Tapestry graduate Sharon Toovey who won the 2003 Wasps Bonhoga residency award will be running workshops in Scalloway during December. The residency is based at The Booth, an award winning artist living/working space in Scalloway on the site of an old fisherman’s store which was the oldest building in the town.

Sharon is a mature student currently taking an MFA at Edinburgh College of Art. She liked art at school but instead of following an artistic career path became a lawyer. Changes in her life made her re-evaluate what she wanted to do and she decided to follow her heart and take up art again. She went to evening classes to put together a portfolio and was accepted at Edinburgh which she chose because it teaches tapestry in a fine art context.

The course taught traditional weaving techniques as well as very contemporary methods so it introduced her to a broad range of woven ideas. Her work is very varied and the likes to combine things such as photography, glass, tapestry, film and poetry. She has never been to somewhere as remote as Shetland and is looking forward to the experience. She is already reading more about the island and is intrigued by the idea of looking at the influences of the past on language and the landscape.

She will be running workshops for children and adults during her residency. For more details contact the Bonhoga Gallery on 01595 830 400 or e-mail: bonhoga-gallery@shetland-arts-trust.co.uk

The Booth is available for bookings in certain months of the year and all artists’ residencies are advertised in AN Magazine. The building consists of a ‘clean’ combined working area and living space on the upper level with a stone-walled basement for more ‘dirty’ work. For further information visit www.waspsstudios.org.uk

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