Lucy Bryant (Haus of Lucy) is a contemporary artist and graphic designer. Responding to contemporary culture, Bryant’s art subverts the everyday and the banal, always striving to disrupt the ordinary and create something entirely new. Here, we spend a day in the life of Lucy Bryant, from her morning run to reading in the garden after closing the studio door.
Lucy on her way to the post box
MY ALARM GOES OFF…
at 6.00am… My morning ritual is sacred to me; after waking I spend an hour in bed with a cup of tea scrolling Instagram, reading a book or watching an episode of something like ‘This Country’. When the hour is up I go for a run. With lockdown, I’m doing 10-11k every morning which means I don’t need to worry about exercise for the rest of the day. If this goes on for much longer I won’t have any knees left.
HOW I STARTED LIFE AS AN ARTIST…
I was working full time as a magazine designer when I began to feel increasingly frustrated by the lack of creativity in my job. More and more I was creating artworks in my spare time; finding old masters and adding in modern elements like headphones onto a sixteenth century lady, or an EasyJet plane flying across a fifteenth century landscape. I realised my MO was to put things into places which they had no business being. This began to translate into 3D works, where I began working with chintzy ceramic figurines (purchased from antique and junk shops), giving them fast food, alcohol, gimp masks and sportswear, amongst other things. The Coronavirus has been a surprising source of inspiration to me. I have been creating a series of ceramic figurines which reflect the strange times we’re going through; panic buying, working from home and having Zoom meetings!
I did love art at school, but that was despite my teacher not because of him. He was very brusque and bad-tempered! What got my art juices flowing was my parents; they both potted in their spare time and were very creative, so days out were often spent in galleries and museums. I remember seeing David Hockney’s ‘Mr & Mrs Clark & Percy’ and just wishing I could climb into the painting and stand on their balcony. I loved the glamour of their white shag pile rug!
MY TYPICAL DAY…
After my run it’s breakfast then down to work in the garden studio which is glorious in summer and impossible to work in during winter! I put ‘This Morning’ on the laptop for a bit of company and then get stuck into whichever figurine I’m currently working on. Right now, it’s a Regency gent who is ‘working from home’ so up top he’s wearing his smart clothes but on his bottom half I’ve given him Adidas tracksuit bottoms and trainers. I drink tea ALL DAY and make sure I break for lunch at 1pm; I really need structure in my day. I work until 4pm or 5pm then down-tools and sit in the garden with a book (currently ‘Pretending’ by Holly Bourne) if the weather is good. In ‘normal’ times I’ll catch up with a mate in the evening but currently I’m just working my way through ‘Normal People’ on the iPlayer.
The Haus of Lucy Studio
MY MOST MEMORABLE ARTISTIC MOMENT…
Mark Ronson bought a couple of my pieces recently and we were able to drop them with him as he’s currently isolating with his girlfriend in London, so it was nice to meet him (from a safe distance) and he complimented my music choices (the pieces he bought were music themed figurines) which was pretty cool coming from him.
THE WORST PART OF BEING AN ARTIST…
Constant self-doubt! And also because I rely on my income from art to pay the rent, I never feel 100% secure with my finances. I literally have to sell art to live. I do find it difficult to switch off, and I usually end up working on the weekends too which isn’t great!
THE BEST PART OF BEING AN ARTIST…
I’m thankful every day that I get to do what I love for my job. There is literally nothing better than waking up and knowing I can make my own rules. I also love getting feedback from customers and seeing my work in their homes. Ultimately, creating art makes me so happy and the fact that I can do it every day is the BEST.
AFTER I CLOSE MY STUDIO DOOR AT THE END OF THE DAY…
I eat dinner. My husband and I have an unconventional set-up but it works for us; we never eat the same thing so we cook separately and eat together. I’m vegan so love huge salads with beans & tofu and I’m addicted to chocolate so that features somewhere every evening. In times of Covid we’re watching Netflix; bizarrely, rather than catching up on new content, we’re re-watching Homeland from the start which is bloody brilliant. It would be too easy for me to sink a bottle of wine a night so I’m being strict with myself and trying to stick to weekends. As an introvert I’ve actually found lockdown suits me. I’m not good in groups and get socially anxious so having the pressure of socialising removed has been a surprise upside for me.
IF I WASN’T AN ARTIST, I WOULD BE…
A fashion designer. I love fashion and style and often predict what’s going to be happening next season. I just can’t sew so that was never an option for me!
