WEST SIDE & NESS TRAIL
CAROL BURGIS - Ceramic Artist
I studied Ceramics at Bath Academy of Art and later a Masters degree in Art and Psychotherapy at Sheffield University, combining my teaching areas at the time and my interest in the aesthetics of spiritual images. I taught in a high school for 10 years before moving to Lewis in 2005 and have been developing my ceramic art practice since.
I work mainly in clay, my themes derived from contemplation of the shifting shoreline landscapes I observe on a local beach. I am particularly captivated by the coils of seaweed piles deposited by the tide, the curl of waves as they fall, and piles of pebbles stacked and left anonymously. Mixed media studies record these observations before I work in clay.
All my work is hand built in stoneware. I make vessels of varying sizes which are decorated with drawn and glazed images based on my observations. I also make framed sculptural ‘sketches’ in clay, small ‘holding’ pieces and small pinched bowls.
CHRISTINE DAVIDSON - Artist
I studied painting and graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1988. After having lived a slightly nomadic lifestyle for a few years, I eventually realised that all the inspiration I could possibly need was within the shores I had left behind. So I came home.
Painting and drawing in various media, in a traditional figurative style, I look to find beauty in the ordinary, everyday scenes as I make my daily trek with our dogs around the machair. The remnants of a disappearing way of life - the changing landscape of each village - are of particular interest when choosing subject matter for my work.
Portraiture has also featured heavily in my practice over the years and I love the challenge of the accuracy that is required for that.
I’d be delighted to see you if you call by to visit my studio.
DIANNE DAVIDSON - Artist
Dianne studied for a BA in Fine Art at Sheffield Art College, graduating in 1982. She set up her first studio in the city while teaching art classes and developing a wide range of arts projects and initiatives. Then came her move to the Hebrides, with a decade spent on Skye before finding a croft tenancy on the westside of Lewis in 2013.
Keeping a flock of sheep would provide the impetus and inspiration to explore a new creative path. Surrounded by an endless supply of wool, Dianne began to explore how she could use felted fibre as an artistic medium. She loves the versatility that wool gives, particularly the subtly varying textures and shades of different breeds' fleeces and, in experimenting with dying wool from her own flock, she has developed a range of colour palettes and fibre textures. The ongoing discovery of the qualities and nuances of felting techniques capture and reflect the colours, light, landscapes, seascapes, animal and plant life of the Western Isles.
Email: diannedavidson@yahoo.co.uk
DAVID GREENALL and RUTH ODELL - Artists
CHARLOTTE GOUNDSELL - Artelier
PHILLY HARE - Artist
Philly Hare creates her unique feltings in the Old Bakery, Eorodal, Ness, a crofting community at the northernmost point of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Her work is inspired by her regular runs, hikes and camping trips around the islands. She uses traditional needle-felting and wet-felting techniques to combine threads of fine merino wool and mulberry silk into dramatic land-, sea- and sky-scapes. Philly selects wool of colours and textures which reflect the natural wildness of this remote island. The silk picks up the gleam of sunlight or moonlight on water or clouds.
Philly also makes original contemporary cyanotypes – again inspired by, and made in, the Outer Hebrides. Cyanotype is a very old photographic printing process that produces prints (photograms) in distinctive blues. The word cyan comes from the Greek, meaning “dark blue substance.” The process was invented by Sir John Herschel, a brilliant astronomer and scientist, in 1842. Philly creates her work by placing natural objects – such as leaves or feathers - directly on photosensitive paper, and exposing them for a period of time under the sun (or, in Lewis, more often a UV lamp). The chemicals are then washed out and the blue can be adjusted by adding toners into the process. Other techniques involve bubbles, clingfilm and turmeric! Each cyanotype is a unique product that cannot be replicated.
Email: phillyhare@gmail.com
EMILY HOLMES, DANCING FLOWER CRAFTS - Textiles
Dancing Flower Crafts makes unique, one off designs inspired by the Outer Hebrides. Emily designs, makes and hand embroiders her crafts, using Harris Tweed.
Emily's love of the outdoors is the main source of inspiration for her work. The wildlife, landscape, weather, colours, light, smells and communities; everything about the Hebrides sparks a new idea and design.
Dancing Flower Crafts has a small craft shop in Carloway on the West Side of Lewis, which is open all year.
Emily loves making special, one off pieces and is happy to design and make bespoke commissions.
Website: www.dancingflowercrafts.co.uk
Email: info@dancingflowercrafts.co.uk