Gallery Artizzts' Profiles

Liz Brown

The range of hand felted items made for the new Artizzan gallery has been inspired by colour and the healing power colour can project to the body. Wool is a natural renewable textile that grows in abundance in the lovely soft climate of Scotland. From the seaweed-eating sheep on North Ronaldsey to the lowland sheep of Ayrshire, Scotland has an amazing diversity of breeds.

I hand dye most of the wool I use in my felt and the textures and colours reflect the countryside around me in Ayrshire. From warm woolly footwear to soft silky shawls, the range made for this exhibition will make you appreciate the wonderful wool resources this countryside holds.

Hilary McQueen

I work from my home in Quilkieston, a beef farm in Ayrshire. My work is produced using green and seasoned wood, most of which comes from Quilkeston. The pieces for Artizzan are made from green cherry, alder and elm. I try to retain and enhance the shape and colour of the wood; each piece is unique and dictates to a certain extent the final result. The tools I use are those traditionally used in green woodwork. Logs are split using wedges. I then use an axe, draw knife and spokeshave in that order to craft the wood, trying to retain its original shape and form while creating something aesthetically pleasing and functional.

Rebecca Holland

Textile Artist

A creative beatnik with a magpies' eye for the sparkling and the sumptuous, Rebecca Holland graduated with a first class honours degree in Textiles and Fashion Design Management from the Scottish College of Textiles, Galashiels.

Intuitive colour palettes and inventive compositions are inspired by nature and combined with delicate hand beading, stitching and finishing. Unusual textural combinations and embellishments are a trademark, where the concept is 'wearable art'. Each piece is an individual creation, crafted with care and attention to detail. The collection focuses on exquisite corsage brooches using beautiful fabrics sourced in Scotland, with an emphasis on tartan and tweed referencing the heraldic. Many trimmings such as buttons and brooches are vintage finds.

Lorna Reid

I have been self-employed as a textile designer since graduating from the Scottish College of Textiles in 1992. I love colour and form and particularly enjoy applying my professional skills in new contexts and dimensions, incorporating my love of fabrics, textures and traditional craft skills. The principles of sustainability and recycling are important to me and I am enjoying the opportunity to explore further the potential to create new value from old and discarded items – for example, vintage textiles, buttons, small items of furniture and beachcombing treasures - by incorporating them as unique and sometimes collectable elements within my designs and products. All my felt cards are individually hand cut and stitched giving an artistic quality that has progressed to the development of a range of ‘keepsake cards’ incorporating removable handcrafted felt hanging keepsakes ideal when you want more than just a card for special occasions.

Alison Bell

My textile craft practice revolves round reflection, experimentation and creative play; the methods I use to explore these changes in surface qualities are based on traditional textile techniques such as painting, printing, stitch and collage on fabric. The integration of tacit knowledge of textile crafting skills, digital photography and wide format digital printing is opening up new worlds of expression and communication which speak of time and place.

Wendy Harrington

Fused glass artist

Wendy Harrington works from Glasgow Glass Studios. Her hand cut, sculpted and layered glass panels are kiln fired to create unique, visually rich pieces of wall art.

Anthea Summers

My working practice in ceramics is technical and encompasses many genres. From thrown functional ware to large Raku cylinders and vessels, also sculptural pieces for the garden. My work is inspired by the colour and forms of the local landscape. I like to explore the boundaries between art, pottery, education and community and enjoy running workshops in all these fields.

David Ralston

Dumfries based artist, sculptor and engineer, David’s art practice has focused on constructed and engineered works, taking different forms, primarily automata and chronometrics. He works mainly with the material that surround him and is currently working in sculptures made of rock.

Jennifer Watt

My work is inspired by natural organic forms and the beauty inherent in their designs. I search to create work which achieves a similar emotional response. I am moved by simple forms, clean and void of any unnecessary components, sculpture sincere to its form, material and surface. My work is mainly executed in British Hardwoods but lately I have been working more in clay with the idea of eventually casting the pieces.

Noelle Stevenson

Silk Artist

I produce original, hand-painted silk pictures and wall-hangings, using many different types of silk, from fine habotai to chiffon, satin and organza, and I constantly experiment with different techniques and media to create unique paintings. Salt crystals create dramatic effects, and a decorative style resembling stained glass can be obtained by the use of 'gutta' or outliner. I often embellish my work with hand-beading, to add a different dimension, and the Japanese technique of shibori features in a number of my works. Colour is an important element of my work, and I often use combinations of strong colours in addition to the softer tones usually associated with silk painting. I am inspired by natural images, both real and imaginary, and find the interplay of paint with a natural substance, silk, fascinating and unpredictable.

Kim Bramley

Living on the Isle of Skye, North-West Scotland, Kim works with a range of techniques in kiln-formed glass. For the opening of Artizzan Gallery she has specially created a collection of fused glass wall hangings and plates, including ‘Heart Opening’ ‘Peace Opening’, and ‘Purple night, turquoise Moon’ all of which shimmer with light and colour.

Lewis Banks

Lewis is a designer and maker of enamel artworks. His work ranges from jewellery to large three-dimensional sculptural pieces. Based on the Firth of Forth in the coastal village of Aberdour, much of Lewis’s work is inspired by nature and the sea. The pieces are created by multiplpe sequential firings of transparent and opaque glass enamels on copper, resulting in striking colour textures.

Louise Reid

My Needle felted pieces are built up slowly layer upon layer creating a texture suggestive of the rugged Scottish landscape. I am inspired by the colour and texture of the dramatic mountain ranges, moody lochs and lush foliage.

Nicola Beattie

I specialise in highly original hand crafted candles - my range of finishing techniques and choice of lush colours combine together to make these exquisite candles. Each candle is made with individual care and attention to detail, using good quality wax, colour dyes, a variety of moulds and carving tools, all these elements combine to make each range of candle design unique to itself. These candles are decorative yet functional, they are made with the intention that they will be burned so the client can enjoy them even more- watching the beautiful flicking flame as they slowly burn.

Pat Archibald

As an artist the process of turning life experiences into textile wall pieces provides an exciting challenge in terms of colour, design and workmanship. Working in layers offers many opportunities to play with subtle nuances of meaning related to the topic. The outcome is an evocative and atmospheric response to the original remit or personal experience. My travels provide most of the inspiration for current work but most importantly I draw inspiration from my Scottish heritage.

Sandy Mitchell

Sandy’s jewellery is handcrafted in Scotland. Her collection of original designs uses semi-precious stones, silver, pewter, glass, crystal and enameled wire combined with textiles and fibres for a contemporary feel.

Kate Anderson

Kate’s mosaic work stems from a background in sculpture and painting using traditional and experimental techniques. She uses stone, hand painted ceramics, vitreous glass and smalti in combinations to create one-off wall panels, screens and 3D pieces.

Janis Embleton

The sophisticated, exclusive and luxurious textiles I produce form a range of high-quality, hand-woven items, which combine traditional skills and techniques with contemporary designs. I work only in natural fibres and I strive to produce items that will be considered as the heirlooms of the future. Unlike many goods produced today in our throw away society, my hand-woven textiles are designed to last. While I enjoy creating a wide range of different items, my philosophy for all my work is based on quality and a high standard of craftsmanship.

Fiona Luing

Designer Fiona Luing has created a range of bright and unusual jewellery from her home in the Scottish Borders. This eclectic collection features chunky hand blown glass items, one of a kind ceramic button and silver pendants, as well as some more traditional pearl and semi-precious stone pieces. Fiona handcrafts each piece personally, to ensure quality construction and unique finishing touches.

Linda Woodfield

The essence of my work as a textile artist is drawn from my life long passions for the tactile quality of fabrics. I collect unusual and reclaimed fabric and fibres that I incorporate into individually designed hand-crafted items. These range from quilts and cushions to bags and accessories. Inspiration is driven by the fabric itself and my local ever changing environment of the Galloway Forest Park.