Festivals & Celebrations 08

Fiona Walker

Fionaa Graduated from the renowned Jewellery & Silversmithing department of Edinburgh College of Art in 2024 and is currently one of the artist in residence at the college.

"My jewellery has evolved from my lifestyle. Growing up in the country in a family of fanatical knitters and mechanical enthusiasts has directly inspired my work.

French knitted circular structures in contemporary materials such as rubber and plastic make up a large part of my jewellery and the mechanical interest make up the technical

structures, such as supporting washers and rivets.

Precious and non precious materials make the work contrasting, seen in rubber and plastic against silver, gold and faceted stones. There are elements of gold in my work which gives my pieces a subtle warmth of colour to some pieces which could otherwise be seen as cold in colour.

The body of work mainly focuses on long silver/ rubber neckpieces, chunky rings with stone set elements and brooches with photo-etching.Although the jewellery in this body of work uses a simple colour palette, of black, silver and gold the range of portfolio drawing has a greater use of colour."

Jewellery & Concept Jewellery

Samantha Jack

Please click on left hand image to view full statement and additional images.

Samantha Jack graduated from the Textiles department of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee in May of this year.

"All my recent work has evolved from a fascination with Shetland folk tales that developedwhile I was living there before attending Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.I work with a mixture of materials but have been focusing on textiles for my current project.

I have always approached my textiles pieces from more of a fine art than a design perspective and most recently have become much more interested in craft and folk art. My interest grew when I was researching the work of Jeremy Deller and fell in love with the way he celebrates tradition and craft.

I create canvases that represent an imaginary world where knitted creatures called ‘Yarnies’ live. My canvases are hand stitched and I use bleach and inks to create a forest effect. The ‘Yarnies’ are all constructed from recycled Shetland knitwear and have an accompanying story to tell the tale of their journey.

I also work with screen print and photography and feel that this compliments the style of my three dimensional pieces. I plan to continue to develop work that explores the art of story telling, elements of tradition and explores different ways of documenting a journey."

Textiles

Elizabeth Ciara Collen

Cara graduated form Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in 2024 with a BDes (Hons) degree in Textiles.

" In 2024 I set-up my own textile business, Elizabeth Ciara Collen Designs.

All products at Elizabeth Ciara Collen Designs are handmade in the studio. Inspired by the concept of 'imperfect beauty' I design fashion and interior pieces to convey the image of worn beauty, where vintage and second hand fabrics are shown a new lease of life. Transformed into beautiful unique creations, these tactile and visually inspiring products create a beautiful focal point for any room and outfit.

Sewing and printing in my design studio in Scotland, I am surrounded by vintage and second hand fabrics and images that provide inspiration and a base to my work. I love strolling through markets and finding old treasures and fabrics to centre my designs around. Specialising in the design and production of handmade, one-off interior and fashion pieces, evoking a nostalgia that touches everyone who sees and wears them.

Original designs are hand printed onto viscose velvet with devore using the traditional silk screen printing technique. After printing the fabric is layered onto collaged, vintage and specially selected fabrics, buttons and dried flowers on canvas. Fashion pieces are designed with a collage of images and fabrics to tell a story of the past and give new life to fabrics that contain these past stories.

My work is based on my admiration of vintage and delicate fabrics and images. I believe they convey a sense of history and romance."

Laura Bradshaw-Heap

STITCH and SILVER offer creative fibre and silver pieces both wearable and sculptural which incorporate various design solutions through stitch, felt-making and silver work,

in order to produce the highest possible quality products.

Laura Bradshaw-Heap is the designer maker behind stitch & silver. In her collections, the jewellery is inspired by a magpie obsession for colour, recycled textiles, beads and buttons and lots of sparkle. With a background in theatre and textiles, inspiration is drawn from all that glitters and sparkles.

Laura is based in North London and regularly travels around England and Ireland for various shows and exhibitions.

Jewellery

Claire Nicol

Claire Nicol grew up in Kilmarnock and studied Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art. She spent several years teaching art and design in West Lothian and now lives and works in Edinburgh.

Central to Claire Nicol’s work is the “Tree of Life” motif. We see fragments of it in most of her paintings; a leaf, a branch or a faint suggestion of the whole tree. The images have a faded quality, inspired by ancient tapestries and parchment. The distressed, painted surface is significant and acknowledges the passage of time. Memories and dreams are exposed as we catch a glimpse of what has only been partially hidden.

The static bird is a potent symbol. Flightless, it is often perched on a sturdy branch, hopeful yet wary. Claire Nicol explores this dualism in her work; dark and light birds are echoes of each other. Shapes and patterns are repeated, like faint shadows.

In her still- life paintings, the artist presents a domestic scene with an edge. The bold, flat shapes pay homage to Folk Art and become colourful symbols rather than objects. Negative and positive create an uneasy symmetry. On the scratched table, kitchen utensils are arranged like weapons, while a simple jug or pear is mysteriously numbered. The simplicity of the arrangement allows us to create our own stories.

Karen WIlliams

Karen Williams works full time as a sculptor in her garden studio in Derbyshire UK.

Her Faerie Sculptures aren't meant to show an accurate representation, but more the spirit and character of the subject, with a touch of humour.

“ I feel I have achieved my goal if I manage to put a smile on someone's face when they

view my work.

I work with a combination of wire and material, which I treat to make them solid and hardwearing, which makes them suitable for both home and garden being weather proof all

year round. They are then hand-painted, which is all very time consuming and each piece takes many, many hours to make.

Although my sculptures may look fragile, they are in fact very sturdy - but please be aware that although they are fine outside all year round, they don't like being left in a puddle ”.