Dynamic Ideas by Emerging New Highland Designers

Binge drinking, architecture, celebrity culture, and a mass murderer are a few of the influences behind the dynamic new textiles, jewellery and products created by recent graduates from the Highlands studying at Scottish art colleges.

At Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Hannah Vickery from Tain, Linzi Sutherland and Michael Nicolson both from Wick all graduated in textiles, alongside jeweller Ailsa Williamson from Inverness and Natalie Graham from Lossiemouth who studied product design.

Intoxication and the shocking impact of alcohol on youth culture was the motivation for Hannah Vickery’s dresses influenced by the effects of binge drinking. After contacting alcohol awareness societies she screen printed statistics about drinking on organza and satin, combined embroidery and embellishment with images of bottles and lipstick, and created a lop sided top, to communicate the negative impact of alcohol on the wearer. She is now on the NESTA Starter for Six programme and will be designing a range of laptop bags using printed textiles and embellishment.

Linzi Sutherland, whose work is influenced by architecture, origami and geometric shapes was shortlisted for the prestigious Scottish Fashion Awards and Gray’s School of Art bought one of her dresses based on construction and buildings. She is now setting up her own business and also plans to explore fabric necklaces and origami.

The famous Wisconsin murderer and grave robber, Ed Gein, was the macabre inspiration for Michael Nicolson. His work combines leather and latex with real human hair and blood, with the materials burned and cut to reflect criminal mutilations. Images from forensics and true crime form the pattern on a leather dining chair.

At Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, University of Dundee, Amy Mackay from Ross-shire graduated in jewellery with textile designer Morwenna Garrick from Shetland and Kate Tweddle from Ross-shire.

The hand woven fabrics by Morwenna Garrick are inspired by man-made architectural structures and the vivid colour derived from nature. They are also informed by the bold colour and grid structures of 1950’s textiles.

Jeweller Karen Mabon from Inverness and textile designer Gemma Stevenson from Arisaig in Lochaber both graduated from Edinburgh College of Art, and across the country Sarah Brown from Islay graduated in jewellery from Glasgow School of Art.

Gemma Stevenson created a collection of fabrics inspired by geometric shapes and compositions of Bauhaus textiles and art. She also explored fabric manipulation, introducing pleating and tucking to give further movement and three dimensional qualities.

This month we are featuring four of these graduates as Maker of the Month: jeweller Ailsa Williamson who is inspired by the natural elements of the Highlands, Karen Mabon who will be developing her celebrity culture influenced jewellery at the Royal College of Art in September, Inverness based Mary-Anne Farmer who graduated in textiles at Glasgow School of Art, and Nick Ross, a talented emerging product designer who graduated from Gray’s School of Art in 2008.

Five of the graduates – Ailsa Williamson, Amy Mackay, Kate Tweddle, Lynn Baxter and Nick Ross - will also feature in Highland Graduates, a touring exhibition at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery from 8 August 2009.

© Tina Rose, August 2009

Links:

• Makers of the Month

• Inverness Museum and Art Gallery

• Online Makers Gallery