The radiance of resin

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There was a moment’s confusion when I turned up at Hollie Jackson’s studio. She had been expecting someone to pick up a splashback for an induction hob. The said splashback was all there, ready for its new owner – an orange and yellow swirling abstract - very beautiful, and ready to bring a warm glow to the lucky new owner’s kitchen. Sadly not me for that one. Hollie’s resin art is, for the most part, functional, and she fulfils many commissions ranging from mirrors to memorials. In her studio, I observed a little round hole in the centre of a beautiful circular beachscape - ready to receive the hands of a clock. Necklaces and earrings too are inspired by the breaking waves that surround her island home. The sea runs in Hollie’s veins. “It’s my absolute passion”, she told me. She grew up on the coast and lives just steps from the waves. Sunrise walks on the shore inspire both her beachscapes and abstract work.

 

“Follow your dreams” instructs a little wooden plaque on her workbench. Whether it’s a functional piece, or art for art’s sake, Hollie wants people who see her work to “get lost in a paradise world…to run away with somewhere beautiful in mind”. Looking deep into one of Hollie’s abstracts, that isn’t difficult to do. They give sparkle to the darkest corner, but when the sun catches them, they really come to life, revealing inner depths and new dimensions, and occasionally a mysterious glint of gold, tantalising the imagination.

 

Creating the work is quite a technical process, with some pieces take four days, others two weeks to complete. They are made on wooden bases. I noticed some cut-out shapes on the workbench. A seahorse, primed in two colours of matt paint, turquoise for the sea, sandy yellow for the beach, waiting for the application of the layers of resin that will transform them with the movement of washing breakers. Layer after layer are patiently applied, with 24 hours between each coat until, wave after wave, an ocean takes form.

 

All this is just one aspect of Hollie’s activity. As you find your way to Riboleau Studios, you may well pass other pieces of Hollie’s art (clue: look for a cheerfully-wrapped Wightfibre box behind Ryde Co-op). She is part of the “community murals” team and has had a hand, together with her colleague Emma Goss, in adding an extra splash of sunshine to the town’s streets.They hope to extend this project to involve young people in the work. An experienced teacher, Hollie is also running workshops at her studios, and when she is not busy there, she can regularly be found at her stall at island art fairs, at Chale and Wolverton Manor, the Isle of Wight County Show and the Garlic Festival, offering her customers the chance to take the tang of the sea and an escape into paradise right into their homes. - R.L.