Award-winning Skye jeweller Heather McDermott is about to open her first solo exhibition at The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh. Heather has been exhibiting her work with The Scottish Gallery for over a year now and will open her first solo show on 2 April 2016 which will include new work with statement necklaces, new shapes and new combinations of colour.
Heather takes inspiration for her work from the shoreline of the Isle of Skye where she lives and works. The shoreline provides a treasure trove of unique objects discarded from the urban environment and deposited by the power of the Hebridean swell. These inspirational scenes are developed and translated in her work and each piece is designed to create a statement. Stainless steel is hand formed into soft geometric shapes mimicking fishing nets and lobster pots, and are embellished with simple vivid discs of colour inspired by washed up buoys.
As Heather says, “Skye is such a unique place to live. The landscape, weather and shoreline are ever-changing and this is why its one of the most inspiring places to live as a designer. There is constant inspiration for new work. Being able to use materials found in the surrounding area is a treat and any designer would agree that being able to source and scavenge is all part of the design process.”
Heather has also enjoyed a highly successful collaboration with Roger and Andrea Holden of Skye Weavers in Glendale in the northwest of the island, by creating a limited edition brooch collection as an accessory to Skye Weavers’ hugely popular “Periwinkle” Shawl collection.
To find out more about Heather’s work, visit her website or meet her personally at her studio in Sleat in the south of the island. We are sure you will find something in her collection which will always remind you of walks along the windswept beaches of Skye and the unexpected treasures of the sea you stumbled upon.