Alumni Stories - Paula Boyle
"NCAD provided a platform to think creatively and critically, and to experiment and develop my own unique vision; ultimately, it gave me the opportunity to work in new ways with materials such as glass, ceramics and metals."
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Name: Paula Boyle
Current Career: Principal Lead of Psychological Services at Harlington Hospice, North West London. Providing Art Psychotherapy pre-and-post bereavement and loss support to adults and children. Visiting lecturer for MA Degree and Foundation Art Psychotherapy at Goldsmiths University London.
Graduation Year: 1997
Discipline: Craft and Design: Glass
Location: London. UK
What career path did you want to follow as a child?
I don’t remember having a particular career in mind, but I innately knew it would be job that involved my creativity. As a child, when there was building around the family home I would ask for some of the leftover concrete mix to experiment with (probably not something kids would want these days). I recall learning from my father to make a mould with pieces of wood, pouring the concrete and setting a ball into the frame to make a vessel. I enjoyed the process as much as the finished piece. As it transpired, I constructed cast concrete vessels in my NCAD final year show in 1997 that held cast glass sculptures.
The vessel is now part of the symbolic process of holding and containment with my Art Therapy practice working with children and young people who are pre and post bereaved.
Why did you decide to study at National College of Art & Design?
Back 1993 an A-Level tutor at Armagh College encouraged me to send a portfolio to NCAD. On visiting the campus to deliver my portfolio, I loved the bustle of Thomas St and the optimism and self-expression of the students. I was very excited about the potential that lay ahead when I was accepted to study. My sister also went on to study at NCAD in 2010.
NCAD provided a platform to think creatively and critically, and to experiment and develop my own unique vision; ultimately, it gave me the opportunity to work in new ways with materials such as glass, ceramics and metals.
How did you develop your career towards your current job / practice?
Looking back and reflecting on the journey to where I am now, I have been able to draw on many diverse experiences from teaching, community projects, further trainings, working with professional artists and managing studio practice. In 1999 I spent time living in New York City, and enrolled for a jewellery making course. It made sense to bring together the glass and jewellery skills and set up my own creative venture, ‘Uccelli Jewellery’. I acquired a start-up grant from Dublin City Enterprise and went on to create a bold, colourful glass jewellery collection based in Phoenix Studios, Dublin. In 2007, I moved to East London and Uccelli Jewellery was on a positive trajectory with stockists in Ireland and the UK.
In 2009, things took a turn for the unexpected when my father received a terminal diagnosis. I downed-tools and went home to Co.Armagh and spent 4 years working from a studio at home whilst caring for my father and his farm. It was during this period of adapting to change that I found myself responding creatively in new ways, painting, photography combined with glass. My art making now informed by the rural landscape and natural surroundings of home represented a catalyst for healing and recovery.
Having experienced the positive impact of art supporting bereavement, my curiosity was leaning towards the theoretical processes of psychodynamic practice; I applied to Goldsmiths University in 2012 and completed a Master’s Degree in Art Psychotherapy, specialising in supporting clients who are neurodiverse, hospice and palliative care clinical practice.
In my current role as an Art Psychotherapist at Harlington Hospice, clients have used fused glass, ceramics and sculptural approaches in therapy sessions to express complex emotions and unlock unconscious processes that are often too difficult to express with words alone. We recently featured on the BBC Children’s Television show, Blue Peter. I managed to fulfil another childhood wish and received a Blue Peter Badge!
Art therapy is a rewarding career that I would highly recommend to students with a certain amount of life experience behind them.
I have gained diverse skills and expertise in individual, group, family Therapy and service management and highly value the universal ability for art to reach out to all communities, especially those who marginalised in society.
What is the one experience during your time at NCAD that has informed you most in your career / work to date?
Although it was at times challenging, I recognised very quickly that the structured environment of art college, the discipline and having a strong work ethic helped me to maintain my motivation. I found this especially the case when juggling several part-time jobs alongside my studio practice in the earlier days.
I am also grateful for the lifelong friendships from NCAD, friends that continue to be a very important part of my personal life and career network.
If you were chatting with current NCAD students today what is the one piece of advice you would offer?
Be open to change and adversity. Learn from it, work hard and keep going!
Given the global turmoil and change accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, what in your opinion are the opportunities for those in creative industries?
As artists and designers, we have the ability to adapt and adjust how we work to create new possibilities for connection and empowerment.
As part of role as the Principal Lead of Psychological services, I reached out to funding providers and successfully complete a bid to hire two Art Psychotherapists, this was part of an 18-month Covid response project. We have since secured these as permanent posts within the organisation due to continuing demands for mental health and bereavement support.
I believe there are opportunities for growth in times of crisis. To find opportunities it is important to be in touch with how needs and mind-sets are changing over time.
Portfolio Links:
https://www.harlingtonhospice.org/psychological-emotional-support/
Linkedin profile: Paula Boyle
