“There was MaDness in any direction, at any hour.”

Galloway-based Karen Campbell is the author of eight novels. She graduated with

distinction from Glasgow University’s Creative Writing Masters, and is the recipient

of an SAC New Writers Award and a Creative Scotland Bursary. Before turning to

writing, she was a police officer, and then a press officer with Glasgow

City Council. She also tutors and mentors in creative writing, and was recently Writer

in Residence at Dumfries & Galloway Council. Her eighth novel ‘Paper Cup’ was

published by Canongate in June 2022.

More at www.karencampbell.s

 Jolanda Bastein's passion is to use old, pre-loved materials such as textiles, clothes or other items and turn them into something beautiful, surprising and useful. Her focus lies in upcycling textiles and repurposing fabric -  such as hand-crocheting bathmats from t-shirts and making bags from old curtains and baskets from rags. She also makes rubber jewellery from bicycle inner tubes. She loves using and experimenting with a great variety of techniques and igniting the curiosity and creativity in others to do the same. 

 (16) Jolanda Bastein | Facebook 

 Artist Davy Brown graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1972. Since then he has staged over 70 one-man shows throughout the U.K. He taught for thirty years, including periods in America, Canada and Iceland, before taking early retirement in order to concentrate fully on painting. Davy has held a life-long passion for the work of the Scottish artists Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde and has lectured and written on the subject of their lives and art.

 Davy Brown Artist - Home 

Silvy Weatherall is a multi media artist based in Dumfries & Galloway. A hater of waste, she works with household objects that are broken or have become obsolete, whether it is smashed china, jewellery, feathers, skulls or other things destined for landfill. Silvy plays with words, associations and meanings in order to realise the end piece. 

 Silvy Weatherall: Silvart:: 

Tim Westley is a bladesmith transforming washed up plastic and metal waste into hand-forged kitchen knives, creating a product that real chefs can afford. The blades make use of steel from discarded nitrous oxide canisters. He strives to take detritus out of our natural environment and return it to human hands. 

 Clement Knives 

 Thia Rawlinson has been making enamelled jewellery, decorative items on copper, and metal clay for over 30 years. She is now enjoying the challenge of silversmithing. Based in Whithorn, Thia is a member of the Guild of Enamellers and the Guild of Jewellery Designers. She has been working as an adult tutor since 1986.  

For the past 15 years Dumfries local Rolf Buwert, has combined storytelling and woodturning at country fairs, stately homes, historic sites and forests. He harvests his timber locally and his inspiration for stories and wooden items come from the landscape and his German ancestry.

 (17) Created Woodcrafts | Facebook 

Helen Walsh is an artist and creative practitioner living on the beautiful Solway Coast, specialising in drawing and textiles. She is fascinated by the natural world and our connection to it. Process and technique are key to her practice. She uses a range of media in particular traditional textile skills such as dyeing and embroidery.

www.delicatestitches.co.uk

Rebecca Davison's main focus is textiles and mixed media, using recycled and repurposed materials to create unique functional objects. She is currently studying Art and Design and has recently discovered a passion for stained glass. Rebecca uses photography to capture the essence of landscapes, nature and people which she takes as inspiration for her projects.

Anne Brown studied for a degree in 3D Design Ceramics.  After teaching in London she opted for a change in pace and is enjoying living a quieter life in South West Scotland. Anne throws her mugs on the wheel and decorates each one with a ‘sprigged’ motif, with some of the handles embossed with a Celtic knot. Her pottery is decorated with iron oxides and glazed with lead free stoneware glazes.

 Handmade Pottery Mugs | Anne Brown Ceramics | Whithorn 

Christy Miles studied Outdoor & Environmental Education at John Moores University and since graduating in 2005, has worked in various sectors within the outdoor education field.

She is passionate about equipping individuals with the confidence, skills and experiences to reconnect with the natural environment through bushcraft, foraging and hammock experiences.

 About | Way of the Wild 

 Moira Pugh has always had a love of natural products, and with the help of her husband Kevin, put together a selection of soaps using only 'kind to your skin' raw materials and essential oils. This range is suitable for all and uses the cold processed method. They supply local outlets and take the 'Mindful Soap Bar' to various Galloway markets. 

 (17) Mindful Soap Bar | Facebook 

  Each of Stewart's 'walk talk draw' events are unique, and depend on factors such as the weather, experience and mobility of the participant. Stewart believes 'if you wait for the perfect day to paint and draw, you will wait forever'. He enjoys working from memory and directly from nature, drawing on the architecture and seascapes of the Galloway coast. 

  Morag creates surface patterns for textiles inspired by art history, anthropology and nature in her native Galloway. Morag's process involves research, photography, hand-drawn and digital design, patchwork and digital printing. Recently, Morag has embraced sustainable making with eco-printing techniques and hand dyeing. 

She sells artwear garments such as kimono robes, jackets and coats, as well as limited edition cushions and scarves.

 Morag Macpherson Textiles Home page Womens Silk Kimonos 

Laura creates artful wool pile rugs, for walls or floors. 

She trained in woven textile design at the Scottish College of Textiles and in New Zealand developed these techniques. Laura finds interlocking yarns a good analogy of our own stories, the threads of our lives, the choices we make, the routes we take and how this weaves us into the unique beings we are. She creates functional, artful furnishings where people can relax, reflect, and connect. 

Strengthening the fabric of life is what Laura's all about. 

 Rugaura