Rising Artists of Caithness course
This mentorship and art-workshop course was thought of by the artists working on the “Legends of Caithness” exhibition. Through a series of mentorship sessions led by the project co-ordinator, Cally, and hands-on workshops with local professional artists, the mentees are supported on their journey towards achieving goals like attending university, exhibiting work, and selling crafts. Employment in the creative industries in Scotland increased by 11% from 2022 – 2023, and we aim to equip Caithness’s creative workforce with the best tools possible to thrive. This will include arts-sector specific EDI training by www.diversityscotland.com, guidance in social media, networking and funding, and taking classes on storytelling, felting, glassblowing, painting, jewellery-making and polymer-crafting. Throughout the course, we will encourage the mentees to work together, gain inspiration from the landscape and culture, and take pride in learning from the thriving arts sector in Caithness. Work will be shown in the exhibition “Industrial Caithness” taking part in July 2024.
The Rising Artists:
Jess Sutherland
My name is Jess Sutherland and I moved to Caithness in 2014 having come ashore following 12 years in the Merchant Navy. I have undertaken various voluntary roles in Latheron and Lybster since 2015 predominantly working with female youth groups. Over the past two years, I have been taking part in a variety of workshops led by local artists to develop my skills in different art forms.
I particularly enjoy making art with anything that may otherwise go on to become landfill and have been experimenting with upcycling old generic prints into collages and repurposing textiles that have exhausted their life span in their original form. I also enjoy using art to process the role of women in society and reflect that where possible in my work with young people. I hope to develop my skills further with the Rising Artists of Caithness course and continue on to study a Master’s degree.
Lorraine Tait
I’m Lorraine and I have lived in Caithness all my life, my early years in Keiss and now in Wick. I was brought up with a very crafty family, with my granny, mother and great aunt all winning prizes at the WI annual show. I have also been in the WI for over thirty years and have won many trophies at the show. I love all crafts and have developed a new love for stitching after lockdown, where I had time to stitch freely and i started creating my own designs and have been pleased that other folk seemed to like them too.
Ava Mackay
My name is Ava Mackay, I am 16 years old and live in Caithness with my family. I am in sixth year at Thurso high school, and I also work part time as a waitress. I have studied Art to Higher level through school and enjoy painting and sketching, particularly still life and portraiture.
I am hoping to pursue a career involving art and would like to go into further education to study art in the future. I am excited to have the opportunity to be part of the Rising Artists of Caithness and I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge of art through the mentorship and art workshops programme.
Jaiya Sutherland
My name is Jaiya Sutherland, and I am a young LGBTQ+ artist and writer from Caithness and I am currently in my final year of high school. I have always had a passion for painting, drawing and creative writing. My practice of art is influenced by Memento Mori and Vanitas with common themes of life and death. To create my art pieces I usually use acrylic paints and pastel pencils. When it comes to my creative writing I tend to write short stories in the horror genre and sometimes pick up different influences of the supernatural. My style of writing comes from my love of the horror genre in books and movies which influences every idea and piece I create.
Ena Kelly
Hi. My name is Ena Kelly & I moved to Caithness in August 2019. Unfortunately, the folliwing year, we quickly went into lockdown. The only saving grace was the beach.
So, I thought, why not combine my love of art with beach clean ups!
So, through the help of the Rising Artists of Caithness I hope to be able to bring people together to do clean ups and also, let’s make art from what we find.
Social media links will be updated shortly. Until then, please contact me at enakelly@outlook.com if you have any questions.
Jane Mather:
Caithness Witches
Jane ran a popular storytelling event at the “Legends of Caithness” exhibition and was back by popular demand. Jane spoke about accusations of witchcraft, gave drawing prompts and was asked to recount the tale of the mermaid’s revenge at Dwarwick Head.
Alexandria Patience:
Spells and Brews
Alex Patience zoom’ed in to present us with grass-weaving, knots of the wind (and when not to undo them) and the ways in which holly, rowan and other plants can bring luck or ward off perceived evils.
Griogair MacAllein:
The Dark North
A spectacular storyteller who has collected tales from across the land, Griogair frightened the life out of us with stories of banshees in the highlands and how silver can protect us; of the banner of entrails waved by the Valkyries at Windy Ha’, and had the audience reweave the tale of the stolen selkie skin of St Trothans.
November: Felt figures
In keeping with the theme of witchery and halloween, Eleanor Lee, the incredibly creative felt-crafter from Halkirk, led a fantastic class on felt-figure making. Eleanor had previously made figures for the “Legends of Caithness” exhibition and they proved extremely popular. The figures were up to one foot high, and depicted mythical figures such as the Selkie, Frigga, and the Raven Queen, and also characters from Caithness industry such as the Net Mender, the Watch, and the Mother. The pieces are made with local materials such as seaweed, found wood and wool, and represented Caithness in form and substance.
There were limited spaces available for the public, and we were glad to be joined by those who booked places. Each attendee was given a basket with the tools and materials to make themselves a little felt witch. We’ll be holding another class with Eleanor in April 2024. Watch this space!
December: Meeting Artists
As part of the mentorship course, we went on a visit to the Thurso Gallery to see the Society of Caithness Artists exhibition “Winter”. We were lucky enough to be guided through the gallery by SCA chair, Ian Pearson, and met two exhibiting artists, David Kinghorn and Don Clarke. Meeting working artists gave the Rising Artist an insight into how pieces are chosen for the exhibition, the art making process’s and the level of work that is being exhibited locally.
Next we visited the Pentland Hotel Art Sale to look at another element of working in the art-world; marketing work. We saw some familiar faces, Penny Irvine and Jackie Newton, and were able to see how art work can be made available to the local community. Supporting local artists is a critical way to make sure they keep making wonderful items that can be shared as gifts to even wider communities,
Finally we headed to the Ulbster Arms Hotel in Halkirk where, next to an open fire and tucking into some excellent food, we discussed the art forms we had seen and the ideas that it gave us. Thanks to everyone involved in the day!
January: Glassblowing
While snow piled up outside, Ian Pearson the maverick glassblower welcomed mentees into his little furnace studio by Thurso river. Ian was originally a scientific glassblower for Dounreay, and has been recognised by many glassblowing institutions. Now, Ian creates remarkably imaginative works, ranging from daffodils, to moving windmills (as per the “Legends of Caithness” exhibition) to pieces commissioned by customers. Always keen to support members of the art world, Ian was very pleased to run classes for our Rising Artists.
During the workshop, students are introduced to lamp working: working with glass rods and tubes over an oxygen burner. Goggles in place, the Rising Artists get the opportunity to bend rods into shapes of their choosing, and blow through tubes to create bulbs which can then be decorated further. It takes a deft hand, and Ian’s patience and expertise are evident throughout the workshop. A high-octane masterclass in non-classical glasswork!
More of Ian’s work here: glasscreationsirp.co.uk
Late January: Acrylic Painting
Jackie Newton, well-known painter and musician, was able to give the Rising Artists a day-long workshop in using acrylic paints. Jackie is known for her beautiful depictions of the landscape which imbue familiar scenes such as Peedie Sands and Dunnet Head with stunning colour and luxurious texture. Many visitors to the “Legends of Caithness” exhibition saw Jackie’s work and commented not just upon the loveliness of the paintings but also shared their memories of Jackie teaching them at school.
During the class, we were taken through a series of exercises in acrylic paint. First, we painted freely onto paper prepared with masking taps. When the tape was removed, we were each left with 6 beautiful cohesive pieces. Next, we painted from reference; each artists created something unique, a gentlemanly fox, a classical butterfly, a Caithness river, a scene with friends and an abstract painting. Lastly, we went through an exercise using different strokes, mediums, collage and line styles, all of which resulted in pieces which showed our unique styles. It was an inspiring class which we all really enjoyed. Cheers!
See more of Jackie’s work here: facebook.com/Ceolnamaradesign and look out for her at the exhibitons and art sales around Caithness throughout the year. Her work also includes polymer crafted jewellery which is something we can’t wait to try out later in the year!
February: Jewellery-making
In February, the Rising Artists had the chance to attend a jewellery-making class run by the well-known local artists and jeweller Lindsey Gallacher. A lot of Lindsey’s artwork relates to the places and figures of Caithness – at the “Legends of Caithness” exhibition, Lindsey created 4 scratchboard pieces linked to local figure Dan Miller, a man well-known throughout the county. The works provoked many visitors to recollect the stories they knew about Dan. The piece captured the essence of local knowledge, fact and legend and the sense of belonging that overlapping and even contrasting stories can bring to a place. Lindsey is currently working on a project which looks at journey’s to work as made by workers at the Dounreay Power Plant.
The jewellery that Lindsey makes often features stones found on the local beaches. These are little pieces of Scottish geological history which are then cut down into simple, beautifully-made sets of jewellery. These are then set in silver – which was the material Lindsey led the Rising Artists through using. Each of the mentees chose to make rings using techniques such as sawing, hammering, soldering and reticulation which is melting the surface of the silver to create texture. Inspirations included folklore, fabric and textiles, star constellations and the sea. Some beautiful pieces were made, and the Rising Artists benefitted from Lindsey’s experience in portfolio-making as well. Thank you Lindsey!
Lindsey’s website: lindseygallacher.com
Her shop and studio can be found at 15 Traill Street, Thurso, SCT KW14 8EJ and is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 until 4pm
March: Printmaking with katiesquiresart
The Rising Artists got to have a lino-printing session with the fabulously busy Katie Squires who also runs workshops with Lyth Arts and has an exhibition coming up at Lyth next month. Katie has a narrative style, influenced by literature, and her workshop produced some bold and brilliant works.
Lino-printing is the technique of carving shapes into linoleum or rubber with a V-shaped chisel. The marks can be made at various depths to affect the sharpness of the print. This method suits clean and clear shapes – as seen by Katie’s work which was most recently showcased at her exhibition “Inspired by Books” which featured prints of places in Scotland referenced in crime novels written about the country. The Rising Artists made some great prints of beetles, mushrooms and some of the striking buildings that Caithness is known for.
Find out more about Katie’s work at katiesquiresart.com
April: Eleanor Lee’s Fabric Figure-making class
Eleanor Lee ran a Figure-making class for the Rising Artists at the Ross Institute in Halkirk. Eleanor prepares kits for each artist to produce a clothed cotton figure which can be personalised and finished at a later date. This set comes with the materials to make a cozy woolly jumper, jeans (turn-ups, flares, mom-fit, whatever your style is!) a bobble hat and a little stool to sit on. It was a really fantastic class and we would like to thank Eleanor for sharing her craft!
Eleanor has been making figure which you can recognise from the history and culture of Caithness for a number of years. These are made with hessian, cotton and fabric, and show scenes which include figures form folklore (The Selkie, the Norse Goddess Freija), industry (The Netmenders, The Watch), family (The Mother, The Toybox) and more. This is done in Eleanor’s time off from being a nurse in Wick and part of the Caithness music scene. How des she do it? We don’t know – but we’re glad she does!
See more of her work on Facebook: The Caithessians
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training
Sidh Chailleann Art is an organisation built upon active commitment to inclusion – to challenging practises in the art world that have excluded and omitted people with different abilities, genders, sexes, ethnicities and other protected characteristics. This means not just paying lip-service to values, but acting upon them.
The training we run covers language, statistics and practises which ensure the art world is an inclusive space. It allows for difficult conversations, and lets those outside of the art-world know that we have the time and space to talk about ways to make the art-world less exclusive. It is opportunity to gain knowledge, and recognise the struggles that people have had with inclusion to art through the years. This training is as much for the people outside the room as it is for those inside it.
Our session in March this year was great. It was run on Zoom by Tony MacCaffery, whose patience and knowledge allowed the artists who came along to think about themselves, the ways the art world has been welcoming, and the ways in which it hasn’t. We thought about the artists from Chinese, Persian and Central American cultures which far predate European work. And we thought about how we can make our art, work and exhibitions a safer and more inclusive space. This wasn’t a place for arguments, because nothing to do with people is black and white: it was about learning about degrees of power, talking about our own experiences, and committing to being open in our practise rather than defensive. Thanks Tony, and to all who came along.
See more Here
Workshop Leaders
Katie Squires
Jackie Newton
Ian Pearson
Eleanor Lee
Lindsey Gallacher