Rosie Connolly

MEET THE MAKER

My name is Rosie, I am based in South East London and am in the early stages of setting up my business. I studied Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, then went on to do a Masters in Ceramics & Glass at the Royal College of Art, before setting up buy own studio. I am an artist working with ceramic and bronze. My work is inspired by museum displays, the Wunderkammer and ornithology. I sculpt birds and different elements of birds, such as their beaks or claws in coloured clay and wax. The wax pieces are then cast in to bronze.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEEDBACKS?

I had been floating around a bit since my MA, doing odd commissions and part time jobs. I really wanted to focus my practice and create a viable and sustainable business model. With a specific new project in mind, I applied to the programme. The idea was a range of coloured porcelain jasper ware cups and vases, with sprigged relief taken from my wax carvings. Like a macabre Wedgwood. This would hopefully help keep me going and fund my larger work. I have learnt so much in the last few months, it’s hard to think of just a few things! The finance modules were invaluable, I didn’t really have business finances before the course, it was all a bit too fluid and mixed in with my personal money. It’s been amazing to get structure with this and have an annual cashflow, work out budgets, break even points and the exact costings and price of my products. Working out how much I should ACTUALLY be paying myself! The speaking and writing modules were excellent too. I always thought I was quite good and talking about my work and presenting to people, but this really opened my eyes. Talking about body language and breathing exercises was fantastic, I couldn’t believe how much progress I made. The website SEO modules were brilliant and made me realise how much I wasn’t doing for my website. It gave me a much better understanding of SEO and Google analytics etc. I then had a one to one with Toyin which was great, she gave me in depth, personalised advice and to do lists! The talk we had about grant funding was really great, it made me realise that it wasn’t out of reach, and I have actually applied for an arts council DYCP grant after hearing all the advice.

FIVE THINGS YOU’LL BRING WITH YOU FROM THE EXPERIENCE:

• To believe more in myself and my work, it IS worth that much!
• How to present myself professionally as an actual business.
• Strategic planning, where do I want to be in three years time?
• To be more proactive in taking these steps.
• All about my fellow makers! Meeting them was fantastic, the network from this programme will be invaluable in the future.