The Art in Schools project sees five different artists across the Skye and Lochalsh areas facilitating workshops in local schools. The workshops are child-led and focused on the spirt of play inherent within children, discovered through experimenting with art. The project is led by Sarah Longley, also one of its artists.
About
Sarah Longley - Kyle Primary School
Born and raised in Belfast, Sarah studied Drawing & Painting at Edinburgh College of Art where she lived and worked for many years before moving to the West Highlands with her family. She has exhibited in the R.S.A, the R.H.A and the R.U.A. and is an Associate member of the Royal Ulster Academy. Her work is in several public collections including the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
“My work is inspired by my surroundings and I've been particularly drawn to the salt-marsh close to our home and the mysterious hill behind (Angel Hill) which provides an excellent promontory for sketching.” Before the Lockdown Sarah ran a popular life-drawing group near her home in Kirkton and has recently been leading online art lessons for adults and children. She teaches occasional courses in drawing and painting at the West Highland College.
The image is titled 'From Angel Hill, charcoal, by Sarah Longley.
Malcolm Mackenzie - Plockton Primary School
Malcolm Mackenzie is an artist from Plockton, Lochalsh. He graduated from Glasgow School of Art’s Sculpture and Environmental Art course and through his social practice explores themes of place, community and belonging.
The image is of Malcolm facilitating a workshop in a primary school.
Irene Blair - Kyleakin Primary School
Irene Blair is an abstract artist, influenced by her environment, who loves to use recycled materials in her work; letting nothing go to waste. She also makes 3D forms using found objects.
The image is titled 'Perpetuity', acrylic on canvas, by Irene Blair.
Isabel McLeish - Auchtertyre Primary School
Isabel McLeish is a visual and socially engaged artist based in Lochalsh. Her practice is informed by personal experiences of immersion in landscapes, the culture, history and ecology of the Highlands and Islands and the rhythms intrinsic to the planet. Isabel is currently a postgraduate student for the Centre for Rural Creativity doing her MA in Art and Social Practice.
The image is titled 'Crottlie Boreray’, pen, ink, watercolor and seawater, by Isabel McLeish.
Rebecca Collins - Loch Dutch and Glenelg Primary Schools
Collins lives and works on the northwest coast of Scotland, finding inspiration in the varied and dramatic landscape of her home on the Sound of Sleat. Her deep familiarity with this part of Scotland offers her a unique perspective, as a first hand observer of the changing seasons and sometimes extreme weather; she understands and uses this infinite variety as her principal subject. Her compositions often focus on specific sections of a landscape: a snapshot of summit, sky or slope that capture fleeting moments of atmospheric effects.
Her ability to create paintings using multiple layers of translucent paint and glazes gives her work a luminous and ethereal quality, rendering the beauty of momentary sunshine, mists and passing squalls. She has chosen the following words from Gerhard Richter to summarise her artistic practice: 'I’m trying to paint a picture of what I have seen and what moved me, as best as I can. That’s all.'.
The image is titled 'View to Kylerhea', oil painting on board, by Rebecca Collins.