Graduate is inaugural artist in residence at Una St Ives

Illustration BA(Hons) alumni Jordan Amy Lee has been named as the inaugural artist in residence at luxury holiday resort Una St Ives.

The exhibition of Jordan’s commissioned pieces for Una St Ives has been on show alongside a wider body of her work since 16 June. Her artwork depicts the quality of life across the St Ives areas and includes her unique interpretations of Carbis Bay, Porthmeor Beach and St Ives harbour.

“Cornwall has been a constant in my career to date”, Jordan told Una St Ives.

“Studying illustration in Falmouth for three years, I was constantly moved to create work inspired by my surroundings. Creating original work for Una has enabled me to continue drawing inspiration from this beautiful county, which is something I am grateful for.”

We caught up with the up-and-coming artist to reflect on her time at Falmouth, her career so far and her advice for Falmouth’s graduating illustrators.  

How was your experience of the Illustration BA(Hons) course?

I studied Illustration from 2016-2019 and just had the best time. The course is studio-based and each student got their own desk space, which made for a very sociable and collaborative atmosphere. Each student had a particular area of illustration they would focus on (editorial, children's books etc) using their own unique style – which we were encouraged to nurture and develop, particularly towards the end of the course. It was basically like being guided towards becoming the best version of yourself you could be, as an illustrator, with no pressure to do anything you weren't comfortable with. 

What have you worked on since leaving Falmouth?

I've managed to land some jobs with some pretty big companies like Starbucks and Soho House, as well as working with Una St Ives since 2020 as their 'resident artist', which has been great. It’s meant I get to maintain a relationship with Cornwall and its creative scene even after leaving Falmouth. I also illustrated my first book last year and I have just finished up another one, that comes out later this year, which I am not allowed to talk about yet but has probably been my favourite job to date! 

What are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working on setting up an exhibition of my work at Una St Ives, which will be on display for a month until mid-July. I'm excited about it as it's my first ever solo exhibition and it feels nice to be blurring the lines between illustrator and artist. My next career goal I think is to get agency representation, but it's also not the end of the world if that doesn't happen!
 

This year marks 120 years since Falmouth School of Art was created, so we’re celebrating our creative roots – do you have any advice for graduates leaving this year? 

Honestly, the first bit after you leave uni is really hard. The whole world you've known for three years comes to an end and you suddenly have lots of new responsibilities to deal with. It's really important during this transition to keep sight of what you love and what you want to be doing career-wise, even when things get a bit overwhelming. Work can take a long time to come through but that's totally normal – just keep going and things will start to pick up at some point! Don't compare yourself to fellow graduates who are getting more work than you because everything works at a different pace for each person, and that's okay.

Explore Illustration BA(Hons) at Falmouth