An observation of commonality through diversity that emerges from shared experience.
Six emerging artists have gathered in the shifting milieu of Scotland’s largest city and spent a year working alongside one another in the Glasgow School of Art, Artist in Residence program. Each with a clear focus in mind and a personal direction to navigate and each bringing their own experiences and perspectives. From a deep ancestral belonging in the Glasgow Arts and comfortable familiarity of an adopted home to fresh eyes on an old city, these artists all have a way of interpreting this place that echoes the ingenuity and innovation of the Scots. With daily visual cues from a city that boasts an architectural tenacity of the ages, an undercurrent of resilience and strength of character embodies their work.
Each of the artists are recently graduated and have been accepted into the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) Artist in Residence (AiR) 2018-2019 program. Still within the supportive environment of the GSA but each taking a step towards an independent arts practice these artists are working hard to explore and define themselves in their work. The surrounding environment of Glasgow city and the renewal, yet again, of the beloved Mackintosh Building are reflected in the pieces developed during their tenure. The Artists are Adrienn Pesti, Ailsa Morrant, Astrid Jaroslawsky, Caitlin Hegney, Rachel Hardie and Michelle Stewart.
Michelle Stewart is intrigued by the way an object, material or site can emit a power and create links between people, whether it is a sentimental reverence, a shared experience or a faint recollection of familiarity that a material can illicit. a year as an Artist in Residence at the Glasgow School of Art has driven Michelle to investigate the stimulus of materiality in a closer context. With a concentrated focus on site specificity, Michelle continues to explore ideas surrounding connection to place.
@michellestewartcreates
michellestewartcreates.wordpress.com
Caitlin Hegney is a Scottish Artist and Jeweller exploring thoughts and observations about ancient culture. She is currently fascinated by the history of the colour blue. The processes that Caitlin uses are meditative and rhythmical; chasing in metal, carving into wood and crushing stone. Caitlin’s practice simultaneously celebrates and subverts traditional techniques, energising and engaging with ancient processes.
@caitlinhegney
hello@caitlinhegney.co.uk
caitlinhegney.co.uk
Ailsa Morrant gently provokes us to consider why jewellery is worn today and whether we are maximizing its wellbeing potential. Her work is an investigation of the primordial act of spontaneous adornment as a subconscious expression of a fleeting feeling, thought or sentiment. She uses transient, everyday materials and objects combined with precious metals to explore the duplicity of jewellery’s value and materiality.
@ailsamorrant
ailsamorrant.com
ailsamorrant.artdesignmake@gmail.com
Astrid Jaroslawsky graduated in 2014 from "Der staatlichen Zeichenakadmie Hanau“ as a goldsmith and graduated in 2018 from the Glasgow School of Art with a BA (Hons) in Silversmithing and Jewellery Design. Her work explores jewellery as mnemonic pieces. Throughout a varied material palette and her fascination with material textures, her work explores heritage and materials sentimental, as well as intrinsic value.
@astrid.jarosla
astridjaroslawsky.com
a.jarosla@web.de
Adrienn Pesti is interested in how jewellery can function as an object to prompt social interaction. Her pieces carry their own visual language to stimulate interactions in an engaging and often playful manner, reverting us to an almost childlike curiosity. The bright colours and unique textures appeal to the senses, traits that all humans share. Her current project nurtures her concept through contemporary enamelling on white board, hand coloured 3D printed nylon and sterling silver framework.
@adriennpesti_design
adriennpesti.com
adriennpestijewellery@gmail.com
Rachel Hardie graduated from the Glasgow School of Art specialising in silversmithing and jewellery. She combines a love of drawing and metalwork to create sketch-like objects inspired by the architectural quirks of her hometown of Glasgow. Through her practice she likes to use both precious and non-precious metal as she is intrigued by their contrasting colours which she further explores through heat patination and oxidisation.
@rachel.e.hardie
rachelhardie.co.uk
rachel.e.hardie@gmail.com