The Artists

Growing up with a treasure chest of her mother's colourful dress-making fabrics from the 60s it was no surprise Morag went on to study fashion and stitched textiles at Edinburgh Art College before working in theatre costume and interiors.

The need for thrift and ingenuity within a restricted theatre budget led to an appreciation for repurposing old materials long before up-cycling was a thing! Creating texture and surface interest with a wide range of stitch techniques has led to a life of experimentation and great delight in sharing skills with others while teaching workshop groups around Scotland.

With a background in woven tapestry, a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, I now work in mixed media , using paint, collage, gel printing, embroidery & 3D textile pieces.

If possible I try to use recycled items for mark making or to embellish richly layered, textural designs.

I enjoy immersing myself within a landscape, soaking it in and feeling replenished by it.

Sparks of inspiration are everywhere, sights, sounds and the atmosphere of a place. 

From the grand sweep of a huge sky, to the jewel like colours of lichens on a rock. My landscapes are semi abstract, layered and expressive, with a history of marks and textures, often incorporating writing & symbols & memories hidden in the surface.

I regularly work in sketchbooks, which encourages a playful and curious approach, with no pressure to reach perfection. The sketchbooks often become works of art in themselves and are a store of creativity for future work.

Morvern” mixed media collage               Loch Insh” mixed media collage              Iona” mixed media collage

Highlands and Islands  -  Collages inspired by a holiday to the West Coast.

Autumn in the  studio October 2025

Although it’s nearly 40 years since I last studied, the changing light of Autumn still brings out a need to sharpen my pencils, organise my notebooks & look forward to a new term. There’s also an urge to coorie in and to find some new projects to occupy me during the darker months.

A busy summer brought some new energy & changes to the way I work. 

Our first Mosusu exhibition including workshops at The Iona Gallery in Kingussie was an amazing experience & has been a springboard for lots of new ideas, inspiration & connection with lots of interesting creatives.

After a relaxing & inspiring trip to Ireland I came home to rearrange a studio space to call my own. It’s a real treat to make a mess, leave a mess & shut the door on a mess. I feel more organised & yet have more freedom. 

I have recently completed a series of mixed media, intuitive landscapes which have a slightly more tropical, juicy palette . The botanical elements on them are made by using recycled drinks cans , embossed with patterns inspired by some of my favourite decorative family objects. Two of these have been accepted for this years Winter Show at The Meffan Museum and Art Gallery in Forfar which is exciting.

I have plans to do another set of landscapes based on visits to hill forts, one Scottish, one Irish.

A recent purchase of a table top press has kickstarted an exploration of Lino printing which is a very different discipline for me but one which I’m enjoying experimenting with. It’s a steep learning curve, but low stakes! The process is as frustrating as it’s inspiring, but it’s good to use a different part of the brain. And if nothing else, everyone will be getting a hand printed Christmas card this year.

My stash of recycled materials continues to grow & I seem to see inspiration everywhere. 

I have been enjoying working in my sketchbooks ,researching other artists & revisiting some art history.

A great, spontaneous studio session with Susan Thomas

I am grateful to have had a lifetime in Art and Art Education so that I know stuff.  But I do not look at nature for inspiration to then paint, or listen to music to be motivated as such, instead I make a response using art and other creative practices to express what I need to convey. 

Growing up on a farm, having traveled a good deal and now as I reside in a rural part of Northern Ireland I’d say I am part of nature and I feel its rhythms and hear its sounds as I move about and live. 

Many words sometimes capture nothing of life’s beauty, or wildness, then suddenly one phrase succinctly speaks its truth. Time and place play their part, just as our relationship to our natural world finely tunes our senses. Being lost in a single texture as I work, having a breeze brush past me as I write or being amongst a stadium of singing people - I sense the bigger picture which often transcends any of my cleverest notions. Through art we connect, with good art we grow and are enhanced, through excellent art we apprehend truth and even gain hope.

You are as likely to find me making a set of boot plant holders, for either a walking club do, or for decorating our village during Covid times, as you are to find me painting an abstract image for an office, Airbnb or cafe decor. 

I’ll up-cycle anything from a bus sign for a chair, or a t-shirt to make a knotted bag with displaced people in a camp. 

Men's Sheds, women’s group and Veteran gatherings are all great places to teach palette knife landscape painting, flower arranging, appliqué and environmental art whilst combining walks in a wood or on the coast, or simply chatting as something incidental yet new takes shape. 

Summer 2025 - Time spent in The French Alps have given me time to collage ideas, write and spend time in my sketch book.