About

I live in North East Fife, Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay, where I combine my practice as a metalsmith and textile artist with working as a freelance project manager and creative coach specialising in writer development.

My background is in textiles. I took my first textiles course with Open College of the Arts back in 1992 and since then my practice has widened to include metalwork, papier mache and mosaic. I have been a member of the textile group Frayed Edges since 2005, exhibiting biennially at Patriothall Gallery @ WASPS, Edinburgh, and have had work in group shows at An Tobar in Mull and Thomson’s Tower in Dr Neil’s Garden, Edinburgh.

I began studying metalwork with the silversmith Bryony Knox in 2009. I soon discovered the joys of working with recycled tin and wire and set up my own metal workshop when I moved to Fife in 2012, taking part in Open Studios North Fife in 2014 and 2015. Here in Fife I have also been developing new skills in upholstery with Cornhill Courses and looking at how I can combine art with function.

I was awarded a Fife Craft & Visual Artist Opportunities’ Grant in 2015 for a project entitled ‘Sowing word seeds’. This will take the form of an installation in my home, with inspirational words about making and creativity embedded into the fabric of the building using a range of techniques. Visitors during Open Studios North Fife in May 2016 will be able to follow this trail and reflect on what are their own ‘word seeds’.

I am also a freelance project manager and creative coach specialising in writer development. I have worked in the arts sector in Scotland and England for over 30 years as a freelance consultant, researcher and event manager and with a range of visual and performing arts and broadcast organisations. I am currently managing Turning A New Page, a professional development programme for writers in Scotland which has investment from Creative Scotland and working part-time with the National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) as Communications Manager.

I have been working with writers and other creatives as an accredited coach since 2009. As well as co-delivering Compass Points for NAWE, I have my own freelance coaching practice, supporting writers and literature professionals at all stages of their careers and, recently, visual artists and makers as well.

Do get in touch if you’d like to know more about my work.