Rowan Glen – Sea Tea, Kerrera
Rowan’s travels have taken her through a Conservation Biology degree at Aberdeen, a Journalism Post-graduate course in Glasgow, an illustration course and, most recently, a Horticulture course at Oban Argyll College.
Category: Scottish Islands Passport
From Barra to Lewis and back
My mission was to travel from Barra to Lewis interviewing artists, artisans, crafters, producers on behalf of isle20 and the Scottish Islands Passport.
Join me on my journey to meet these incredible Island Makers – from Barra to Lewis and back!
Corinna Krause – Sollas Bookbinding, North Uist
By Julia Welstead As I park alongside a sleek woodclad house, home to Sollas Bookbinding, a woman flits past the window, ushering me in with a welcoming wave. I walk into a familiarly busy kitchen scene: children, puppy, baking, washing, breakfast, homework, games, projects, ringing telephones….all ably orchestrated and overseen by the woman I haveRead more ⟶
Julie & Steve Olley – Croft 36, Harris
By Julia Welstead I’m in croft heaven. Twice-my-height willows sway and flex in the breeze all around me, thriving on fertile coastal ground knee deep with grasses and sedges, buttercups and rushes, marsh marigold and silverweed. Veggie patches and fruit bushes blend into this biodiverse haven, organic in every sense. A polytunnel crammed with burgeoningRead more ⟶
Eilidh Carr – Photographer & Coralbox owner, Berneray
By Julia Welstead Eilidh Carr remembers playing ‘shop’ as a kid, so setting up shop for real in her home island of Berneray came naturally to this enterprising and talented artist. Having studied photography at Aberdeen University, Eilidh chose to move home in 2015 to pursue her art in the inspiring land, sea and skyRead more ⟶
Emma MacKenzie – Weave-art, Lewis
by Julia Welstead Like so many island makers I am meeting, Emma MacKenzie is a multi-tasker extraordinaire. Her love of textiles began with spinning and dyeing, felting and sewing, all skills taught to her by the Barvas wool and spinning group. From this she has developed her own unique style of collage to produce stunningRead more ⟶
Tina MacPhail, Grinneabhat Community Hub, Lewis
By Julia Welstead In a fate sadly common to many rural primary schools, Bragar school closed in 2012. Having opened in 1878 and with a peak role-call of 200 children, it was a sad day when the area lost its school and the building lost its purpose. The good news is that Bragar community ralliedRead more ⟶
Heike Winter – Mustheb, Harris
By Julia Welstead “Fortune or luck is my theme” Heike of Mustheb tells me as we settle in for a blether in her wonderfully warm and aromatic kitchen. I would liken this room, the heart of her mustard making adventure, to any artist’s studio or chemist’s laboratory. It’s a hub of creative experiment. Heike’s fortune,Read more ⟶
Pauline Prior-Pitt – Poet & painter, North Uist
By Julia Welstead We talk from the get go, from the gate, ‘sorry it’s closed, the sheep get in to the garden otherwise’ to the kitchen, ‘would you like soup?’ I arrive at 12.45, leave at 15.45. As I’m walking away from her shed, `a moment of guilt, wonderment, humour, passes between us – haveRead more ⟶
Kirsty O’Connor – Artist-maker, Berneray
by Julia Welstead I initially find out about Kirsty O’Connor through a Tiree friend who attended UHI (University of Highlands and Islands) art college at Taigh Chearsabhagh in Lochmaddy. I’ve already passed through the Isle of Berneray on my Outer Isles odyssey, but I’m more than happy to re-trace my steps for such a fascinatingRead more ⟶
Rebecca Hutton – Weaver, Harris
by Julia Welstead I’m told to look out for a shed in the garden behind a white house, and it takes a couple of passes and a conversation with her father for me to find Rebecca Hutton at her loom. Her shed, in reality only just big enough space for her Hattersley mark 2 loom,Read more ⟶
Margaret Anne Elder – Herring Girl Collection, Barra
By Julia Welstead Knitting is a skill often learned from a grandparent, with perhaps more time on their hands than a busy parent. For Margaret Anne Elder, learning to knit at her Granny’s knee became the inspiration for her Herring Girl Collection and Granny’s intricately knitted jumpers are the source of the many traditional patternsRead more ⟶
