Jo May

I don't exactly remember the time I decided to pursue a career in art, but I guess I have always followed the advice of my mum who said to me once to "do something that you are interested in". This simple advice helped me write very long essays, do presentations, and formed my fundamental belief that everyone is creative.

I have attended (a few!) art colleges and did my leaving cert years in art college (the UK schooling system was a very different place to what it is now, and I was able to leave school at 16 years old). School and college were two completely different beasts! Art college encouraged me to think for myself and ask questions, pursue my own interests and passions, and develop skills.

My job as an artist is to support people with their creative confidence. The job of art is to show us different views of the world and to make us feel something (doesn't matter if that 'thing' is good or bad, all feelings are valid).

Art to me personally is a place for self-nourishment, playfulness and helps me look at the world. Art is like another language, a visual language that all humans can speak.

Art is important because it can be the tool to make positive change (individual and worldwide), to make personal discoveries and make connections.

I have loads of types of art that I love. I am particularly interested in art which has a message and encourages people to address important issues such as climate change. One artist that I think does this particularly well, is an artist called Bordalo ll, who made the Red Squirrel street art piece in Dublin city centre from reuse materials.

What inspires me most within my art is connection to humans and our connection to nature.

Yes! Believing that every human is creative, and that creativity can appear in the smallest of boring jobs like the tidying of bedrooms! Art has the power to change us personally and can be used as tool for not only self-expression but also for creative justice too, like protest!

Do what makes you happy. There is no such thing as 'mistakes' just happy accidents. Work through (and with) the frustrating bits as they might bring you on an unexpected journey. Never give up! I promise that if you commit to something and overcome the tricky parts, you will be so proud of yourself.

To not be affected by what other people think of you, as they are unlikely to have any significance in your adulthood. Trust in yourself.

Most definitely! Plastic can be a good thing, but it is widely overused and is not bio-degradable which means that it's on our planet for pretty much eternity! As individuals we can make small changes by deciding to not buy something that is plastic and opt for an alternative. If you wanted to make bigger changes and are passionate about climate change and plastic pollution, perhaps you could write a letter to the adults in government, share your concerns and demand change. Young peoples voices are incredibly important to make adults listen up and get changes done, or at least the ball rolling, in Ireland (and the world!) for a better more sustainable future.

These should be in order of importance: Reduce - make conscious buying decisions for example do you need to buy the apples in the plastic packaging? or are there apples available without the packaging? Could you reduce the amount of 'one use' materials such as coffee cups by buying a keep cup? Reuse - give something a new lease in life like turning a jam jar lid into a soap dish or even simply reusing something multiple times like a water bottle. Recycle - The last resort should be recycling. Recycling paper, for example, uses tons and tons of water. Most of our recycling is shipped off to other countries, which then becomes someone else's issue. However, recycling is still better than something heading for landfill and eventually into our water supply.