Jacklyn Foster’s art journey: Throwing spaghetti at a wall
By Jacklyn Foster
I seem to be saying “Being an artist is like throwing spaghetti at a wall, and seeing what sticks” a lot lately.
I am an only child and spent a lot of my holidays creating, my favourite show was Art Attack, and I won almost all the colouring in competitions I entered. I was the high school Dux in studio arts, art and visual communication and I sold my first painting at 16 years old – it was my final Year 10 art project, and I bought a Razor scooter with the money...
Societal pressure to do different
I was incredibly talented and passionate about art, however I felt the societal and family pressure to get a degree, to find a ‘real job’. Art never felt like a viable option. So I moved to Geelong when I was 18 to study occupational therapy. A degree I hated right from the start. I wanted to quit, but told myself I hadn’t given it enough time. Then close to the end, still hating it, I felt like I had come too far to quit. Until my intuition kicked in and I left three weeks before graduating. Enough was enough. I had a dream I had to chase. It took me five years of studying for a health degree, leaving merely three weeks before graduating to find my way back into art, my childhood passion, love, and dream.
Locking in the dream
Fast forward to now, I worked part-time balancing art and work for 18 months, building my art career and then seven months ago I went full-time as an artist, art teacher, creative mentor and muralist. I have a wonderful assistant who is a dream, and has become the biggest asset to my business.
I create abstract still life pieces in primarily acrylic, and sometimes mixed media. I enjoy capturing moments in the form of still life, but with a sense of playfulness through my abstract interpretation.
Keep creating, your abilities are limitless
My advice to you
Listen to your intuition, your gut feeling, the universe, whatever you refer to it as. That innate knowing you have that you can’t really articulate. It knows deep down what you want and how to go about it – listen to it, even when it is masked in fear. Keep creating, your abilities are limitless. Acknowledge the limitations you place on yourself, understand they mean well, but don’t serve you. Keep experimenting and trying new things.
Being an artist is like throwing spaghetti at a wall, and seeing what sticks. A lot of your best work can come from happy accidents. Ask for support, outsource. Don’t put pressure on yourself to have to do everything alone, if a family member offers help, take it. Have the finances to pay someone to help you? Do it, you don’t have to do it alone. Share the load and leave space and time to create. Back yourself in any way you can. Be your own cheerleader. You are often the only person getting in your way, so see what magic can happen when you move out of the way! Everyone else’s approval is a bonus.
Just know, it’s so possible to make a living from your creativity. The world is a better place for having your creativity in it.
Geelong, Australia
