SCOTT IRVINE

Born in Edinburgh in 1970, Scott was introduced to woodworking at an early age in his grandfather’s workshop. Throughout his childhood Scott could always be found in the garden shed with some blocks of wood and constructing his early creations. He left school at the age of 16 with good qualifications and advice to follow a different career to the one he had already set his heart on. However, he decided to fulfil his passion of working with wood and trained as a carpenter.

His participation in intricate and specialised designs encouraged a great respect for and understanding of wood, taking it beyond its expected limits in terms of both craftsmanship and finish.

In 1993, following a paralysing illness (Guillain Barre Syndrome) which unfortunately left Scott with some residual weakness and pain in his feet, he was unable to return to carpentry as his full time profession. Having a great devotion to working with wood, he was determined to carry it on, which led him into the art of woodturning and carving which has been entirely self-taught.

The continual and expanding interest in his unique designs and craftsmanship has resulted in Scott’s work being exhibited in numerous galleries throughout Scotland and the UK with some European and American exhibitions too.

The freshness of his designs continue to surprise and delight an evergrowing number of private and corporate collectors of his work. His ability to challenge the predictable function of the basic form of a bowl has led him to unite wood with different materials such as metals, fused glass and stone, creating a dramatic fusion of effects.

MAKING A FORM

Scott is committed to using only windfallen or diseased native timber. The raw material is called a blank and all of the blanks are hand selected at source for their special features of grain and burrs.

The bulk of the timber is air seasoned for a minimum of 1 – 2 years, and is then transferred to a kiln to be dried further over a period of weeks. Scott normally likes to work with timber with moisture content of less than 10%; this is very acceptable for native timbers.

Scott never designs a piece before starting work on it; the form of the final design is developed through working with the particular blank and interpreting the grain. Once the basic shape is established through turning on a lathe, any decorative features are then performed. Scott not only likes his work to be visually stimulating, he also likes to arouse the sense of touch which is achieved by incorporating in-laid metals, fused glass and carving.

Once the form has been turned and finally sanded, the finishing process can begin. It is performed over a period of approximately 4 days, and involves several coats of a mixture of oils which enhance the grain of the wood whilst protecting and sealing it.

EXHIBITIONS (1994 TO DATE)

AT THE FOLLOWING GALLERIES

AFFORDABLE ART FAIR, LONDON (2000 to 2007)

ART IN THE SQUARE (2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003), George Square, GLASGOW

ARTISANAT, PERTH

ASSOCIATION OF APPLIED ARTS

• Exhibition (Centre of Attention) held in The British Council, EDINBURGH

• Exhibition (Art for Everyday) held in Association with Redrow Homes

• Exhibition (Scottish Select) held at S.E.C.C., GLASGOW

AULD KIRK MUSEUM, Kirkintilloch, GLASGOW

CAMBRIDGE CONTEMPORARY ART, CAMBRIDGE

CASTLE GALLERY, INVERNESS

CITY TREES EXHIBITION, The Bellevue Gallery,EDINBURGH

COLOURS GALLERY, EDINBURGH

CORNERSTONE GALLERY, STIRLING

DUBLIN ART FAIR, DUBLIN (2003 to 2005)

GALLERY 41, EDINBURGH

HERON GALLERY, Pittenweem, FIFE

JUST ART, Fine and Applied Arts Gallery, Fochabers, ABERDEENSHIRE

JUST SCOTTISH GALLERY, The Mound, EDINBURGH

JUST WOOD, The Alpaca Centre, PENRITH

IONA HOUSE GALLERY, 4 High Street, Woodstock, OXFORDSHIRE

KRANENBERG & FOWLER Fine Arts, OBAN

LABURNUM CERAMICS, Yanwath, CUMBRIA

LILLIE ART GALLERY, Milngavie, GLASGOW

QUEENS GALLERY, 160 Nethergate, DUNDEE

ROBERT THOMPSONS CRAFTSMEN LTD , Kilburn, YORK

ROWAN GALLERY, Main Street, DRYMEN

SCOTLAND HOUSE EXHIBITION (2000 and 2002), Art for Europe, BRUSSELS

SHEILA FLEET GALLERY, ORKNEY

SOUTH STREET GALLERY, St Andrews

STENTON GALLERY, Stenton, East Lothian

STUDIO 4, Lamlash, ISLE OF ARRAN

THE FOTHERINGHAM GALLERY, Bridge of Allan, STIRLINGSHIRE

THE GREENHOUSE GALLERY, Springholm, CASTLE DOUGLAS

THE GREEN GALLERY, Aberfoyle, STIRLING

THE HOUSE OF MENZIES, Aberfeldy, PERTHSHIRE

THE LEITH GALLERY, The Shore, Leith, EDINBURGH

THE QUEENS ROAD GALLERY, 15 Queens Road, ABERDEEN

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND, Chambers Street, EDINBURGH

THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY, The Mound, EDINBURGH

THE STRATHEARN GALLERY, Crieff, PERTHSHIRE

THE WYND GALLERY, Buccleuch street, MELROSE

THINGS CELTIC, Austin, TEXAS, USA

THORNTHWAITE GALLERIES, Randlehow, Mockerin, COCKERMOUTH

TOLQUHON GALLERY, Tolquhon, By Tarvis, ABERDEENSHIRE

TRACEY MCNEE FINE ART, Parnie Street, GLASGOW

OTHER INFORMATION

• Commissioned to make awards for The Jolomo Llyods TSB Scotland Awards 2007

• Commissioned to make award for The Eco Prize for Creativity 2005

• Undertaken numerous corporate and private commissions, including a large corporate

project for a surgical hospital in Gateshead

• Previously worked in conjunction with ‘therefore designs’ by Paul Topen for Hussein

Chalayan, London Fashion Designer

• Taken part in a short programme (Landward) for BBC Scotland television, shown October

2002