Mayfifth1935 Designs: September 2016

My name is Jen and I live in South Wales. I am an Assistant Librarian working in a museum library; I love my job and this is the reason I have been doing it for many years. I Tweet about bookish matters as @Squirrellib.

I am also an artist, poet and photographer

Follow me here:
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Or just send me an email: mayfifth1935@gmail.com

I create craft items from recycled paper and card, and I'm very fortunate that working in a museum, departments have regular clear-outs and our recycling rooms are often filled with beautiful old stationary and packing materials. My most popular crafted items over the years have been circular hang-able postcards [or "talismans", as I like to call them], brooches made from recycled cardboard and calendars at Christmas. I'm also a bit of a thrift addict and love to create something from nothing that becomes a sell-able item, in this respect I'm very proud of my decorated tins and lids.

Floral scull talisman with vintage ribbon loop for hanging
The reverse is blank for writing on

"Alice" brooches made from recycled cardboard
Image used is by John Tenniel

Decorated vintage tin lid
Words by Robert Louis Stephenson

Calendar made from recycled cardboard

Cover by Dorothy M. Wheeler

I was always artistic, and would draw for hours on end when I was little; favorite subjects at that time being ice skaters, ballerinas, mermaids, Daleks, high-heeled shoes and [naturally] kissing couples. I didn't go to university straight from school like all my friends did but went to work instead as I could not decide what I wanted to be. I had a succession of shop jobs, the best by far being Laura Ashley, but after some years [and a few weeks into a managerial course], I realized that I couldn't continue indefinitely with retail. I was at a loss what to do once more, but on the plus side this time, I had figured out what I didn't want! I ended up starting an Art History degree course at Cardiff University simply because a friend was doing it and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Fortunately I loved it and after graduation got a job as a museum assistant, hoping this would be a stepping stone to the world of art curator-ship. However, a maternity cover position came up in the library there and thankfully the librarian I was covering decided not to return and I've been there ever since.

MargaretTarrant [1888-1959]
Peter and his friend

Childhood, social history, folklore and mid 19th to early 20th century children's illustration and literature are very strong influences. Illustrated fairy stories have always mesmerized me, I have a collection of early Ladybird Books of which I know every line and image and regularly re-visit Enid Blyton stories, one my favorites being the Faraway Tree series. The premise of magical creatures, talking animals and fairies all living in the branches of a giant tree holds my imagination captive still, as do the tales woven by C. S. Lewis, George Macdonald, J. R. R. Tolkien, J. M. Barrie and Lewis Carroll.

I discovered the illustrations of Margaret Tarrant in my twenties and even though she remains a first love, many others hold pieces of my artist's heart including Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, Cicely Mary Barker, Dorothy M. Wheeler, Anne Anderson and Florence Anderson.

An essence of "faerie" is a constant that floats through my art and poetry like wisps of fog; tales of changelings and the supernatural lapse of time between the fairy world and ours are ever present in my thought processes. Naturally, thoughts of faerie slip to darker meanderings and here is an example... I have always been a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle and loved that he believed absolutely in fairies, was very public in his belief that the Cottingley fairy photographs were genuine and even wrote a book about it called The Coming of the Fairies in 1921[read it here]. This book is such a beautiful read, it chronicles the meetings between Conan Doyle and the theosophist and ardent fairy seeker, Edward Gardner with the children who took the photographs, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths. It contains a naivety that has been widely ridiculed but which I find endearing.

From the diaries of Charles Altamont Doyle

My readings about Doyle then led me to discover that his father, Charles Altamont Doyle suffered terribly from depression and alcoholism, spending many years [and eventually dying] in a mental asylum. While incarcerated, he kept an illustrated diary chronicling the fairy folk who he believed plagued him [The Doyle Diary by Michael Baker (Paddington Press, New York & London), 1978]. This diary is full of fantastical creatures drawn in a very specific style that stare and giggle from the page in quite an unsettling way. Moreover, Charles Altamont Doyle's brother [Conan Doyle's uncle] was the prolific fairy painter Richard Doyle and his fame during his own lifetime cannot have been easy for the depressive alcoholic. All this led me further down the path of artistic mental fragility and the case of another fairy artist Richard Dadd who, after a complete mental breakdown and the murder of his father, spent many years incarcerated in the now notorious Bethlem Royal Hospital [and later, until his death, at the newly established Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital]. It's not everyone's cup of tea but I find this Gothic aspect fascinating and it is, at times present in my work. For examples, see my Damsels scull series and illustrated poems Lilith and Black Hearted Beauties [an index of my poetry posts appears further down that will save you time scrolling].

I am an avid reader and inspired by contemporary fantasy writers. A great love is Carlos Ruiz Zafon as I find his writing exquisite. I remember reading The Shadow of the Wind [while listening to Ludovico Einaudi's Eden Rock album] and being transported completely out of myself. He has a way of creating unforgettable characters in just a few brief lines. I am interested in historical automata and so loved the haunting The Watcher in the Shadows. I also enjoyed Catherynne M.Valente's poignant, whimsical Fairyland series. I recently read the somewhat grittier Some kind of fairy tale by the late, great Graham Joyce and loved it so much, I now intend to read all his other stories. A strand that weaves its way through Joyce's story is the subject of lost time, or a length of time that cannot be accounted for and I'm drawn to stories concerning this type of supernatural time slip. I have a tendency to dwell on the past, never more happy than when looking through photo albums, reading old diaries, or closing my eyes and walking through rooms in houses we inhabited when I was little. The past draws me to itself, hovers close by, sometimes taking me back to sun filled summers surrounded by beloved relatives now gone. Therefore, anything concerned with the prospect of time travel interests me. I also love science fantasy and adored Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series but my absolute science fantasy love affair is with the masterful, Tad Williams; his Memory, Sorrow & Thorn series is one of the most exciting and romantic epics I've ever read [and re-read 3 times].

I am an obsessive cinema goer and I'll basically watch anything except war films because they break my heart. Classic films I love to watch over and over again include: The Holly and the Ivy [1952], Now Voyager [1942], Ziegfeld Girl [1941], It's a Wonderful Life [1946] and Young at Heart [1954]. More recently I loved the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films but [apart from their visual excellence] was very disappointed with the Chronicles of Narnia films. Unsurprisingly, I adore magic films like Peggy Sue Got Married [1986], Practical Magic [1998], Bell Book and Candle [1958] and of course, all the Harry Potter films.

Dad as a toddler with his dad David

My artist's name, Mayfifth1935 is quite simply my father's birthday, he was born on the 5th of May in 1935. He passed away in 2007 and creating May5th helped me through the grief of his passing. I honestly believe the trauma would have driven me mad otherwise.

Well, there you go. Not sure what else to share with you at the moment but hopefully you have an inkling of the workings of my mind.

See below for indexes listing selected works, just to save you searching because I'm so kind and thoughtful.

Most recent art portfolio here: Museum Menagerie

Most recent published work: poetry and artwork in final issue of Thistle Magazine: Symphony Issue [2017]

Mayfifth1935 photography portfolios
Damsels
Dolls
Flora
Portraits
Toys

Mayfifth1935 poem posts index
Welcome to Salem
Black Hearted Beauties
Courage
Lilith
Parisien Parfumerie
Under the weight of a distant gaze

Exhibitions

Storytelling exhibition at The Gate Arts Centre, Cardiff June 4-30 2018

The F Word exhibition at The SHO Gallery, Cardiff October 2017

Published work

2014

October

The Ghastling Book 2 [p.50-53]

http://theghastling.com/

Whim Online

http://www.whimmagazine.com/2014/10/interview-jen-evans-mayfifth-designs/

September

Thistle Magazine