Six Foot Gallery is delighted to present its annual spring show, Awakenings, featuring twenty-seven artists working in a diverse range of mediums and disciplines including sculpture, soundscapes, textiles, collage, video, woodturning, jewellery, photography, screenprinting, performance, and painting.

Alison is a self-taught artist and works in a variety of styles and media, such as wood, glass and canvas. Flora and natural landscapes are the main inspiration for her work. Her three paintings displayed at Six Foot Gallery are mixed media on hardboard. Alison has previously shown and sold her work at the Pittenweem Annual Art Show in the Open Section, and currently sells art and jewellery at Peggy’s Emporium in St Andrews.

Hi Alison! How did your artistic journey start?
I’ve used art in many work roles over the years, rather than as an artist in my own right. I was a psychiatric nurse for some time, and art in all its forms was a wonderful way to connect with people who were struggling with their mental health and to help them to express themselves.

It’s only over the last few years that I have started to explore art as a means to express myself and to try to portray things I love and that inspire me. I began by following some artists on YouTube and learning about styles and techniques that interested me, and then trying them out.

How did you arrive at the theme of your work?
Generally, I depict flora and/or wild landscapes. The World’s natural beauty surrounds us, even if it is just a dandelion growing out of a gap in the pavement tarmac: it’s a cliché, but one I can live with. There’s a lot of darkness in the world, but nature, in all its forms, brings the light, and like most people, I need a bit more of that in my life

What do you do to keep motivated and interested in your work?
Staying motivated and interested in my work comes naturally. Working on a piece centres me, and gives me time to step away from other aspects of life that might be troubling me. When I work on a piece, even if I am struggling with it, nothing else matters. Despite working a day job and having the usual family/friend/life commitments, I know that when I am creating a piece, that it’s a form of respite; so that gives me the impetus to get off the sofa and work on my art.

How do you know when a piece is complete?
The answer for me about how I know when a piece of art is complete is simple: when I like it enough to show others. Something I learned early on with art is that if it isn’t feeling or looking how I want, then it’s simply not finished yet. It’s rare for me to put a piece aside and not complete it. Generally, I sense that it just isn’t finished and continue to work on it until I feel ready to show others. Once it is at that stage, I know it is pretty much completed.

 However, I have overworked pieces when I became too invested in technique rather than listening to that inner voice that lets me know it’s time to stop. When that’s happened, it’s been quite frustrating because you can spoil a piece. So, I do step away when I get overly involved in a technique that I’m enjoying using, and give myself some space to be objective about how the piece looks before I go any further. 

Is there anything else you would like people to know about your work or your experiences as an artist?
I like to try different techniques and styles as well as working with different mediums. I make jewellery using sea-glass, sea-pottery, sea-coal and crystals, amongst other things, and sometimes paint on the various mediums I use. I love to experiment and one thing I am playing with at the moment is working on timber using pyrography along with acrylics. 

Art is inexhaustible and really only limited by our imaginations. While at times this can feel overwhelming, I am learning to harness my need to constantly try new things and explore new mediums and hone my skills one step at a time.

Are there any upcoming events or additional information you would like the audience to know?
I have previously shown and sold my work at the Pittenweem Annual Art Show in the Open Section, and I currently sell art and jewellery at Peggy’s Emporium in St Andrews. I live in Fife and can be contacted at firthofforthcraft@gmail.com

Awakenings runs at Six Foot Gallery until Friday 24th May.