{ Perthshire Open Studios } Annette Forsyth, venue 89, The bothy in the garden
Next up in the Perthshire Open Studios, Green Route-erers series is Annette Forsyth, venue 89, The bothy in the garden.
Annette's photographs are all so varied and stunning, an extra incentive (as if you needed it!) to visit venue 89!
My photography business has essentially grown out of a love of nature. Born in Germany, I became interested in photography when I was at university, studying Biology and Geography to become a teacher. I bought my first film SLR and taught myself the basics of photography.
The field-trips
really inspired me and filled me with the urge to capture the beautiful moments
around me. In those days I took mainly slides and probably bored my friends
rigid with long slide shows. I took a year out of uni to work as an assistant
teacher in Scotland, where I became infatuated both with the Scottish landscape
and my husband. Back in Germany I finished my studies and started work as a
teacher. During that time photography was an important hobby for me. When our
two kids arrived, many of my interests took a back seat for a few years. I
stopped working as a teacher and we built up a walking business, which is still
our main business. In 2000 we moved to Scotland. When my kids were a bit older
my love of photography was rekindled and at the start of 2011 it had got to the
point that I decided to take the plunge and become a nature photographer.
Thankfully I got a lot of encouragement from friends and family. Things have developed very quickly and I now sell my images in several shops and I have been to a good number of craft fairs. Several of my images have appeared in magazines, including a couple of front covers in the Scottish Mountaineer. All this is very exciting and I am very much looking forward to growing my fledgling business.
I will have my images for sale as hand-made greeting cards and mounted prints in various sizes. There will also be some framed prints for sale. In terms of new work and subject matter I had an incredibly cold and windy, but very productive trip to Assynt in March and I will be exhibiting some of those images. Another good trip took me to Harris in May. It was still cold there and spring was biding its time, but fortunately there was some good light. Apart from that I have a lot of new macro and close-up work. Well and then there are also a lot of Puffin and seabird images from previous trips to Lunga.
-Explain your creative process. What journey do you take from idea to final product?
-What or who are you most inspired by?
Annette's photographs are all so varied and stunning, an extra incentive (as if you needed it!) to visit venue 89!
-Please give a brief bio of your business. What is your background? How did you begin as an
artist?
My photography business has essentially grown out of a love of nature. Born in Germany, I became interested in photography when I was at university, studying Biology and Geography to become a teacher. I bought my first film SLR and taught myself the basics of photography.
The field-trips
really inspired me and filled me with the urge to capture the beautiful moments
around me. In those days I took mainly slides and probably bored my friends
rigid with long slide shows. I took a year out of uni to work as an assistant
teacher in Scotland, where I became infatuated both with the Scottish landscape
and my husband. Back in Germany I finished my studies and started work as a
teacher. During that time photography was an important hobby for me. When our
two kids arrived, many of my interests took a back seat for a few years. I
stopped working as a teacher and we built up a walking business, which is still
our main business. In 2000 we moved to Scotland. When my kids were a bit older
my love of photography was rekindled and at the start of 2011 it had got to the
point that I decided to take the plunge and become a nature photographer. Thankfully I got a lot of encouragement from friends and family. Things have developed very quickly and I now sell my images in several shops and I have been to a good number of craft fairs. Several of my images have appeared in magazines, including a couple of front covers in the Scottish Mountaineer. All this is very exciting and I am very much looking forward to growing my fledgling business.
-Have you taken part in Perthshire Open Studios before?
This is my second time taking part in Open
Studios and I am really looking forward to it!
Last year was just the right time for me to go for the Open Studios. I teamed up with my friends Katy Galbraith, Anna Olson and Christine Forsyth and exhibited in the Bothy in the Garden. Doing it together with friends was a lot less daunting and worked very well in terms of footfall, manning the space, filling it with work, providing a bit of variety and just generally proved to be a lot of fun. I loved meeting all the people who came to visit last year and getting their feedback about my work. It was a big effort, but it was great to see it all come together and to have so much of my work on display.
Needless to say we have teamed up again this year.
Another aspect of the Open Studios I really enjoy is meeting and connecting with so many other artists. I find it utterly inspiring to see so many people following their passion.
Last year was just the right time for me to go for the Open Studios. I teamed up with my friends Katy Galbraith, Anna Olson and Christine Forsyth and exhibited in the Bothy in the Garden. Doing it together with friends was a lot less daunting and worked very well in terms of footfall, manning the space, filling it with work, providing a bit of variety and just generally proved to be a lot of fun. I loved meeting all the people who came to visit last year and getting their feedback about my work. It was a big effort, but it was great to see it all come together and to have so much of my work on display.
Needless to say we have teamed up again this year.
Another aspect of the Open Studios I really enjoy is meeting and connecting with so many other artists. I find it utterly inspiring to see so many people following their passion.
-What artwork will you be displaying over
the week?
I will have my images for sale as hand-made greeting cards and mounted prints in various sizes. There will also be some framed prints for sale. In terms of new work and subject matter I had an incredibly cold and windy, but very productive trip to Assynt in March and I will be exhibiting some of those images. Another good trip took me to Harris in May. It was still cold there and spring was biding its time, but fortunately there was some good light. Apart from that I have a lot of new macro and close-up work. Well and then there are also a lot of Puffin and seabird images from previous trips to Lunga.
-Explain your creative process. What journey do you take from idea to final product?
I am very lucky as our walking business
takes me to many beautiful and remote corners of Scotland and I get the chance
to spend a lot of time outdoors. My work
can be roughly split into landscape, macro and wildlife images and I have a
different approach to all three.
My macro work is probably my most planned. I have a big garden and avidly watch what is coming into bloom.
When the light is right I am out there taking images, rather than weeding as I most definitely should. I take most of my macro work over spring and summer, whereas for the rest of the year my landscape work has the upper hand.
My landscape images are a bit of a mixture. Sometimes I go out with specific images and locations in mind, sometimes the light prompts me out and sometimes, especially when climbing new Munros I take my camera and tripod not knowing what to expect, just seizing the moment.
My macro work is probably my most planned. I have a big garden and avidly watch what is coming into bloom.
When the light is right I am out there taking images, rather than weeding as I most definitely should. I take most of my macro work over spring and summer, whereas for the rest of the year my landscape work has the upper hand.
My landscape images are a bit of a mixture. Sometimes I go out with specific images and locations in mind, sometimes the light prompts me out and sometimes, especially when climbing new Munros I take my camera and tripod not knowing what to expect, just seizing the moment.
When it comes to my wildlife images I am more of an opportunist and I
admittedly don’t sit for hours waiting for a certain animal to appear. I take
my hat off to those who do! I enjoy
taking images of insects and birds and any encounter with wild mammals makes my
day.
-What or who are you most inspired by?
My inspiration mostly comes from nature itself
and both the biologist and the geographer in me are always vying for attention.
I am fascinated by minute detail, patterns, shapes and by how beautiful light
can transform a simple flower or view into something truly extraordinary that
takes my breath away. The challenge as a photographer is to capture that moment
in a way that can evoke a similar emotional response in the viewer – not an
easy thing to achieve.
Looking at the work of other unknown and famous photographers has also been a great inspiration and gives me a lot to aspire to.
Looking at the work of other unknown and famous photographers has also been a great inspiration and gives me a lot to aspire to.
- What are your contact details, website address and any
other links you would like included.
In an ideal world there would be a blog, but I am not quite there yet
In an ideal world there would be a blog, but I am not quite there yet
All images are copyright of Annette Forsyth, 2013.
A huge thank you to Annette for her patience, she sent her interview to me THREE weeks ago and I've only now, finally, managed to get it on here!
A huge thank you to Annette for her patience, she sent her interview to me THREE weeks ago and I've only now, finally, managed to get it on here!
{ Perthshire Open Studios } Heather Eliza Walker, venue 100
ONLY 33 days until the front doors to studios, sheds and workshops across Perthshire are flung open to welcome visitors to Perthshire Open Studios! Are you getting excited yet?!
Número dos (Spanish you know!) in the Perthshire Open Studios, Green Route-erers interviews is Heather Eliza Walker, venue 100.
I was completely captivated by Heathers beautiful drawings as soon as I saw them in this years brochure and I'm sure you will be to!
-Please give a brief bio of your business. What is your background? How did you begin as an artist?
-Have you taken part in Perthshire Open Studios before?
-Explain your creative process. What journey do you take from idea to final product?
I doodle, but with rules. A long time ago I realised that I have a magpie sensibility to mark-making and materials, which is a disadvantage to achieving consistency. It's one reason I am not painting at the moment; I made the decision a few years ago to limit my materials and strip it down to the bare minimum, preferably pen or pencil and paper. I doodle randomly at first, allowing my natural curiosity free reign - but then the challenge is to finish the piece, to resolve it into an image. That's harder than it sounds, even with a very small drawing. I believe this process helps to sharpen individuality, as only I can solve my own problems I have set up on the paper in my own way.
What artwork will you be displaying over the week?
I will be showing as many of my doodles as I have completed by the time POS begins, as well as larger drawings, and a series of drawings of imaginary microscope slides (as featured on the POS website).
-What or who are you most inspired by?
How much time have you got? I get excited about something every time I blink! - but here a few of the constants which crop up, not in any particular order:
Victorian glass models of sea life and Victorian microscopy slide collections; early engravings;organisms under the microscope; scanning electron microscopy; medieval manuscripts - the Voynich, Robert Fludd, alchemists' documents; textiles - Anatolian carpets, Ghanaian wraps, Japanese kimono design; Japanese woodcuts; moss, lichen, flowering ferns; moths and craneflies; leaf structure and phyllotaxis; old tin toys and automita; the Bayeux tapestry; the night sky; stringed instruments and pianos; diagrams; the weather; rocks and streams - I did say I was a magpie.
Here are all of Heathers's contact details, I hope some of you get the chance to pop in and see her work!
Heathers website is http://www.heatherelizawalker.co.uk/ and there are links from there to other media; but if you would prefer to go straight to her blog where she writes a little about her doodles and drawings, it's http://heatherelizawalker.blogspot.co.uk/
All images and designs Copyright Heather Eliza Walker 2013
Número dos (Spanish you know!) in the Perthshire Open Studios, Green Route-erers interviews is Heather Eliza Walker, venue 100.
I was completely captivated by Heathers beautiful drawings as soon as I saw them in this years brochure and I'm sure you will be to!
-Please give a brief bio of your business. What is your background? How did you begin as an artist?
I began drawing as a very small child in Dunfermline, and it never occurred to me to do anything else (not the best financial decision!) I took as much art as I could at school, and went on to art school to study drawing and painting at Grays in Aberdeen as an undergraduate and then completed my postgraduate at Chelsea School of Art and Design in London. After graduating, I was lucky enough to have my work exhibited widely, and to have the opportunity to work in several creative environments which broadened my horizons and allowed me to meet some wonderful artists. After my stint in London I returned to Scotland, and am now based near Killin at Wester Lix.
-Have you taken part in Perthshire Open Studios before?
I have taken part in every POS since the first, even though I had not long moved in and didn't have very much to show! I had loved taking part in open studios with friends when I lived in London, and as very excited when I heard about POS when I first got back here.
It is such a motivating force when artists and makers take it upon themselves to throw their doors open and invite everybody in. It's just great to tidy up the studio, paint the walls and get all your work out on display and talk to visitors. Because I work on paper almost exclusively, it tends to lie hidden away in drawers all year, and lots of it would probably never see the light of day if it wasn't for open studios - so it's also a good time to review the body of work in quiet moments, take notes, and look at where you're going with the work.-Explain your creative process. What journey do you take from idea to final product?
I doodle, but with rules. A long time ago I realised that I have a magpie sensibility to mark-making and materials, which is a disadvantage to achieving consistency. It's one reason I am not painting at the moment; I made the decision a few years ago to limit my materials and strip it down to the bare minimum, preferably pen or pencil and paper. I doodle randomly at first, allowing my natural curiosity free reign - but then the challenge is to finish the piece, to resolve it into an image. That's harder than it sounds, even with a very small drawing. I believe this process helps to sharpen individuality, as only I can solve my own problems I have set up on the paper in my own way.
I will be showing as many of my doodles as I have completed by the time POS begins, as well as larger drawings, and a series of drawings of imaginary microscope slides (as featured on the POS website).
-What or who are you most inspired by?
How much time have you got? I get excited about something every time I blink! - but here a few of the constants which crop up, not in any particular order:
Victorian glass models of sea life and Victorian microscopy slide collections; early engravings;organisms under the microscope; scanning electron microscopy; medieval manuscripts - the Voynich, Robert Fludd, alchemists' documents; textiles - Anatolian carpets, Ghanaian wraps, Japanese kimono design; Japanese woodcuts; moss, lichen, flowering ferns; moths and craneflies; leaf structure and phyllotaxis; old tin toys and automita; the Bayeux tapestry; the night sky; stringed instruments and pianos; diagrams; the weather; rocks and streams - I did say I was a magpie.
Here are all of Heathers's contact details, I hope some of you get the chance to pop in and see her work!
Heathers website is http://www.heatherelizawalker.co.uk/ and there are links from there to other media; but if you would prefer to go straight to her blog where she writes a little about her doodles and drawings, it's http://heatherelizawalker.blogspot.co.uk/
All images and designs Copyright Heather Eliza Walker 2013
{ Perthshire Open Studios } Katy Galbraith, The Bothy in the Garden, venue 89
Perthshire Open Studios is beginning to loom, somewhere, just out of sight, almost on the horizon! This year I'm venue 93 on the Green Route, which follows the A85 west from Perth all the way to Tyndrum and includes 21 fantastic venues. I'm really looking forward to taking part again this year and I've put together a whole series of interviews with fellow Green Route-erers!
There are some fantastic, wonderful and just all round lovely people who open up their studios and workshops over the course of the 10 days and the ONLY drawback to taking part is that I can't get round and see everyone else's work and have a chat with them all!
Kicking off the series is the lovely Katy Galbraith, The Bothy in the Garden, venue 89.
Please
give a brief bio of your business. What is your background?
How did you begin as an artist?
I
wish I had gone to art college after school, but followed a different path
instead – following poorly judged (imo) parental advice. Having dabbled in
various medium as a hobby over the years, I discovered mosaic about 12 years
ago, and was hooked.
I
was taught by a friend, Jan Kilpatrick of Wild Tiles, who used to live in the
area. My first project was a table top for the garden – as my husband and I at
first couldn’t decide on what table to have, but agreed on mosaic – nothing like
being ambitious! When Jan moved away from the area, we started to run mosaic
classes using my B&B as the venue… so over the years, I have been able to
tap into her expertise, and sometimes she in to mine.
I
took the plunge a about five years ago and started selling and being more
pro-active in promoting myself. I have done a lot of soul searching over the
last few years, and have realised that for me, being deemed ‘an artist’ is very
important, and that I want to be represented in quality galleries or ‘craft’
outlets.
Have
you taken part in Perthshire Open Studios before?
This will be my fourth year. The first two years I did
it on my own. 9 days is a long stretch to always be in attendance, especially
as I have other commitments with the B&B! So last year, I invited some
friends to join me. Our work complements each other, and by sharing my workshop
space, it brings in a different mix of visitors.
What are you most looking forward to about the event?
I do enjoy seeing people
appreciate the mosaics around my garden, but the downside is that i have to get
my (large) garden in order first!
What artwork will you be displaying over the week?
I have a variety of mirrors and smaller mosaics on
display, made from my usual mix of recycled materials. I will also have the
mosaic which i was working on last year (Moulin Rouge). This piece was created
for a mosaic exhibition hosted by the British Association of Modern Mosaics in
London.
I will also have a large, and complicated, mosaic
entitled 'Scapes", which was the winning piece in an exhibition last
year.
I also have some photo books
of past projects. My latest book includes photographs of a bathroom mosaic
which came as a result of visit during Perthshire Open Studios 2011. (photo to
follow).
During this year's POS, in
anticipation of me having my own exhibition in April 2014, I will be working on
some sculptural pieces, which will be suitable for the outdoors.
Explain your creative process. What journey do you take from idea to final product?
As
mentioned above, i am a passionate recycler, and love the use of mixed materials
in creating a mosaic, and feel that it is an important part of my work to
illustrate the reuse of materials. It is often the receipt of a broken plate or
cup that stimulates a new thought process and resulting mosaic; the colour or
the texture of the item have a part to play.
In
terms of subjects, I love flowers and gardens, so many of my pieces are floral
representations… though occasionally other ideas do pop into my head at
times. I
do have scrapbooks and mosaic books, but have recently started storing images on
Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/katycrieff/)
categorised by plants, birds, hearts etc). I don't really use sketchbooks, as i
am not so good at drawing. Mosaic is more about blocks of colour and rhythm of
the pieces, more akin to appliqué than painting.
What or
who are you most inspired by?
Klimt
and Tiffany, again it is more to do with the blocks of colour &
rhythms.
For writing and outlook on life, Barbara
Kingsolver – novelist and essayist. She writes about various social issues, and
has a strong environmental commitment. Her work has been consistantly good, and
inspires a change in our own lives. The message that you get is that you can
live a good and fulfilled life, be considerate to your neighbours, have sound
social and environmental ethics and still achieve what you want out of
life.
And
for music, Natasha Atlas! i can shimmy around my workshop any day.
Here are all of Katy's contact details, I hope some of you get the chance to pop in and see her work!
Katy Galbraith
01764 655721
B&B: www.galvelmore.co.uk
Mosaic: www.katygalbraith.co.uk
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/katycrieff/
All images and designs Copyright Katy Galbraith 2013.