Meet the Saltaire artist whose work is inspired by foraged and recycled materials from the mill village's streets

The headph ones were a find – one of the castaway “treasures” that Joolz collects in the surrounding streets on her strolls – possibly holly berries, cast-offs from last year’s Christmas decorations. Now, like everything in Joolz’s home studio, they are providing a creative purpose. The tiny torch that her character carries is symbolic, giving a glimpse into the struggles that Joolz faces through ill health after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2009.

“It was just an ordinary day at home on a weekend. I had been grouting the bathroom tiles and in the afternoon I’d been doing some sewing. I started having some strange symptoms in my body. It was thought that I had trapped a nerve in my back.” Joolz was diagnosed with MS three months before her wedding to husband Cameron, a writer and musician, who she met at a gig in 2006. “Our wedding went ahead and it was the most lovely day,” she says.

However, the diagnosis was life-changing. Up to then Joolz had a successful career, initially working in recruitment then, latterly, in training and development of staff within the TV scheduling department at ITV.

“My mobility was really affected. My ability to do my job was affected but work were brilliant, really supportive,” she says. Eventually she had to make a painstaking decision – for the sake of her health. “I had to make a life-changing decision because I couldn’t carry on working as I was. It was a case of what are the options. I decided at that point I had to follow my heart and do creative work around my health issues.”

Returning to the character on the mantlepiece, Joolz says: “Coming through a debilitating illness, you have to keep going and you have to find the light, so the torch symbolises the light. Also symbolic is the light I try to give to other people.”

Disappearing momentarily into the kitchen, Joolz returns to her cosy sitting room studio with a strip of muslin – an experiment of dying with the juices of the fruit that she forages locally. She is also exploring how plants can be used to naturally dye paper and fabric and produce inks to write with.

“I have collected blackberries since I was a child and I recently started dying with fruit juices I have foraged. This piece of muslin has been sat in bilberry juice for two weeks and has turned a dark purple,” says Joolz, whose intention is to weave it into another piece of artwork adorning the walls of her home studio. It is here, within this eclectic space bearing all the quirky characteristics befitting the rows of terrace properties built by the philanthropic entrepreneur Sir Titus Salt for his mill workers in what is now a designated World Heritage site, where Joolz brings her creative skills to life.

Delicately arranged on tiny easels are paintings created by layering vintage paper, substrate acrylic, inks and watercolours. Among them, the familiar brooding landscape of Top Withens – a location said to have inspired Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights. Tucked behind the painting are poetic words penned by Joolz who recites stories for all her creations.

Occupying one wall of her home studio are her portraits of women whose distinctive beauty is inspired by actresses Helena Bonham-Carter, Michelle Suzanne Dockery and silent movie actress Louise Brooks.

“I love the work of Kees Van Dongen, a Victorian Dutch painter who lived in Paris in the early 1900s. His muses were women he met in Paris. His work inspires my female portraits and I love painting women with expressive eyes,” adds Joolz. “All of these things inspire me and they become part of my life. I paint from my imagination and I am influenced by these things.”

Other influences in Joolz’s life are horses – she learned to ride when she was nine and her equine paintings are neatly arranged over the chimney breast. Her grandmother was another influence in her life from whom she says she inherited her creativity.

“My grandmother made her own clothes and she taught me how to knit and sew. I love fabric, I love the texture of fabric and the feel of it. I find it very comforting."

Joolz has been recycling, and customising clothing and items she finds in charity shops since she was young.

“I am always finding new ways to be resourceful in my creativity, using what I already have. I remake and reuse wherever I can. I use old books, vintage papers, textiles, found items and my own photography in my creations.”

“Long term, I’m really interested in the subject of identity and how the clothes we wear impact our emotional wellbeing… how they can be our therapy, help us heal,” says Joolz. “As someone who customises and alters my second-hand clothes, I love seeing people dress in their own unique style. Honouring their creativity through clothing, being true to themselves – authentic.”

She also hopes to inspire others who feel inhibited by health issues. “Everyone is different so one person’s health condition will be different from somebody else’s. There is no cure-all, but even on my worst days I try to count at least three things that I’m grateful for. Be kind to yourself and others. Try to do one creative thing every day. It will help you. Embrace imperfection!”

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