Jessica Elleray (Fine Art and Creative Writing, 2017, Fylde) arrived at Lancaster with the desire to become an artist, but left with a conviction that she could use that creative drive to be a voice for change on the current big issues facing the museum communities such as exporting of antiquities and ownership of cultural material.

Now describing herself as a research artist, Silverdale-based Elleray is fast establishing herself as a creative force who works with the Cumbrian landscape around her, but with the ability to bring other artists on board and to communicate with audiences. That, she ascribes to the power of the new joint degree she completed at Lancaster in both fine art and creative writing, which not only allowed her to develop her artistic ‘voice’ and the confidence in the studio making work, but also gave her the skills to write about artistic practice and to develop compelling messages to attract audiences.

“Lancaster expanded my world view of what art can be and I’m still uncovering what that means now,” she explains. “I want to be an artist working at the intersection of art and archaeology, using art practice to research heritage issues. My interest is also in engaging audiences and seeing how I can make work that says things that matter to them.”

She has a particular focus on heritage protection and looting, which she explored in a project called Copper (In Our) Veins in collaboration with fellow Lancaster graduate artist Siobhan Miles-Moore, involving stories surrounding Coniston Copper mines in Cumbria. It was a response to conservation work that removed the archaeological site from the heritage at risk register and was focused on reconnecting people with their hidden heritage.

Her current project - Museum of Stolen Stories - explores the impact of looting, trafficking and collecting of antiquities and cultural property. This will begin with some sculpting workshops at Kendal Museum early in 2020 and involves looking at research methods and at treasure law.

“Being an artist, people imagine that I’m in a studio making all day, but I have a portfolio career, “ she laughs. She is one of the organisers of Silverdale and Arnside Art Trail which involves working with around 90 artists and she is also studying for a Master's in Collecting and Provenance in an International Perspective, at Glasgow University.

Born in Essex, Elleray was living in Cumbria when applying for university. She had met her future partner whilst travelling in her gap year and was considering nearby universities when Lancaster announced its new joint degree in Fine Art and Creative writing. This sold it to her.

She loved her time there - although she acknowledges she was not a typical student. “No one had every heard of an engaged fresher before!” she quips. She lived on campus for the first year and then got married and commuted for her remaining time as a student from Silverdale.

University was not what Elleray had expected: “It was a real shift in how you are taught compared with 'A' levels. It was hard to be scrutinised for your art and it feels personal. It changed the way that I think about art, in a way that I am only beginning to understand now.”

She found that she loved the academic side of her art course and writing papers and that it supported the artistic side. She discovered how crucial it was to be able to talk about her practice through the balance of hands on and book work that the art course offered, married with the creative writing.

She particularly remembers creative writing modules in creative non-fiction and narrative in the media.“They were really interesting and fresh,” she recalls. “Projects still bubble in my mind related to both of these.”

On the practice side she got involved with the newly formed Up North Arts Group. As a result of the exhibitions she did with them, and the chance to exhibit at the Peter Scott Gallery in preparation for her degree show, her CV is rich for a person so early in her career.

Elleray loved her time at university, but admits that because she was newly married and lived off campus, she did not immerse herself in student life. Nevertheless, she made friends for life with whom she still exhibits and during her third year gained valuable experience of the importance fundraising as chair of the degree show committee.

Juggling a home life and a dual degree, was a major undertaking. She admits that she had underestimated the sheer amount of work required in doing what amounted to two degrees simultaneously. However she says:”I feel fully rounded as an artist from having done this joint degree.”