Making Progress Showcase

It's been a fantastic and busy year with Emergent
Makers based in Inverness. I applied for mentorship from them having spent so long away from the goings on in the contemporary craft world, I really needed some help to be pointed in the right direction, and this is exactly what I got. Friendly help, support and advice from a number of experts who came and helped us with various issues we were experiencing at different times of the year.

This is the advert for our end of project exhibition now on at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. Me, Lucy Dunnachie, Jane McLeod, Lucy Macdonald, Rebecca Brown and Rebecca Cotton all live in the far reaching corners of the Highlands and Islands. We all have the same concerns about isolation in terms of access to contemporary craft groups, support and inspiration from other workers. We have all found our way this year through different routes, getting together in Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and at the end 4 out of the 6 met with Emergents in London to visit London Design Week. It will be interesting to follow each other's progression in the next few years.

If you would like to come and join us on the 7th June at 1 15pm to 2 15pm in the Art Gallery to look at our work and have a chat, please do so it would be lovely to see you!

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Sunday sketchbook tour at John O’Groats

I took a small group of artists out for a sketchbook class one Sunday and we settled at John O’Groats harbour. Thankfully it was unseasonably warm which made the whole experience very pleasant for outdoor drawing in March (from this photo you will see we dressed for the expected temperature but we were able to sit comfortably for 2 hours) This is the north of Scotland after all, who doesn’t come dressed with woolly hats and fingerless gloves at this time of year! A collaboration between John O’groats Mill Trust and Lyth Art Centre funded the project. The aim, to offer an architectural tour around the newly refurbished mill and surrounding area. The project was slightly behind schedule and therefore still technically a building site so we opted to not walk over to the mill as we’d have had to view it behind a tall fence at the path. It didn’t spoil our day though as we enjoyed tackling the colourful buildings of John O’groats with boats in the foreground. The island vie...

Marble from the beach

"The sea does not reward those who are to anxious, to greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach- waiting for a gift from the sea." A Gift FromThe Sea. This quote resonated with me as it wasn't until I read it that I realised that I never dig for that special something on the beach. Like I've said before, there is absolutely nothing of interest on my local beach at the foot of my garden, but once in a while something catches my eyes and the excitement of picking up a piece of glass or pottery never wanes. Usually it turns out to be either broken shell or a piece of plastic. This ring is for a new group exhibition in Thurso gallery on 23rd september 2016 then Wick afterwards. I am drawing on personal experience and this particular piece places the sea washed marble as something very s...

Pricing jewellery

Much has been written and spoken about recently on the rising cost of silver in the media; the political landscape coupled with the new industrial demands for the material has created a perfect storm. The leap in cost crept up slowly until the middle of 2025 and then pounced on jewellers right before Christmas. Especially those, like me who have varying requirements of silver purchases which makes it more difficult to notice the rise as each purchase is slightly different in weight. On top of that, I personally haven’t reassessed my prices since I initially calculated the costs for me to sell wholesale, when I attended Scotland’s Trade Fair at the SECC in 2024. To work out the costs, I had carefully timed myself making various items in the workshop, then made the assumption that I could probably make more than one item in an hour, and priced accordingly. The mistake I made at that point was not taking in to consideration the extra time it may take to cut an...

Lindsey Gallacher

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