Art and Design – Emma Scully

Horse racing had been Emma’s passion for as long as she could remember, so when she suffered a career-ending injury in 2017 it turned her life upside down. With lots of downtime during recovery, Emma refocussed her energies and discovered a new passion and, with a little help from the tutors at Rotherham College, she’s now very excited for what’s to come.

We caught up with her on her journey so far and what she has planned for the future.

“Horse racing was all I had ever known, so when I couldn’t ride anymore I didn’t know what I would do, but while I was recovering I found my old sewing machine and started making patchwork quilts, characters for baby mobiles, cushions and curtains and selling them on Facebook, and I got a little business going. It really helped me with my recovery because I was having some dark days at that time, so having something to focus on helped get me through.

“When I realised I wanted to pursue textiles more seriously I looked into university courses but I didn’t have enough UCAS points. That’s when I found out about the Access course at Rotherham College, which helps you build your skill set and prepare for university and get the necessary UCAS points.

“The tutors have been brilliant. I didn’t have an art background but they’ve given me a chance and were really supportive from the start, they’ve really helped me and pushed me in all the right ways. I’ve learned so much. It’s not just about making pretty things, it’s about pushing yourself. We’ve explored a lot of abstract work, which isn’t something that I’d done before and I’m really proud of the results; I got a distinction on the last piece of work. And I’ve recently been accepted into Huddersfield University to study textiles!

“In the future, I might have my own business, but there’s still lots to explore so I’m keeping an open mind and I’m just going to go for it.”