Where did it all start?

 

My creative journey started when I studied Jewellery Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art which was a few years ago now! I completed my studies with a B.A(hons) in Jewellery and Silversmithing. Having graduated with a fellow Jeweller and good friend we struck upon a good idea for a business and looked to engage with the creative world. We set up & established a small jewellery workshop in Falkland where we worked as jobbing jewellers doing repairs for other Jewellery establishments.

 

It was around this time I was approached to do some temporary lecturing at a local college. Taking on the role, I discovered my love of teaching. I was subsequently offered a full-time job at the then Leven and Glenrothes technical college and spent the next 32 years teaching many students across jewellery/art & design subjects. I was instrumental in creating the Art & Design Department from NC level through to HND. During the last 10 years of my career at Fife college I taught the Jewellery Design courses and was also an associate lecturer for Queen Margaret University delivering as part of the Creative Industries degree program. An opportunity for early retirement came at a perfect time allowing me to step back from teaching and concentrate on my own work and creative output.

 

What is your inspiration?

 

As a practising artist, I love texture and pattern, all of which inspire me to start drawing in my sketchbook, which goes everywhere with me, you never know when you will see something that sparks an idea! The sketchbook ideas inform my creative process, and the work is realised and developed in my studio. Experimentation is an important part of my creativity, different techniques and finishes enhance my process which provide the desired results for each completed piece. All my work is bespoke, handmade and features hand crochet silver, freshwater pearls and semiprecious stones. I work in precious metals, silver, gold and platinum, undertaking both repairs, commissions and one to one lessons.

 

What makes Largo Arts Weeks so special?

 

I have lived in the village for eight years now and loved every minute. My connection to Lower Largo is mainly through my husband (photographer Dougi McMillan Studio 23), his mother’s family all lived in the village, and he spent most of his childhood playing on the beach whilst at his grans. I love to take part in Largo Arts Week, it’s such a wonderful community event bringing visitors from far and wide to the area and highlighting the wide range of talent across the villages.