Nicky Gilmour - Open Studios

Sculptor/researcher/grower; objects from grown and land-based materials: paper making, plant fibre, soil, chalk, charcoal, sand, timber.

Exploring what humans make and how these accumulations of materials behave in their environments is what drives the work. Investigations have attempted to use an inclusive view, that humans are part of the live exchanges of the wider community of plants and animals and are not separate from them.

Sculpting has merged with growing, and sourcing materials from the land to investigate how much land, energy, time, and other inputs it takes to produce and maintain these forms. By default, this investigation examines the nature of materials’ permanence in the landscape, which brings to the fore their seasonal availability and growing environments. Observing each product’s duration; from a few, fleeting days of vase-life for sweet peas in Spring, to the potential for centuries of use for wooden objects has changed my perspective on making sculpture.

The economics of this research have been tested at local markets where products are sold using the business name ‘Vega Rosa’. The current cash crops for the small holding where I work are flower, timber and willow-based products, and skills sharing through workshops on making sustainably.

In the flower processing shed at the field visitors are invited to see the most recent developments using papermaking and bookbinding to capture seeds and information about growing, seasons and site. Seasonal produce and work from the small holding will also be available for sale.