David Lemm is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Edinburgh. He studied animation at Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee, graduating in 2006. Here he talks residencies, maps and printmaking.

I worked on freelance animation/music video projects after Art School, and began developing my practice in other areas; illustration, printmaking and more experimental work. I still do animation, mainly music related and some commercial stuff. I’ve recently made videos for Miaoux Miaoux and Hobbes music, but enjoy working on a broad range of projects including commissions, residencies and exhibitions.

I recently moved to a studio down in Leith. It’s early days, so I haven’t really settled yet or got into the routine of going somewhere different to work. I used to have a studio/exhibition space in Leith, so it’s nice to be based in this part of town again. I’m currently doing a residency at House of Illustration in London, which means I’m down there for a bit each month. Every day is different at the moment!

New Land

Rites

I use a lot of different tools, depending on the project. I always start with sketches and lots of notes, and then develop ideas digitally whilst keeping analogue processes in mind. I’ve been screen-printing a lot over the last few years, and had my first solo exhibition at Edinburgh Printmakers in January. That body of work was a development of a process where I screen-printed directly onto found maps/charts. I layer graphic elements against the original markings, leaving it unclear what marks are original and what are my interventions. The resulting opportunity for interpretation and subjective analysis is a key interest and intention in my work. By printing on maps/charts I aim to create a contrast between the physical mapping/organisation of what we define as real with the unknown, unrealised and imagined.

Shards

I’m currently thinking a lot more about drawing and other hand-made approaches, so that may become more prominent in future work. I did a paper cut-out animation workshop with Atlas Arts on Skye for BBC Ten pieces and I really enjoyed that process. I’ve been interested in maps/diagrams since I was a child and they inspired a recent residency project on Eigg commissioned by lifeoffthegrid.net with The Bothy project. The residency aimed to explore maps as tools of way finding, instruments of organisation but also as material artefacts and repositories of meaning. I was particularly keen to explore the idea that maps fundamentally describe reality through simple abstract lines, forms and motifs, and to consider how experience of a space/place can be represented visually. The outcomes from the residency were recently shortlisted for Association of Illustrators World Illustration Awards.

Bothy – Eigg series

Alec – Eigg series

The House of Illustration residency is for 6 months, with an exhibition of my outcomes in January. There is also a work in progress exhibition between 5-8 November and I’m hosting a couple of events/workshops in September and October. Other than that, I’m excited to be working with Atlas Arts again and will be heading up to Skye to work on a project which should be launched near the end of the year.

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Pig Rock Bothy is currently located on the grounds of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh until April. Created by artist Bobby Niven and architect Iain MacLeod, the structure was commissioned by the gallery to provide a temporary venue for a varied programme of talks, performances and events as part of Generation.

Laura Aldridge’s ceramics

In 2015 the bothy will move to its permanent location in Assynt to become part of the Bothy Residency Project. Until then, be sure to check it out and see Glasgow-based artist Laura Aldridge’s ceramic and textile installation. Inspired by a research trip to Assynt, her work captures the patterns and colours of the landscape. The bothy’s name was inspired by a rock Aldridge found which resembled the skin of a pig.

You can see Pig Rock Bothy until April on the grounds of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. For more information, see the Bothy Project’s website here.

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Ellis O’Connor is a visual artist specialising in printmaking, photography and drawing. She is currently based in Dundee completing her MFA at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. Since graduating from her undergrad in 2014 at DJCAD she has exhibited extensively whilst travelling to make new work and has been selected for a number of artist in residency programmes.

Traces, A series of prints

Since graduating with a BA Hons Degree in Fine Art from Duncan of Jordanstone in June this year, I have been involved in many projects including two artist residencies. As my work is based on the idea of ‘place’ and our connection to remote landscapes, I am constantly travelling to capture new remote lands. Straight after graduating I travelled around the islands of Scotland for three weeks. This was a way of getting as much inspiration as possible and making new work on site. It also refreshed my mind as I was able to take some time away from the studio.

Close-up detail: Elements of the Shore

Ellis O’Connor – Edges

In July, I was chosen to be artist in residence on board an expedition around the Northern Isles of Scotland with the Clipperton Project. We travelled around the Isles of Shetland on a boat for four weeks and I collaborated with other artists whilst teaching artist workshops to communities on remote islands. I then travelled out to Florence for the months of August and September as I was selected amongst nine other Scotland based artists to receive the RSA John Kinross Scholarship. This was an incredible opportunity and really gave me the support to make new work whilst being inspired from a new setting.

Since the amazing residency and scholarship, I have returned to university to undertake my MA in Art and Humanities at Duncan of Jordanstone. I feel that it is completely different from being an undergrad, as it is more focused on your practice and working as an artist on your own. I wanted to undertake this course to develop more of the written part of my work and give me a chance to delve more into the ideas within my practice. Since returning to education, I have also just come back from Iceland where I was artist in residence at the Fljotstunga Eco farm in collaboration with Geo Park Iceland. I have taken part in two exhibitions: The Black Cube Collective’s Annual show in Edinburgh and ‘Waypoints’, an exhibition in collaboration with the Clipperton Project on the Isle of Eigg.

Series of Prints Framed

I am currently making new work based on my time spent around the remote islands of Scotland and working to large scale size for the RSA New Contemporaries 2015. I have also been selected to take part in artist residence programmes next year in The Bothy Project Sweeney’s Bothy Scotland, Cill Rialaig Ireland, and Norway’s Agder Art Centre. I intend to keep making work based on the atmosphere of remote places whilst documenting my travels out there to put across to the viewer. The only way I can keep making work is by travelling and so being selected for the opportunity to make work in organisations around the world is perfect for me!

Tidal Flow

My advice to graduates would be to apply for things and just go for it. There are funding and scholarships out there if you look for them. Central Station and Creative Scotland are particularly great. If you are truly confident in your practice and what your ideas and purpose of your work are as an artist, you will be fine. Don’t be scared of knock backs. The worst thing someone can tell you is no. You’re not going to lose out on anything by simply applying. I have purposely applied to awards and residencies that are going to better me as an artist and that I will gain something from, so just keep going and believe in your work!

Comment below or on Twitter using #LifeAfterArtSchool & mentioning @CenSta with your experience after art school.

Stay tuned for more updates from art school graduates all this week. In the meantime see a preview of what to expect from the Life After Art School features here.

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Inshriach bothy photo by Johnny Barrington

TBP was initiated in 2009 by artists Bobby Niven and Will Foster. In 2011 TBP, now Bobby Niven and architectural designer Iain MacLeod, realised the first art residency bothy thanks to support from the RSA Residencies for Scotland programme. The bothy was part fabricated during the RSA residency at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and then transported to Inshriach Estate near Aviemore where the build was completed in a traditional Scottish woodland area in the Cairngorm National Park.

TBP is committed to using sustainable materials and natural building techniques to create simple, modern designs. They work in collaboration with visual artists, musicians and writers to design small-scale dwellings and experiment with solutions for renewable energy systems and the challenges of living off-the-grid.

157 Days of Sunshine, The Walled Garden mural by Nicolas Party, photo by Patrick Jameson

The network currently consists of three bothies: Inshriach Bothy in the Cairngorm National Park built in 2012, Sweeney’s Bothy being built this year on the Isle of Eigg and the Walled Garden Bothy in Glasgow. You can follow progress of Sweeney’s Bothy, a modest zero-carbon dwelling, on the Isle of Eigg, off the West coast of Scotland here. The Walled Garden currently hosts an ongoing exhibition, 157 Days of Sunshine with work by Nicolas Party, Laura Aldridge & Kathryn Elkin, Bobby Niven, Michael Stumpf and Guillaume Gattier which will run until the end of September 2013 with new artists adding work to the exhibition and organising events and performances throughout the summer. The Walled Garden is a Bothy Project events space, based in a vacant site that was formerly the Glasgow City Council Cleansing Department. It is located between the Glue Factory and Scottish Opera at the dead end where the stairs lead to the canal (27 Sawmillfield Street, Glasgow).

There are a few events happening this weekend with the main one being the Sweeney’s Bothy launch at the Walled Garden on Saturday 15 June. See here for more.

TBP are always looking to expand their network with new sites and new commissions. See here for more information on how to get involved.

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