Arcadia Scotland

We have been lucky enough to support some incredibly talented students this semester! In amongst discovering all the culture and heritage Scotland has to offer, they've been delving into the creative arts, producing amazing sculptures, drawings, photos and dances. 

Carly McMahon

Carly is an academic year student studying at the Glasgow School of Art. She has a particular focus on sculpture and produced this fantastic final piece, entitled 'Love'.

"It represents the feeling of love.
Love has no boundaries (that's why it's on the floor) love grows and tangles together. Love is scary and also beautiful.
Love is pure (white)
Love is contradicting like this piece the work is ugly and pretty smooth and rigid.
It has an impression of reef. Reef grows strong and takes along time to grow layers and layers and can also be fragile and lives forever."

Materials
Plaster (mud rock) strips
Wire
Paper flowers

We can't wait to see what she'll create next semester! 

Dana Beach

Dana studies at Ohio Wesleyan University and has spent a semester studying at the University of Glasgow. With their strong connections to the Glasgow School of Art, Dana was able to take photography this semester. We loved her series taken in the Glasgow Botanic Gardens!

"I basically wanted to focus on Glasgow and what makes it such a compelling place to live. I wanted to capture the different layers, dichotomies, and reflections I found in the city. I did this mostly through double exposures and pairing harsher and softer images together to try to create a picture of Glasgow as a whole. I've really been enjoying living in this city, getting to do philosophy, photography, and sculpture, as well as venturing around Scotland during this past semester, and I'm really looking forward to returning!"

Kristen Moranetz

Kristen is an academic year student from the University of Cincinnati, studying ballet at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 

"In my 'classroom' aka studio, we work on lots of creative projects because creativity, just like critical thinking, is a skill that improves with practice! We have a weekly choreography class in which we work in groups to create 'mini dances' that challenge us to think outside the box and work together. However, my favorite creative project that I have worked on this year is a dance piece that I choreographed and set on a group of seven dancers from the program. It was created in response to the refugee problems of today, and it will be performed on December 15th - I am excitedly (and nervously) looking forward to it's showing."

Shelby Edmunds

Shelby is from Chapman University and has been studying at the University of Glasgow this semester. Like Dana, she was able to take classes at the Glasgow School of Art. 

"I’ve been fortunate enough to take Life Drawing and Black & White Photography at the Glasgow School of Art this semester. It’s so surreal because I was just learning about the world-renowned School last semester as part of my Graphic Design major back in California. Life Drawing has greatly improved my confidence in my abilities. The best part about this class was the array of materials I got to experiment with, ranging from charcoal, to graphite, to ink. I’ve taken figure drawing classes before, but revisiting the subject has really helped me improve.

"Photography, on the other hand, has been a whole new experience for me. Learning how to develop my own rolls of film and then printing the images in the darkroom is an experience unlike any other. The theme for my final images was centered on graveyards, so I visited the Necropolis and the Pére Lachaise Cemetery.

"I’ve also been keeping my own personal sketchbook outside of class to practice my observational drawing skills, and to document my time here in Scotland.

Thank you so much for all our artists for allowing us to share their work on our blog!