A Conversation with… Illustrator Ada May

Thea Welsford – who goes by the pencil name of ‘Ada May’ (taken from her middle names) – is a designer, illustrator and maker based on the Isle of Wight. A graduate of Camberwell College of Arts, Thea is a co-founder of the Ventnor Fringe festival and also the illustrator behind some of the amazing artwork that now populates Beau’s social media channels.  

We spoke to Thea about her sprawling artistic skillset, how her Islander background colours her work and about her passion for projects that manifest social good. 

How did you get into illustration and design? 

I got into design and illustration from creating gig posters for events I was promoting with my best friend as a teenager. This then evolved for creating all the artwork for the Ventnor Fringe Festival for a number of years (this is a multi-disciplinary arts festival based in my home town, which I co-founded back in 2010 with two of my oldest friends). 

You balance a lot of different design disciplines in your work – what are the benefits to you in working across different mediums? 

Back at Camberwell (College of Art), we had a lecture from Kate Moross, who had graduated from my course a few years earlier. She told us all she was ‘Jack of all trades and a master of some’. It struck a chord with me: I thought, that’s like me!  

I’m always craving new and interesting things to do, so I like to try my hand at lots of creative disciplines as I think the ability to change mediums keeps the work fresh and, for the most part, it usually works out. I think one of the things people like about working with me is my flexibility and out-of-the-box thinking.  

A lot of your work focuses on social justice and climate change – why do you feel it’s so important to create art about these particular topics? 

I think that, as a middle-class white woman and intersectional feminist, I have a lot of privilege and I have skills that can be useful for spreading important messages. Social justice in general – and in particular climate change and human rights – are all really important causes close to my heart.  

In recent years we have seen a real uprising, with really key, important issues being thrown in the spotlight. I want to build on and continue this grassroots momentum for change and help in any way that I can. It’s inspiring and I find this type of work is the work that is most fulfilling. I can’t wait to explore it more in my practice going forward. 

As a proud Caulkhead, how much do you attribute your outlook to your experiences growing up and living on the Isle of Wight? 

Growing up somewhere like the Isle of Wight is both a blessing and a curse. That stretch of water between us and the mainland is a big deal – whether that's providing a safe and idyllically beautiful landscape to grow up in or creating a barrier that means some people never end up leaving. Like anywhere, it's what you make of it.  

When putting on gigs and setting up the Ventnor Fringe, I was very much inspired by the rich artistic heritage the Island has: from the poet Tennyson choosing to live and create work here and Jimmy Hendrix famously performing at the early years of the Isle of Wight Festival in the ’60s to Bestival taking place here while I was growing up. All of these things combined attribute to my 'Island pride’. There’s a Jane Austen quote from Mansfield Park that sums up that sense of pride perfectly, and far more eloquently than I can: 

“She thinks of nothing but the Isle of Wight, and she calls it ‘the Island’, as if there were not another island in the world.” 

If you could pick anything, what sort of project would you want to embark on next? 

Like a lot of creative types, from a young age I have been obsessed with tattooing and tattoos. Last summer, one of my good friends sold me a tattoo machine so one of my next ‘Jack of all trades master of some’ projects is to try my hand at tattooing. This is NOT one to try at home and only under the supervision and guidance of a respected tattooist!   

That said, in terms of design and illustration I would love to work with more charities, social causes and brands with something to say as we only have one planet and one life and I want to do some good with my skills. 

You can find more of Thea’s work over at: adamay.co.uk