MOSUSU - Our story

We met up at Kincraig 40 years after leaving Edinburgh Art College to chat, walk and dabble in some sketch book work. Whilst we had all had very different lives, with so many various tails of adventure enjoyed, something crucial had not changed. This is where our Exhibition story began again.

PATINA

Burnished with wear, determined by age and authenticity, a Patina surfaces. All the evidence of life and strength, endurance, worn by time but grown beautiful with age.

Three ECA (Edinburgh College of Art), Graduates in Fashion, Textiles and Woven Tapestry meet up to make art. Four decades since being together in Edinburgh in their early 20’s. They share a space and begin to create as if they had never been apart. One person’s printed paper shared with another to add more marks, a further piece flicked and splashed then folded by the hands of their friend. Each filled a sketch book, just as before - as a buzz of industry and fun took over. A chance notion to reunite after all this time, share their work and simply celebrate their individual experiences. This creative scene full of giggles, pauses and busy hands - a melting pot with chat about travel and working abroad, teaching, families and home making. What could have been an exchange of glossy social media ready tales was instead a storehouse of shared discoveries and evidence of wisdom gained from living through 40 years of change; thus the Patina emerges.

Just a year and a bit later and all three have a new body of work each to show.

Samples of our work will be posted here nearer the time of the exhibition.

RESPONSE PIECES - collaborative work

Before we each began in earnest to put together our own work for PATINA, we collaborated on a number of response pieces. When we had initially met up last year and shared a few days together dabbling in art techniques we then had the idea to share again only this time from our various homes. To keep the energy going til each found their stride we began a small series of response work on a given size of a canvas.

Using the theme 'vessel' each began to make marks on a canvas. We then popped the canvas into the post and sent them to another Susan or to Morag, depending on the rota. After each of us responded to what we had received by post, they were sent off again. This way we each ended up with a 'finished' piece which all of us had worked on at some point.

In this manner we may have generated 9 individual canvases to show, but we also encouraged ourselves past any stage fright about 'beginning' to make new art.

The "Vessel" in the image below was worked in succession by Susan Thomas, Morag Gray and Susan Robertson Scott each adding their creative response to the others.

The finished 9 - Patina