Welcome to my wonderful patterned world where I capture the drama of Scottish wilderness with nature at the heart of my surface designs.

Everything happens here in my studio in bonnie Dundee – colour studies, developing ideas, playing with scale and pattern, paper designs, cutting stencils, screen printing, painting, collage, fabric samples, mixing dyes, planning schools and community workshops, sewing and the list goes on…

All these steps help me create my surface patterns for a range of products and applications.  I’m on a mission to cover the world in my designs from wallpapers, wellies, ceramics, and murals to Land Rover Defenders – the possibilities are endless!

I have a playful approach and mix together delicious colours, juxtaposing scales, energetic repetitive marks, to create my distinct rhythmic signature.

I love my cosy space where I surround myself with colour swatches, drawings, fabric samples, old coffee pots of brushes, wooden printing blocks and random things I’ve collected.  I like nothing more than getting my hands dirty in the studio.  It’s not too flash but being surrounded by all my inspiration is really important and keeps me focused.

I am part of the Dundee WASPS artist’s studios and I’m in a temporary space on Airlie Place for 6 months while my studio at Meadowmill is being refurbished.  I really like it, it used to be a students bedroom so it has a homely feel with a fireplace and a sink.  I settled in quickly after a quick lick of white paint.  I like the location as it next to the DJCAD and I can see a tree out of my window.  I like being part of WASPS as I’m surrounded by other fellow creative’s from a range of art forms from printmakers, jewellers, sculptural textiles and painters.

I love being in my studio and being playful and creative!

Find out more about Louise and her work here.

//////////

‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

Like lots of people I’ve done tons of jobs including working in a pie and bridie factory (I’m from Forfar) but the jobs below are the ones that stick in my mind.

1.    Sales Assistant, Jeffrey Rogers

Ladies over a certain age will remember Jeffrey Rogers, a kind of wannabe River Island that didn’t make it through the ’90s. This was my job through my student days….

2.    Australian Jobs
I spent a year in Australia after graduating and did everything from data testing at Citibank to working in a coffee shop to washing dishes in hostels, all in between drinking too much Tooheys New and cheap wine.

3.    Sales Person / Administrator, ‘Neverfail Spring Water’ 

But my favourite of all these jobs and one worth mentioning was a stint at ‘Neverfail Spring Water’ in Sydney. It was a new company and my job was to call businesses and get them to take free trials of Neverfail Spring Water Coolers. You wouldn’t think it would be difficult selling free water in the summer in Australia but I struggled badly. After a few days the boss spotted my lack of sales talent and gave me one of the best jobs there doing admin work. Sometimes it pays to be bad at something.

4.    Customer Advisor, Scottish Power

I then went from the Technicolor of Australia to a call centre in rainy Glasgow. It was a dark time. For anyone who’s worked in a call centre you’ll know what an utterly sole destroying job it can be. I won’t dwell.

5.    Admin Assistant, Wasps
I needed to get some more office experience fast when I saw the job for Admin Assistant advertised at Wasps way back in 1999. I knew nothing about visual art back then but managed to win over my interviewers at the time (one of them was Chief Exec. David Cook who is also still at Wasps today). I actually said in my C.V. that I had a “real zest for life”. Every now and again David will dig out my original application for a right good laugh. I’ve been incredibly lucky at Wasps and have been able to develop my role as the organisation has grown over the past decade.

//////////

We’ve asked professionals in creative industries what jobs they have had in the past to get their foot through the door (or at least pay the rent). For more in the “My First 5 Jobs” series look here.

I started Nameless Wonders in 2009, mostly for the ‘craftier’ work, and have now started exhibiting too, using my own name – there’s a bit of migration between the two areas, though.

The work – I use animal forms in the work as a vehicle for experimenting with and exploring the possibilities presented by combining and reworking fabrics. I like to play with colour, pattern and texture combinations and use thread visibly and freely worked – I find this like a kind of drawing process, finding the form through needle, thread, scissors – and just keep going till I’m happy with the result. I like to think the way the animals look is how they would be if we could see their ‘soul’, if there is such a thing, rather than a realistic representation. They make people laugh anyway, and that’s half the pleasure of making them in the first place.

I don’t know, and don’t really bother about, whether it’s art or craft or both. It doesn’t really seem relevant. The work comes out as it does and I like to leave it at that.

There’s more on my page on Facebook

//////////

‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

I started a blog a while ago to document the restoration work we do, I think it’s rather interesting & worth documenting. At the start of the year a bought a nice camera & have been working on time lapsing all the various stages of the job. You can see the first couple on the blog, but I have 50gb of photos to process and a rather poor computer that cant handle the task!

The blog is also about my own personal work, mostly because I doubt I’d manage 2 different blogs at the same time…

Anyways this is where I make!

So Saturday morning it’s pouring with rain…. I’ve been living in the same flat for a year and I’ve always had the idea of fitting a window in every flat I live in just for the hell of it so I figured it was time for that to start.

So the target window is the classic space above the front door..

Ah what can we say, a bit dull but has potential….I took some measurements and made my way down to the studio.

Music / check.

Tea Bags & milk / Check.

3.27pm….

I got finished at 10pm, too late to fit the window so up early on Sunday and she’s done by half 12.

I really enjoy the workshop, it’s a total joy to have all the possible tools for whatever crazy plan I’ve come up with to hand. The only thing that would make it better is a coffee maker.

My Bench is usually pretty tidy… not so this week!

The most important things in the studio are probably the kettle and the dusty radio. Well what’s not dusty in this studio?

It’s located in part of the Wasps on Dalry road, a very entertaining st. I like the open studios weekend we have and hopefully this year I’ll have the time lapse videos ready to show people. The business of stained glass has many stages and processes and altogether it’s probably quite unknown to anyone outside of the business, it would be nice to share a little insight to the work.

If I’d planned this a bit more I’d like to put in more about the various tools we use. Essentially there are only a few key items. That’s part of the beauty of this work, it’s all hand tools and it’s the same tools that stained glass artists have been using since the beginning more or less.

Aye well, this has been me, that’s been my weekend and this is where I make!

More: Website | Twitter

//////////

‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

Untitled (orange) 50 x 50 cm ink drawing by Stephanie Spindler. See more work here.

[Brochure a collaboration by Lyall Bruce & Johanna Basford]

On Sat 6th Feb 2010, Censta and members went on Dundee Popup, a tour round the city’s creative people and places.  Artists, designers, illustrators, film-makers all gathered for a day of behind the scenes studio tours at Dundee Contemporary Arts, Duncan of Jordanstone and WASPS, private artist talks with Martin Boyce and Daziel and Scullion, plus an exclusive preview of the soon to be opened McManus Gallery after a 4 year refurbishment.

Members were blogging, tweeting and documenting in stills each part of the day, so you can take the tour for yourself.

As well as a day for members, and the city’s creatives to meet and discuss their work and practice, Dundee Popup created some LTD edition artworks. Censta members  SooperDD and Johanna Basford worked together to produce the booklet detailing the day, and Superfly worked with artists from the site to create a poster gallery round the city. Read more about it here.

To top it all off, we had an evening of talks from members, followed by wine and some rather fine Central Station cakes, created by Nikki McWilliams.

To see some of the photographs from the day look here. Read the rest of the blog to find out more about the day, and click here to find reviews and thoughts by the members who joined us.

///////////////

What? A tour of the creative world of Dundee, Central Station style. Private talks, tours and presentations. As well as lots of members meeting & discussing.

Where? Dundee

When? 11am – 8pm Saturday February 6th

///

[SuperFly poster by Jen Collins - part of a series]

11am:
Meet us at the Reception entrance of Duncan of Jordonson College of Art & Design. We’ll have a quick chat…and then the tour begins. Join us for some or all of it and come visit us at The Rep for a coffee stop.

11:30am options:
i) See the new exhibition at Cooper Gallery, Public Image, accompanied by a Curator talk & listen to sculptor student Julie Duffy talk about her practice

ii) Meet some graduates from DJCAD who’ll talk about how they’ve got themselves noticed since leaving

iii) Have a private tour of Dalziel + Scullion’s studio space

1pm options:
i) Go to Generator Projects for a private talk and tour

ii) Go to WASPS for a private studio tour

iii) Go to a screening of a film selected by Martin Boyce, with a live soundtrack by saxophonist Raymond MacDonald (please note there is a charge for this event & booking is necessary)

2pm options:
i) Get a rare private walkround of Realtime Worlds

ii) Have an exclusive peek inside the newly renovated McManus Galleries

3pm options:
i) Pop along to The Visual Research Centre

ii) Go to the DCA Print Studio for a private tour

3.45pm:
Hear an exclusive Martin Boyce talk about his No Reflections exhibition at the DCA

5pm options:
i) See the SuperFly Pop-up exhibition at the Hannah MacLure Centre

ii) Hear Yann Seznec talk about his Gelkies exhibition at the Hannah MacLure Centre

iii) Take a look at Handmade Heaven’s handmade wares at the Hannah MacLure Centre

6 – 8pm:
Join us for This is… Sit back and listen to a selection of our members giving quick-fire presentations about their work & practice. Then a chance to chat, mingle, drink and nibble

[Cupcakes by Nikki McWilliams]

It’s already looking like a great day and a great turnout of people, but don’t fret if you can’t be here. Along with some of Censta’s members we’ll be blogging and tweeting the day. Watch out for blogs in the Dundee Popup group, follow @censta for tweets, tagged #dundeepopup and there will be photos uploaded by Ross_McLean all through the day and footage coming from Andy later in the week.

Posters by Superfly have been spotted all round the city, and the LTD edition booklets by SooperDD and Johanna Basford are already a coveted item.

The blogs as they come in…… and the tweets for the day.

And here’s the first blog … read all about Public Image at the Cooper Gallery @DCJAD.

Lots of people meeting, eating and blogging in between tours at the Censta hub at the Dundee Rep.

Emlyn Firth gives the lowdown on the DJCAD graduates showcase, including a live link up on Skype.

Our very own Suzy Glass gives her view of the Dalziel & Scullion studio tour.

Ever been inside the coveted doors of Realtime Worlds? Jon Carlos went along, what did he see?

Censta and members got a very special sneak preview of the soon to be re-opened and very much renovated McManus Gallery. Gillian Easson gives you an idea of what’s in store.

Heidi Proven disappeared into the Visual Research Centre at Dundee Contemporary Arts, and thinks you should too.

JonGill took in the DCA Print studio, screen printing, etching, block, lino and litho. Jessica Ashman gave us her account of the DCA Print Studio tour too.

Martin Boyce took members round his No Reflections instillation at the DCA, and explained the challenges of exhibiting the work in two different spaces. Here and at Venice Biennalle. Curator Donna HolfordLovell takes us through the talk.

Superfly has an obsession, find out what it is.

Artists and makers from Handmade Heaven, showed off their wares and Censta members a plenty bought things. See what Hellojenuine liked.

Then it was time for This is… at the Hannah Maclure Centre which went like this:
Yuck & Yum told us about the ways they distrubute art without using gallery spaces
Johanna Basford & Sooper DD entertained us with stories of collaboration
Arika went through their KYTN 2009 plans and how you can get involved
Genevieve Ryan & Jo Swingler talked us through recent illustration & creative writing collaboration
We heard and saw music & animation from Colliderscope‘s Fiona Soe Paing
Georgina Follett let us know about the V&A Dundee developments.

These were covered by Htothep, suzy.glass & DJCADExhibitions.

/////

To find out what Dundee Popup was all about or to read more reviews & blogs  from the day, click here.