TINA ROSE discovers a sense of place in the work of recent art school graduates

A STRONG sense of place is tangible in the work of recent art school graduates as they twist and explore traditional materials and techniques to create textiles and jewellery that capture the imagination

TALKING to the graduates at New Designers in London, where they exhibited alongside recent design graduates from across the UK, they spoke of the colours, character, land and seascape of their homes which inspired their ideas. However, this was not a sentimental response but a bold and contemporary expression.

Dress by Katie Barr

Katie Barr from Abriachan, who studied at the School of Textiles and Design at Heriot-Watt University, presented a fearless collection where she combined knitted mohair silk yarn, embroidery and felt in the heathery colours of Scotland intertwined with the bright colours of Peru and Romania to create a painterly feel. She will now be developing her knitting to create a more commercial collection and plans to visit India next year to embroider with local women.

Another graduate of Heriot-Watt University, Karen Maclean from the Isle of Lewis, brought together free machine embroidery, with screen printed and hand painted designs on Harris Tweed. The pale feminine pastels were inspired by fresh and dried flowers from photographs taken at home.

Textiles by Karen Maclean

She developed the technique after working at Harris Tweed on placement last summer. The collection she showed was curated by Mark Eley for the degree exhibition at the Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, and expresses her ambition to provoke people to see Harris Tweed as a current, feminine and beautiful fabric.

Dress by Andrea Howard

Geocaching, an outdoor game of hide and seek involving finding object hidden in small containers in various locations, was the inspiration for Andrea Howard from Lochcarron who studied at Gray’s School Art, Robert Gordon University. Over several months she searched maps of Aberdeen, the north of Scotland and Aviemore, taking photographs of her finds and drawing them, occasionally swopping finds for other bits and bobs.

The drawings were then transformed into screen printed designs, suitable for cards and clothing, particularly for children, and small embroidered pieces. An illustration drawn on an old envelope shows a “dress” of a fabric design which was based around a toy frog, yoyo, brooch and a pencil. After a placement in the summer at Rag Tag ‘n’ Textile, teaching textile skills to people with mental health issues, she is hoping she can work with them again.

Ingrid Stout, also at Gray’s School of Art, combined natural and man-made materials to sculpt beautiful creations that look as if they could have just washed up with the tide. She is inspired by the creative force of the sea at her home in Orkney, from patterns on the sand to barnacles, seaweed, sea urchins and star fish. In her work she experimentally knitted with elastic and monofilament using different sized needles and moulded paper mache with silicon and sand from a patch of shingle her uncle discovered for her while beachcombing.

Silica (on Taft End beach) by Ingrid Stout

Edinburgh College of Art jewellery graduate, Hazel Thorn, from Grantown-on-Spey, is intrigued by imperfection, such as tree bark or disintegrating manmade objects and buildings, and these abstract patterns appear in her work. Process is integral to her design, using patination to reveal how something is made and experimentally casting and combining mixed metals.

Ingeous, silver, bronze, by Hazel Thorn

She builds vessels with the strength that allow her to cut into it and is virtually painting the metal using chemicals, creating objects that give the illusion of ceramic. She is now doing an MA at Edinburgh College of Art and is making part of the ceremonial mace for The University of the Highlands and Islands, with Hamilton & Inches.

Work by Kerrianne Flett

A trio of jewellers at Duncan of Jordanstone University of Dundee were from the Highlands. Merlin Planterose from Ullapool, our maker of the month in August, and Marion Foulis and Kerrianne Flett, both from Orkney.

Tragedy and romance were the duel inspirations for Marion. An unadulterated romantic, she created jewellery which unites people together, such as two magnetic bracelets inspired by the Celtic tradition of “Hand Fasting” where bride and groom are bonded together with ribbon to show their unity and commitment. After the ceremony each partner wears a bracelet and when they hold hands they will hear the sounds of magnets snapping together symbolising their love for each other.

The same romantic nature led to her designs for a modern kilt pin, where there are two that fit together, one worn by the groom and the other by the best man or his father. It is in these designs that the contrasting influence is evident, as the wreck of the Longhope Lifeboat disaster of 1969 inspired her to recreate the textures of the twisted metal with shapes representing the undulating sea. These fresh and modern kilt pins could also be worn on a jacket, and given as gifts on other family occasions, such as graduation, developing her theme of jewellery uniting a family.

For Kerrianne her jewellery is about the process, and she used sand timers to create a focus and a boundary for the design process. Time created the connection through all stages of the process – the average time for the sand to flow from the timer, the length of time for sketches to be generated, the plaster casts of the sand and the finished jewellery. After filming the process her finished neckpieces were made in plaster using rapid prototyping then cast in bronze with silver.

The concept of ‘Geographical Identity’ and the bonds of people with lifestyles and locations were explored by jeweller Eilidh MacInnes from Lochgilphead, who graduated from Glasgow School of Art. Inspired by a set of traditional charts mapping out her native west coast of Scotland, she interpreted the uncontrollable and organic coastline in her designs, often using found driftwood.

A desire to innovate, respect for the environment, the importance of family and a sense of identity are all evident in the work of these young graduates, reflecting the important and ongoing influence of the Highlands on their lives and creativity.

This article can also be viewed (with additional pictures) on the HI-Arts website (see link below).

© Tina Rose, September 2011

Links

• Article on HI-Arts