About Me

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Isle of Bute, West Coast of Scotland, United Kingdom
Too old to be a rock chick, so I am the hippy hen! Environmentally and socially conscious, eco aware vegetarian goddess. Human and animal rights activist Against discrimination in all its forms. LGBT Ally. Lover of music, chocolate and crochet.. Womb cancer survivor.

Thursday 6 October 2011

Bute Art

Some of you might know that I live on an island off the west coast of Scotland called Bute. Its a lovely place. We moved here just over 9 years ago and have made lots of friends - quite a few of them are very talented artists and creatives.
So today I thought I'd let you know about some of the wonderfully talented people that there are on Bute.
One of the first "arty" people I became friends with is the lovely Gill, who moved to the island just after we did. She is a potter; well actually she's lots of things!! Gill is an extremly creative person. Not only does she make wonderfull ceramics, but she makes stunning textile wall hangings! She is also musical and sings aswell!
Check out some of her work on her website http://www.beautifulbaboon.com/

Another arty friend is Nicola Jones. When we first met Nicola, she had a small art shop on the island selling craft supplies and also prints of her artwork of scenes around the island. Now a mother of 2, she is still selling her work, this time via other outlets on the island and also at http://www.zazzle.co.uk/nicolajonesartist

A man who paints some beautiful paintings is Brian Large. He's well know for his paintings of puffers; but also paints some stunning landscapes from around the island.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Large-Artist/208620999170754

A lady who creates some stunning jewellery is Shirley K Lloyd. Her Isle of Bute shaped pendants, earrings and cufflinks are a wonderful way of promoting not only her skills but also the island itself. https://www.facebook.com/ShirleyKLloydJewellery?sk=wall

Living in such a beautiful place is a photographers dream, and Bute has its fair share of talent in that area aswell. Four that I know of personally are John Lawson, John Williams, Zak Harrison and Dave Murty. All have a great eye for spotting a photo opportunity!

Aswell as all the talented artists and craftspeople around, we are lucky to have some fantastic outlets for these people to sell their items.
We have the Castle Gallery, http://www.thecastlegallery.com/ situated across the road from Rothesay Castle; Picture Bute, http://www.picturebute.com/ which is stuffed full of artwork, jewellery, handmade cards, aswell as t-shirts, mugs, coasters etc all printed with various images from around the island.
Then we have Brandish Bute. This was set up as a social enterprise to bring together some of the talented people on the island and give them a platform to market themselves and their products and also the island itself. It has a small shop but also an online presence http://brandishbute.com/ and has been busy visiting trade and craft fairs over recent months to take the "Bute" brand to a wider audience.

Its a small island and it seems like you are never far away from a creative person! Whether it be a painter, a potter, a photographer or a jeweller.

Why not come and visit our little island and see for yourself! Visit http://www.isle-of-bute.com/ and find all the details you need!