Lisa Temple-Cox

I am a self-employed artist based at Cuckoo Farm Studios in Colchester, Essex. My practice covers a range of skills and techniques which include drawing, painting, sculpture, casting, working with found objects and ephemera, and installation work. My particular current research revolves around work inspired by anatomy and the historical medical collection. I believe that strong observational drawing skills are key to all my other practices.
I'm enthusiastic and serious about my practice, and I like to share that enthusiasm for art with my students. I offer practical, hands-on workshops, where I encourage participation and experimentation, whatever the media.

As a self-employed artist I have taken part in several artist residencies in schools in the region. I have also worked with adults, including those with learning difficulties, brain injuries, and mental health difficulties, as well the Prison Service. I have experience of devising and delivering workshops across a range of ages, and I have worked in schools, colleges, museums, libraries, adult education groups, and youth centres. During this time I have, alongside my personal practice and other work, been involved in a large number of public and community arts projects. These community engagement processes have enabled me to work with people of an extremely wide age range, abilities, and all sectors of the community. Additionally, this has given me many years experience of working to deadlines, managing budgets and funding applications, enabling resources, and project management. I have worked on projects both as an individual and as part of a team.

I consider my work to be practice as research, although I also consider that academic research is vital to underpin these process, and this is something that I am keen share with students: that practice and research go hand in hand, and that one informs the other. I am also interested in collaborative approaches, and alongside collaborations with artists am engaged with a number of curators, institutions, writers and academics to create new work or develop my current research interests.