Gaining material

For the blog section of the website interviews were gained from creative women. The women selected are independent creatives from a range of artistic backgrounds.




Jasmine Moody

How would you describe your practice, and what about it excites you?
I guess my ‘practice’ is a combination of art and social activism..social artivism? I hand-embroider and hand-paint the naked female form onto tees, totes, sweatshirts and cushion covers. I want to make nakedness wearable! In a society that has always shamed, sexualised and censored the female body, I want to hand back control to women (and men!) in the form of rebellious, uncensored nude art on clothing.


What excites me the most about my practice is the Nude Commission process, where I use women’s nudes as the blueprint for their very own hand-embroidered version of themselves. There’s something so refreshing about receiving uncensored and confident nudes from women, along with their story about why they are pushing themselves to take part in the Commission process. It's remarkable that despite relentless media bombardment that we are not good enough, there are women out there who are willing to fight back and embrace their bodies!



What/who inspires your pieces?
I have been hyper-sexualised, without my consent, my whole life due to my petite frame and unusually large breasts, so Mude started out as my way of sticking two fingers up to the society that is adamant to control how my body is perceived. We live in a society that socialises women to be ashamed of our curves, to be modest to be respected and to strive for an unachievable body. Mude designs aim to present real women in the form of line drawings and embroidery, to reclaim control over our censored and sexualised bodies! It's all about 'wearing nakedness' and showing the world that we are tired of our natural body rolls, butts and boobs being censored and sexualised without our consent. Sexism ignited the fire to start Mude, and it is the brave, gorgeous women who wear the nakedness that I create that inspires me to do more.




Do you find there is a lack of PUBLIC female creatives from the north?
What platforms do you think are most helpful to gain exposure (Instagram etc).
I am almost completely dependent on Instagram when it comes to exposure and awareness! About 90% of my website visits come from Instagram, making it an absolutely crucial platform for me. I find that my work relies on word of mouth and tagging since I can’t put money behind any of my posts (as they’re seen as “sexually explicit” showing too much “cleavage” according to instagram!).




Do you find Leeds a creative city/have there been any events you found interesting?
I think Leeds is a melting pot for creativity! I have connected with so many other creatives online and offline simply because we all come from Leeds. I don’t think I’ve found any ‘events’ that have suited my taste and style (nakedness can be pretty niche!), but I have heard great things about the Girl Gang Leeds events. I haven’t been able to make it to one yet! I often feel like a bit of an imposter as I am doing my degree in Management with Marketing, so miss out on some of the Art scene from the Art Unis in Leeds.

Emma Low

What excites you about your practice? & have you got a favourite piece? 

I find everything exciting about it! I never set out to be where I am, it just organically grew to where I am now so the fact that so many people relate to my work is super exciting. I've always enjoyed creating things so to be able to do this full-time is a dream. I couldn't choose, especially as my pots vary so much. It's been nice to see how my work has developed though and unsuprisingly I much prefer my work now to what it was when I began.

Your pots sell out in minutes, do you find it stressful being so in demand? 

Yes! This is probably one of the hardest things about the work I do. I just have to try and remember that it's a positive thing that people are so interested, that I'm only one person and I can only do so much. I'm definitely not going to give into the pressure of producing work for the sake of demand. I want every pot to be of a certain standard and that takes time. Most people are very understanding and that helps a lot.


How has Leeds helped to inspire your creativity (events, people etc)

I wouldn't say that it has to be honest. I love Leeds, I think it's a great city and full of very creative people but I don't think it's helped inspire me. I met my boyfriend here and he's the reason I made my first pot so I guess I have to give him some credit! I'm actually really bad for being very anti social, work takes up a lot of my time as well so I usually tend to find inspiration via the internet or when I'm away on holiday.



Diversity is obviously a key factor in which you implement within your work, do you think there is enough diversity within the creative industry? 

I don't think there's enough diversity in any industry! It just so happens that I'm part of the creative industry and I think diversity makes my work more interesting. I'd probably go mad if I just made the same exact thing over and over again. To me it was just a given that if I was going to produce the work I do that I'd want it to be as varied as possible so people felt like they were being represented equally.