A big fat guide to all the RHUL young creatives you don’t want to sleep on

With all the craziness going on right now, from uni strikes to potential pandemics, we felt you could all use a distraction. So we present to you, your distraction: A detailed rundown of all the talent here at RHUL. From poets and painters, to musicians and so much more, Royal Holloway has a wealth of talent that honestly makes you feel like you need to discover your own creative skill.

With arts courses at many universities being cut and funding for creative projects rapidly decreasing, it’s important to appreciate the creative community we do have on campus. The Tab Royal Holloway decided to speak to some students here at the University to provide a platform for them to share their creative process as well as showing that creativity can come in many forms that can help and inspire many people.

Daisy, English and Drama, Artist (@___.daiseye)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8oaqDhB66i/

“My name is Daisy Waller! @___.daiseye on Instagram. I’ve been painting for around three years now and sell prints of my work on Instagram. I paint portraits, though they’re far from realistic.

“When I paint people I like to think of them all as versions of me, like the layers of a personality, but I avoid realism. Instead,  I draw my inspiration from spiritualism, dreams and psychedelic experiences. To me, it’s really interesting to take what is recognisable as a face and to push its limits. My portraits aren’t realistic at all and yet, they’re recognisable. To me, they’re even relatable.

“I think nearly every artist creates because it’s the best tool for expression. I’m also a dancer, and although dancing is a great way of expressing myself, it’s very momentary. With my paintings, they’re material. Dancing offers a moment of freedom, emotion and expression, but it only lasts until it’s over. But a painting can last forever as long as I can look at it. It’s why I don’t just paint a canvas and shove it into storage, I surround myself like they’re my friends. But that’s the long answer to why I started painting, the short answer is: I just really wanted to learn.”

“I have this fantasy. After university and when I have a job, I’ll work during the day and come back to my house. In that house will be a DIY studio, brimming with painting after painting after painting. it’ll be a space for me to work all night, and a space to learn and explore and practise. That’s my long term goal. In the short term, I’ve submitted a couple of my paintings to the Summer Art Exhibition for the Royal Academy of Arts. Thousands of artists submit their works for the chance of being featured in the exhibition, so I have no idea of whether my submission will be accepted or not yet. We will see!”

You can find daisy on Instagram.

Michael, Economics, Musician (@michaelmucyo)

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByxD8z3A8Il/

“My ‘work’ is a just a creative expression through music and a lot of that creative influence comes from musical artists from the United States and some from the UK. My music isn’t necessarily a representation of me or my life; usually it’s just me interpreting the music that I’m listening to and providing my own perspective on it through my creative ability. In short, separating the art from the artist is a big thing for me. I’m definitely not the person I portray myself as in my music.

“The reason why I make the sort of music that I make is because of my musical influences and because I enjoy doing it. If I had to describe what my music is about, I’d say it’s mainly just about the generic stuff that a lot of the US Hip-Hop rappers rap about; there isn’t really any substance or deep meaning behind the music. It’s literally just me having fun and exploring my creative ability. Maybe later on, as my ability to make music improves over time, I’ll be able to incorporate my own life experiences and allow the listeners to understand me a bit more through the music. At the moment, I feel like people have this misconception about who I am because they assume that the music I make is about me or my life, which isn’t the case.

“I went to my first ever studio session and recorded my first track in the summer of 2018. I had wanted to explore my musical potential for a long time, but I felt that this time was the best time, since I had a lot of free time at this point in my life. However, the thing which gave me that “push” to actually start it, was watching an interview of a rapper named Rich the Kid, which was essentially him talking about his rise to fame and everything that came along with it. I’m not really too sure why that video convinced me to actually go out there and do it, apart from the fact that I just felt really inspired.

“When it comes to making my music, I usually choose a beat that I like, either from being sent the beat or from finding the beat online, write lyrics for it and then go to the studio to record. Sometimes I write the lyrics before choosing the beat, but usually I choose the beat first. The engineer that I work with mixes my vocals etc; I don’t know how to engineer or produce I just lay down the vocals. Fortunately for me I live relatively close to a decent studio.”

You can find Michael on Spotify, Apple Music.

Stephanie, Modern Languages, Jewellery Maker (@organicacidjewellery)

“I make jewellery with different healing crystals such as bracelets, necklaces and I also make hair clips. I believe they bring harmony to people and have healing qualities. I started making them about 3 months ago because I’m an avid user of crystals and tarot so I thought it would be nice to share that passion and channel it into something creative.

“I  think I’m going to keep making jewellery and hope people want it, I make a lot of jewellery for gifts for friends and family not just to sell. I just think they make a really nice personal gift especially when I use their birthstones. I cleanse all my crystals with sage before I give them to people because I believe it’s important for the energy.”

You can find Stephanie’s jewellery on Depop (@zebranivem), Instagram (@organic.acid) and Facebook (organicacidjewellery).

Lewis, English and Creative Writing, Poet (@basqlyon)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Mnk-IFzdh/

“My work is spoken word and page poetry which is essentially a conversation. Whenever I sit down to write I always aim to spend that time genuinely trying to create a dialogue with my own mind to better understand it. It’s the act of taking back control of fast paced day to day life and choosing what I want to stop and focus on.

“I’ve always loved writing but I think I created a strong writing habit when I was around seventeen as a way to cope with anxiety. I always found myself playing catch up, like there was too much happening in the day for me to process, too much to think about and feel. When I started writing regularly it was a way of processing my overactive thought process. I remember sitting down in a moment of rage and I wrote ‘speak your pain’ in one sitting (a poem about my experiences growing up without my father present). After I wrote it I decided to share it with a few friends and they were genuinely so touched. That’s when I decided that my writing isn’t just an outlet for me but a gift from God that can be used help others.

“Lately I’ve been trying to write light. Writing my pain and darkness has been beneficial to me up to a point but I want to be inspired by life now because, despite issues that I’m still dealing with, I am truly blessed. I’ve got another spoken word video in the works that’s a whole new challenge and completely different to anything I’ve made before so that’s really exciting.

“I think it’s an amazing thing to create but there’s a whole other opportunity for enjoyment when you explore different ways to present your creations so that it can translate itself to as many people as possible whilst staying true to you. In the future I want to do my own show and have a collection of poetry printed but I’m no rush for that to happen. I just try and focus on continuing that pure conversation with self every time I sit down to write.”

You can find Lewis’s work @basqlyon on Instagram and on YouTube.

Tin Can Kate: Jonah, Psychology and Ella, Drama & Creative Writing, Band (@tincankate)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ydjACJTpf/

“The name of the band originated from Ella’s mother’s unashamed desire to name her Tin Can Kate when she was born- when asked why, she simply states, “I just think it sounds nice.” When we became friends last year our music evolved from meeting to jam on a Friday evening to the point where we started recording and messing around in Jonah’s room in Founders. There was no specific point where we decided to start releasing!