Artwork inspired by Island Life: Tobermory Open Studios 2024

Tobermory Open Studios takes place during Easter weekend 2024, representing 12 local artists producing a variety of artwork from paintings and prints to ceramics, weaving and work made from objects found in nature. The Isle of Mul, with its stunning nature and island way of life, has motivated and shaped the creative process of many artists living and working on Mull. They are now opening their venues and welcoming the public to join them in a celebration of their creativity.

Find out more about Tobermory Open Studios, taking place 29th March to 1st April. 

Donna Margaret Hutchinson is exhibiting in the Western Isles Hotel (Venue Number One). “There is a timeless existence in island life. Watching nature through the seasons, with its ebb and flow of amazing colour and changing light, inspires me to create works of valid and varied media." - Donna Margaret Hutchinson

The subject matter in the work of Faith Holmes tends to be based around island life, and she has a particular interest in representing everyday scenes and 'working' Mull. (Venue Number One)

Many aspects of the Isle of Mull inspire Morar Honeyman, who is exhibiting in An Tobar, (Venue Number Three). An accomplished ceramicist, Morar has found inspiration in the Mull landscape, especially the ever-changing light and the colours of the different seasons. Wildlife and the built environment are also featured in her work. Morar produces both paintings and pottery and is known locally by the name “The Honeypot”.

Artist Kathy McAdam is known as Island Pottery, expressing her island life inspiration in the tactile nature of the media she uses, using clay to create an eclectic mix of pottery, hand-built, hand-drawn and painted houses. Her work can feature plates, wonky mugs and Tobermory clocks as well as Raku, sometimes using driftwood to enhance the piece.( Venue Number Three) 

Sarah at Sarah’s Weaving Shed creates hand-woven fabrics and small runs of clan tartans such as scarves, cushion covers and other items. She is inspired by the colours and textures of the yarns and natural world, believing that hand weaving gives a more personal, artisan finish to the completed fabric. (Venue number Three) 

Nina Tans is at The Gallery Loft Studio on Main Street (Venue Number Five); born in Finland, Nina fuses Nordic minimalism with a Hebridean twist and produces a contemporary style of botanical painting where imperfection is celebrated.

Aska Marzec, is exhibiting in The Picture Gallery on Main Street, (Venue Number Six). Aska arrived on Mull 17 years ago from Poland and immediately felt in awe of the beauty of the Scottish landscape. She interpreted its special light with the eyes of a newcomer set out to try and capture it in her paintings. Her main aim is for the viewer to enjoy her work, encapsulating visitors' memories of Mull branding her artwork under the name of Scottish Island Art. 

Lady Karina Alexander is welcoming visitors to her beautiful garden for the Open Studios event (Venue Number Four). After arriving on Mull from California, Karen started drawing and painting again, loving the idea of nature providing a canvas for her creations using acrylics on slate, rocks, boulders and driftwood.

Claire Arnold is exhibiting as My Crafty Little Thing in An Tobar. Claire works with old, unwanted wood and driftwood, adding pyrography designs and turning them into one-off pieces of art. (Venue Number Three)

Ian McMillan's YouTube “Knot For Nothing” was the winner of the Mull Highland Games Art Award 2023. (Venue Number One). Ian moved from Newcastle to the Isle of Ulva in January 2022. It was on Ulva that Ian discovered his artistic passion while untangling hundreds of metres of old lobster creel rope found washed up on the shore. Ian went on to create many rope objects and this season will be unveiling his new pieces of rope art at Calgary Art Centre.

Calum Hall at Callum Hall Studio, has worked for the past 14 years for one of the busiest and outstanding arts organisations in Scotland, An Tobar and Mull Theatre, as the Marketing Manager. His artwork compositions harmoniously synthesise traditional printmaking and painting techniques alongside modern industrial processes. His collection of hand-painted watercolours draws inspiration from the enchanting sea shells and landscapes along the wild west coast of Scotland. (Venue Number Three) 

Artist Ronnie Leckie displays his artwork in The Picture Gallery on Main Street (Venue Number Six) in the blue-coloured “Balamory” building. Ronnie came to Mull in 1975 and established a business screen-printing greeting cards. The cards reached far and wide, from Macy’s in New York to Liberty and Harrod’s in London, with clients such as the World Wildlife Fund.

The Isle of Mull has an extraordinary, inspirational effect on people with a need to express their creativity. Many people arrive on the island to live and work, finding a new motivation. Often they say it is the beauty of the unspoiled natural environment, the ability to escape to find solitude and peace, which has given them a purpose in life again. Amongst the 12 artists exhibiting in Tobermory Open Studios are people who have arrived from Finland, Poland, California and England and discovered their creativity, often using their art to make connections between their previous background and their new island home.

We hope to see you there,

Tobermory Open Studios and Aska Marzec