Clive Bowen studied painting and etching at Cardiff Art School before taking up an apprenticeship with Michael Leach at Yelland Pottery in North Devon from 1965 until 1969. In 1971 he bought a small agricultural property at Shebbear, near Holsworthy in North Devon and set up a workshop in the former farm outhouses. His pots are made in the local Fremington clay, a red earthenware clay in use for centuries for traditional North Devon wares. They are almost all wheel thrown with the exception of a few handpressed dishes.
“The form and function of my work can be traced back to centuries-old pots such as English mediaeval jugs and early Tamba ware from Japan.There is such a wealth of forms contained within what we might loosely call ‘domestic ware’ that one lifetime is not enough to begin to explore all the possibilities. I love anonymous ethnic pots from all cultures and their feeling of life and freshness. My enthusiasm is still with the clay, the slip and the large woodfired kiln. For me, wood firing brings the pots to life. I enjoy sitting around the table sharing meals with family and friends; my main preoccupation is always the function of the pieces. I want my pots to be used, not merely to sit in isolation on a shelf. I want them to be used to enhance the enjoyment of everyday life and of good food.”
Christopher was born and educated in London. He describes himself as an illustrator, printmaker, educator and writer. As a printmaker and illustrator and has worked for numerous prestigious clients. Recent commissions include posters for the Museum of London exhibition, ‘Fire Fire’, commemorating the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London; panels for The Vyne a National Trust house celebrating the visit of Henry VIII; and a wallpaper design, ‘Albion’, for St Jude’s fabrics. A current project is for The Museum of London, Docklands producing a series of panels and illustrations representing the history and development of that area of London. Earlier this year he had a successful exhibition with Michael Parkin Fine Art at the Art Workers Guild, London entitled ‘Archive 1980 -2000’. In 2012 Christopher wrote and illustrated An Alphabet of London published by Merrell. He is currently working on An Alphabet of England and a book about his friendship with the artist Edward Bawden. Until recently Christopher was a senior lecturer on the BA Illustration at Liverpool School of Art LJMU. He is currently an Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins on MA Fashion, BA Fashion Menswear, BA Fashion Knit and MA Illustration at Camberwell.
A Scottish branded matchbox: fabricated in England in the early 1900s, found at a flea-market in Belgium, and brought to Scotland to be transformed into a painting for this exhibition in 2017. This miniature is a perfect example to describe the work which David Cass makes. For a hundred years this simple matchbox has travelled: from hand to hand, pocket to pocket, box to bag to drawer, and most recently from market to market waiting to be re-homed. Therefore, David’s artworks are inherently concerned with the topic of place – before he even places a brushstroke. The artworks selected for ‘Airs, Reels and Ballads’ each tell a similar story, but the location they ultimately go on to describe is the studio in which David hoards his ‘finds’.
“These are paintings that contribute to a conversation that began long before I was born (for each of the surfaces on which I have painted originates from before the middle of the last century). That conversation is at once concerned with the minutiae of daily lives and routines (I do not work on grand objects, rather I choose ordinary and useful ones, mostly made from wood and mostly homeware) whilst simultaneously sparking a new discussion that has to do with the most recent layer of history being applied to their faces: the paint I apply. In these artworks I have painted sea scenes not from life, nor from photographs. In fact, these aren’t really images of sea at all. These are abstract works, featuring layered gouache in rhythmic patterns, responding to the age and texture and weight of each surface.The waves represent more the passing of time than any specific location.”
Jonathan Christie is an artist and designer whose work is inspired by the landscapes and interiors of England, most notably Sussex, Suffolk, Wales and Cornwall. Jonathan trained at Maidstone College of Art in Kent. He has exhibited extensively throughout Britain, including at The Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden, Essex and The Rowley Gallery in Kensington, London.
You need to look twice or two hundred times at Jonathan Christie’s work.There is an immediate appeal, it engages, it begins a dialogue. It invites us to ponder, to look again at the ordinary and the everyday. It is subtle, gentle, luminous and with a profoundly spiritual quality: the stuff of our daily lives – a mug, a jug of flowers, a favourite object, the view from a window – through his eyes and hands become symbols of more profound and deeper realities.The techniques of watercolour, pencil and scraffito on the gesso board require us to look closely, and if we do, we discover that particularly English sensibility: the ordinary revealing the extraordinary; the everyday as a foretaste of the eternal: there is something of Blake, of Ravilious, of the Romantic in his work: the challenge of learning to be still, quiet and look beneath the surface of things.
Amy Dennis studied Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 2000. She is a Jolomo Foundation Landscape painting award winner (2013) and has exhibited with the Scottish Gallery since 2009, in regular Society group shows and has work in public collections. She currently lives and works in Edinburgh.
“I am interested in creating assembled images combining landscape with still life aspects.This work uses architectural view over the Firth of Forth as an observed backdrop before which real and imagined objects and motifs are arranged and imposed. I use the ancient medium of egg tempera paint (raw pigment bound with egg yolk and distilled water according to a 15th century recipe) on Italian gesso. I am interested in emphasising the craft aspect of painting in my work and paint with tempera techniques both traditional and experimental, using meticulously prepared (pigmented and polished) gesso panels as a ground to build up the work with many thin glazes of paint.�
Lizzie trained in fine art and stained glass before turning to basketry in 1991, learning the first steps from her sister-inlaw in North Wales. She planted a field of willow cuttings and her passion for working with natural materials began. Always keen to try new approaches to this traditional craft Lizzie gradually gained a strong reputation for her simple innovative forms, especially the spheres often decorated with catkins or pussy willow.
“I take my influences from the Galloway countryside where I live and work. I am surrounded by hills, lochs, larch and heather, the essence of which I try to recapture in my work. I grow my willow in nearby farmer’s fields and collect ash and other materials from the hedgerows. My working life is governed by the cycle of nature. The work leads me and stimulates me at the same time.The pieces that I forge create a sense of spaciousness and take on a life of their own. I try to express the complex in as simple a way as possible the natural materials often having a quiet and still effect on the viewer.�
Edinburgh based artist Andrea Geile studied Visual Art in Hanover, Germany, and has held residencies in Orkney, Germany, France and Australia. She has been working from her Scottish studio since 1996 and has realised many public and private art commissions. Her outdoor sculptures are made from Corten steel, often grouped with real plants and relating directly to the site environment. They are subtle interventions, merging into the landscape and are often only visible on closer inspection. Among others she has received Awards from the RSA and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Andrea’s sculptures are hand-made from Corten steel; a weatherproof steel that forms a protective layer which stops further corrosion. They therefore have an unlimited life span and do not stain. Andrea fabricates all her sculptures herself. The patterns are first drawn onto sheet metal then hand-cut, assembled like a 3D puzzle and finally welded together. She has now started work on a new and bigger version of this sculpture, titled ‘The Chlorophylles’ which will take centre stage at the FANK Arts & Heritage site in Lettermore Forest on the Isle of Mull. The public art commission celebrates the community effort bringing this site back to life.
Jonathan Gibbs shows a series of prints from a variety of wood blocks, most recently engraved into Birch and Holly. He has also made small boxwood blocks, originating from his garden in Humbie, East Lothian. Gibbs’ makes wood engravings for exhibitions as well as working to commission in publishing and design. He studied at Lowestoft School of Art, the Central School of Art & Design and the Slade School of Fine Art, London. He is a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Gibbs has exhibited widely in London and Edinburgh. He works in painting and drawing, as well as being an illustrator and printmaker. These disparate pursuits are unified in formal character, subject matter and aesthetic qualities of line and colour. Gibbs’ interest in printmaking grew out of sculpture and drawing, and he occasionally makes woodcut prints from larger pieces of timber. He studied painting for five years, but was also taught by Norman Ackroyd and Blair HughesStanton, to name but two eminent printmakers amongst various part-time lecturers at the Central and Slade schools. A foundation of drawing underlies all of this work, and Jonathan Gibbs greatly enjoys the synthesis of fine and applied arts in his studio practice.
Born in 1933, Peter Green OBE RE studied at Brighton College of Art and the Institute of Education University of London Having qualified as a teacher he initially taught at a secondary school in East London where he established a thriving school printing press, producing small books and original prints. During this time he developed his own work as a printmaker and was elected to membership of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 1958.View a selection of Peter’s limited edition prints Linda is a self-taught printmaker. Her initial interest in the visual arts began following a period as a senior administrator at the Hornsey College of Art followed by over 20 years as Registrar in the Faculty of Art and Design at Middlesex University. In collaboration with her husband Peter she has developed a range of direct relief printing processes, without using a press, including a method of paper cut stencils which she now uses in her own printmaking. Her work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the Mall Galleries and Bankside Gallery in London. For the last few years, Peter and Linda have worked collaboratively in their process and you will find these specially editioned works for ‘Airs, Reels & Ballads’ signed by both artists.
Born & bred in Dunfermline, Jonny Hannah studied illustration at Liverpool Art School and then the Royal College of Art. Since graduation in 1998 he has been working both as a commercial designer & illustrator and printmaker, creating wonderful screen printed books, posters and prints for his own Cakes & Ale Press. Working as an illustrator in a variety of fields and greatly inspired by music, Jonny vibrant designs and witty handmade type have previously been printed in Vogue magazine and on many book covers/jackets in addition to constructing advertisements, design work for clients and collaborative projects. Jonny has incorporated his passion for music, in particular Jazz music, within his linocuts, screenprints and typography and enjoys designing and constructing new artwork at his cottage industry, Cakes & Ale Press. As a printmaker Jonny has created books including The Captain’s Alphabet and Hot Jazz Special and has continued to compose limited edition affordable prints and artists books.
Born in 1974, Mark studied illustration at Glasgow College of Art and then completed an MA in Natural History Illustration at the Royal College of Art. Taking his inspiration from the flora and fauna of the British countryside, Mark Hearld works across a number of mediums, producing limited edition lithographic and linocut prints, unique paintings, collages and hand-painted ceramics. We share Mark’s admiration for artist/designers such as Bawden, Piper, Nash – artists well regarded for their forays into the world of commercial design. Mark Hearld has recently completed commissions for Faber & Faber and Tate Museums. A children’s book illustrated by a series of Mark’s unique collages was published by Walker Books in May 2012. In Autumn 2012 Merrell Books published Mark Hearld’s Work Book - the first book devoted to Mark’s work.
Joe Hogan is first and foremost a traditional basketmaker and fine artist. He has worked from his studio in Loch na Fooey in West Ireland since 1978. He grows his own willow and harvests other naturally occurring materials such as wood, bark, larch, birch, bog myrtle twigs, willow twigs and catkins that he incorporates in his work. Joe Hogan is regarded as one of Ireland’s master craftsmen and has gained a worldwide reputation for his work.
“I was drawn to basketmaking because willow growing provided an opportunity to live rurally and develop a real understanding for a particular place. Over the last thirty years, I have found it a very satisfying occupation. I take some time each year to try new ideas and to make new designs but I also value repetition and the fluency it develops.You learn to be patient, to work in the present moment and to not prejudge the outcome. For the past ten years or so I have become increasingly interested in making non-functional baskets, some of which involve the use of found pieces of wood.This work is prompted by a desire to develop a deeper connection to the natural world.�
Having studied at Edinburgh College of Art, Michael Kirkman graduated from an MA course at the Royal College of Art, London in 2010. He now lives and works in Edinburgh. Michael’s inspiration comes from a need to communicate moments in time that seem strange or extraordinary, to capture what goes unnoticed. Some important influences include Max Beckmann, Mimmo Paladino, Balthus, Edward Burra and Jim Dine. Michael has produced commissioned prints for the National Theatre, Faber and Faber and Palace of Westminster (to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee) and has works in the collections of York Art Gallery and Palace of Westminster.
Ed Kluz, born in Suffolk, studied at Winchester School of Art. Ed is fascinated by the buildings, landscapes and objects of our cultural heritage. He seeks out the eccentric, the lost and the overlooked and in response creates works which re-examine and refresh our perception of the past. Having made his home in Brighton, he has situated himself in a prime location for subject matter; surrounded by the decaying regency splendour that makes Brighton unique. At an early age he developed an interest in English Romanticism which remains at the core of his work. As an artist and designer, he embraces many forms of image making, from printmaking and textile design to book illustration and paper collage. Included in Ed’s special collection of work for ‘Airs, Reels & Ballads’ is an exclusive limited edition print to The Scottish Gallery, ‘St Cuthbert’s Church, Edinburgh’.
Angie Lewin was born in Cheshire and studied BA(Hons) Fine Art Printmaking at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design between 1983 and 1986, followed by a year’s part-time postgraduate printmaking at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts. After working in London as an illustrator she studied horticulture and then subsequently moved to Norfolk, which prompted a return to printmaking. Angie now mainly lives and works in Scotland. Inspired by both the clifftops and saltmarshes of the North Norfolk coast and the Scottish Highlands, Angie Lewin depicts these contrasting environments and their native flora in wood engraving, linocut, silkscreen, lithograph and collage. These landscapes are often glimpsed through intricately detailed plant forms. Attracted to the relationships between plant communities on an intimate level, even the fine lines of insect eggs on a flower bud are observed in her work. Still lifes often incorporate seedpods, grasses, flints and dried seaweed collected on walking and sketching trips. In 2006 Angie was elected to The Royal Society of Painter Printmakers and in 2008 to The Society of Wood Engravers. In 2010 she was elected to The Art Workers Guild and in 2016 she was elected to The Royal Watercolour Society.
Michael McVeigh was born in 1957 in the post-war council estate of Lochee, Dundee located on the north west of the city, one of five children. He left school with no formal qualifications; however he wanted to be an artist and so began, unannounced, going to classes at Duncan of Jordanstone Art College, his presence being challenged eventually. James Morrison, then one of the lecturers, formalised his position and accepted him as a full-time student based only on his drawings and painting. Since moving to Edinburgh in 1982 McVeigh has become a familiar figure seen regularly working in the city and until recently, had a stall on Rose Street selling his ‘lizard’ prints. ‘Lizard’ is his spelling of ‘laser’– colour copies of his original works, for sale at an affordable price. Life as a street artist has brought a certain amount of unwanted celebrity status, especially in recent years, becoming a cult figure sought out by the city’s stag and hen parties, eventually having to limit tourists to ‘one photo only’. His works are held in both public and private collections including town halls, pubs, fishmongers and a number of municipal and national institutions.
Charles Shearer was born in Kirkwall, Orkney in 1956 and studied at Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen and at the Royal College of Art, London, specialising there in illustration. Since graduating in 1983, he has balanced terms of teaching at numerous art schools with working on personal projects. He journies out into the landscape to draw and paint, and since 1989 he has made annual visits to the Republic of Ireland, attracted by its great expanse of emptiness with its many fine ruined castles and manor houses.These form an ongoing theme throughout his work.
‘I journey out into the landscape to draw and paint, and since 1989 have made annual visits to the Republic of Ireland, attracted by its great expanse of emptiness with its many fine ruined castles and manor houses.These form an ongoing theme throughout my work of ‘Man’s Order Within Nature’. All the work done here on location helps inspire the prints that are in themselves a creative interpretation of place and experience.’
Terry Shone lives and works in Whitby, North Yorkshire. After training in ceramics and sculpture at Leeds College of Art and Goldsmiths College, London, he was awarded a Rockefeller research fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. A lifelong interest in the traditional slip-wares produced by country potters has informed his work, as have the myriad examples of lively and idiosyncratic images found in nineteenth century Staffordshire ceramic models and flatbacks. Terry’s current work is often, but not exclusively, hardfired earthenware. Thrown, slab-built and modelled forms are decorated with coloured slips and glazes and may be reworked over several firings using enamels and lustres. These techniques, used in new ways, have enabled the production of work which retains the freshness and immediacy of traditional pottery whilst maintaining a strong contemporary feel.
Emily Sutton was born in North Yorkshire and studied at Edinburgh College of Art and Rhode Island School of Design. Since graduating in 2008, Emily’s art works, sculptures and designs have been much sought-after. She had a major solo exhibition, ‘Town & Country’, at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in early 2015. Her love of observational drawing and eye for detail sees her transform the ordinary into the extraordinary and celebrate beauty in everyday objects and scenes. Her own home in York is a treasure trove, no surface is clear from personal relics found in antique shops, salvage yards or local car boot sales – these accumulated objects provide Emily with a constant source of inspiration which is both intimate and universal.The magical spin Emily bestows on the world has seen her much in demand as an illustrator. Emily illustrated the children’s classic Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day, for the V&A, which is now in its second edition. “My work incorporates a love of pattern and detail and is strongly influenced by the landscape and creatures of my surroundings in the Yorkshire countryside, as well as all kinds of weird and wonderful objects found in museums and antique shops. A visit to the American Folk Art Museum in New York inspired an ongoing interest in folk art of all kinds, and I am also influenced by twentieth century illustrators such as Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious, and the American lithographed children’s books of a similar era.”
Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition: AIRS, REELS AND BALLADS 1 - 29 NOVEMBER 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers. Photography With thanks to: Alun Callender for the portraits of Christopher Brown Peter & Linda Green Jonny Hannah Mark Hearld Ed Kluz Angie Lewin Emily Sutton Drew Raitt for the portrait of Clive Bowen Stephen Dunn for the portrait of Michael McVeigh
Inside Front Cover: Mark Hearld, Horse in Autumn Landscape, 2017 Right: Emily Sutton,Vegetable Plot, Catalonia, 2017
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