I was visiting Scotland for several weeks this summer and got a taste of culture, weather, people that was absolutely wonderful. I made room for art in the form of cultural history and artifacts, but did little touring of galleries. I did manage to snag a few magazines that gave me a taste of art in Scotland and I want to highlight the art and craft I found inspiring! And while my title says they wear kilts, I actually list a bunch of women here! (I’m sure there are many amazing male Scottish artists to highlight, alas, the ones I found were of the other gender; I’ll save the kilts for another post maybe!).
The first artist I want to showcase may be my favorite. I love how she plays with notions of heritage and culture via a symbol, a Scottie. 🙂 Gosia Bruchlikowska sculpted Scotties out of paper and they are on display at Alpha Art until the end of August. She collected scrap paper from used newspapers as well as old Fringe Festival guides. I love their humor and playfulness!
Another artist inspired by her geography is that of Vanessa Bullick. She uses stones she finds along the shoreline to create her ceramic works. The finishes on her products are really something, it looks like stone to me!
Perhaps the most driven by her cultural circumstance, I appreciate her works for their beauty, then learned about their context. Her artist statement, linked above, clearly describes her desire for Scotland to become an independent nation, something that is up for vote in 2014. Moira weaves together different tartans to express the unity of all Scots, no matter the affiliation.
Jane Gowan is a talented jewelry designer recently inspired by naval fashion and maritime objects.
Some very cool street art in Glasgow!
Another jewelry artist whose work would be an excellent gift for any loved one reading my blog, take note! 🙂 She uses her skills of crochet and knitting and creates metal translations.
I leave this post a bit shorter today in hopes that you will wander onto some of these sites and appreciate Scotland as I have! I sincerely hope my path takes me to Scotland again someday soon.
BE COURAGEOUSLY CREATIVE: How does your work reflect your geography?
Carrie, just found this and wanted to share that, I too wear a kilt while working. Thanks for posting.
Welcome to Artist Think Chris 🙂 Thanks for reading!