BA (Hons) Art Practice student discusses the ‘Breaking Out’ exhibition.
Debbie Byford from Croxton near Thetford left school with one O level at the age of 16. Now she is on the brink of completing a degree thanks to the support of University Studies at West Suffolk College. This is her story.
I started painting at 14 and it’s always been a passion of mine. I grew up in a creative family. We had dressmakers and artists – I guess it (creativity) must be in my genes.
I left school at an early age and had children when I was quite young. Career wise I put my energies into being a mum and had stints as a hairdresser and worked for an estate agent.
But when my children grew up, I had time to be an artist again. It was liberating.
After a while I decided to go back to the classroom and studied on a level two course. I managed to gain a distinction on this course and decided to continue with my education, securing a place on an art practice degree at University Studies at West Suffolk College. Having a degree on the doorstep was a godsend to me as I don’t think I’d have done it if I’d had to travel far.
Going back into education was very daunting at first. I knew I would be in the classroom with younger people. I thought, I could probably be there grandmother. But I soon realised my age was not a factor. We were all on the course because we loved art and my age was irrelevant.
Overall the degree has been brilliant, the tutors have been amazing and I’ve got no regrets. I’ve done an awful of stuff – I’ve been taken out of my comfort zone in a good way and we have had many inspirational mentors. We’ve been to galleries - which is something that I love doing - and now I’ve just had my work featured in an exhibition called ‘Breaking Out’.
We were given a pop up shop in The ARC in Bury St Edmunds for two weeks. (Thanks to both the team at The Arc and the landlord of Unit 17 for helping us to arrange the use of this space for the exhibition). It was great to watch people look at my work. I couldn’t help but listen in to what they were saying sometimes. (Don’t all artists do that?).
The exhibition was comprised of a broad range of work across a variety of artistic mediums and creative practices made by myself and everyone else on the course. It had beautiful paintings showcasing natural landscapes, industry-standard animation, portrait and collage pieces, Illustration and more. It was an amazing way to end the year for everyone.
After my degree, my plan is to host art workshops so people can enjoy the process of being creative.
On reflection, it was hard going back into education but I’d say to other mature students that they should go for it. I got so much out of it. It takes lots of dedication but it’s all worth it in the end.
In October, I’ll be donning my graduation gown. It’s something I never thought I would do. I’ll be there with my family and I think they will all be very proud of ‘mum’. It will be the first time in my life that I’ll be more qualified than my husband. I’m looking forward to saying that. It will be a very special day.