Russia. This series of work shows part of my grandfather's journey through life around the time of the second world war."

rosiemelville.com
Instagram: @rosie__melville
Facebook: @RosieMelvilleCeramics

Sheilagh Dyson

Mixed Media artist specialising in eco-printing and dyeing, textiles and image transfer.

Instagram: @sheilaghdysonartist
Facebook: @SheilaghDysonArtist