Spindrift by Roddy Mathieson

Spindrift is a pewter sculpture which has been cast using charcoal and the calcium shells of cuttlefish for moulds engaging an environmentally friendly foundry technique. This sculpture was created by the artist’s foundry, Alchemy, a completely unique facility using traditional and environmentally friendly processes to create contemporary works of art and design cast in metal. The properties of fire, air, earth and water are exploited to realise ancient techniques using the prehistoric process of a charcoal-burning furnace that is blasted with air from two handmade double chamber bellows of medieval design. Recycled materials are used throughout, sourcing bronze from old engineering parts, aluminium from old car pistons and pewter from scrap metal merchants.

(www.roddymathieson.net)

Other Flowers of Scotland by David Watson Hood

This photographic series is composed of kaleidoscopic digital images from close- up photography. The images are of the flowers of trees and plants, mostly of native origin, and with long standing Scottish economic or cultural significance. The work draws inspiration from ancient sources but also depends on the latest technology. The artist’s intention is to help counteract our current disassociation with nature and the biosphere on which we depend. The work engages both the art of photography and compositional techniques of painting and decorative designs to connect its audience to plant life and biodiversity in a visually unique way.

(www.twocrows.co.uk)

The Man Who Planted Trees
by the Puppet State Theatre Company

This theatrical production is a stage adaptation by the Puppet State Theatre Company of Jean Giono’s environmental cult classic. It tells the story of how a French shepherd and his dog persevere to overcome various obstacles and transform the bleak landscape which surrounds them into a rich woodland ecosystem. It uses a unique blend of comedy, puppetry, storytelling and multi-sensory effects. Experienced puppeteers – Richard Medrington and Rick Conte – in association with colleagues Ailie Cohen and Elspeth Murray, have performed this inspiring adaptation and engaged audiences in theatres, festivals, conference centres, tents, forests and community gardens all over the UK from Campbeltown to Cambridge.

(www.puppetstate.com)

Bowmore Chair by David Trujillo-Farley

This chair was designed and made to explore the possibility of creating a sustainable industry on Islay from a native industrial waste material. It engaged a sustainable design ethos, using the high quality waste material of spent whisky barrels and minimal energy, to create an aesthetically pleasing mainstream product which would eventually be completely biodegradable. The resulting elegance distilled in the Bowmore Chair has a potential global market including whisky enthusiasts, interior designers and discerning consumers.

The Artist: Originally from California, David Trujillo-Farley grew up amidst a strong environmental standard. His design ethos resides in what he terms the ‘sustainable design ecology’. As a result, he dedicated his postgraduate study to exploring the uses and commercial viability of biodegradable materials, and continues to do so as a multidisciplinary designer in Scotland.

Photo by Jan Eckert

Green Roof 294 by Beth Hamer

This is a prototype urban roof garden. Farming organic vegetables on top of a nightclub in the heart of Glasgow may seem outlandish. But this ingenious and multi-layered work, covering one area of a larger roofscape, illustrates the potential for the conversion of urban roof spaces into rich bio diverse eco-systems becoming, for example, wildlife gardens, forest roofs or wheat roofs. This work engages local residents inviting them to develop the prototype into a permanent installation for the benefit of both the environment and the community.

The Artist: Beth Hamer recently graduated from the Glasgow School of Art, Environmental Art Department. Beth’s artworks are designed to inspire and assist people to take small steps to overcome an enormous challenge – how to live sustainably and ecologically in an urban area. She is interested in low-cost, low-tech, resourceful ways of presenting and elaborating artistic work which engages its viewers. Green Roof 294 is just one of the ingenious solutions which she proposed this year at her degree show exhibition.

Trash Fashion Show by Falkirk High School Eco Group

This event consisted of three catwalk-themed sections – reduce, re-use and recycle – the creation and designs of each section reflecting its theme. The show was designed to challenge perceptions of consumerism, promoting recycled goods as a much more desirable commodity. All the outfits were created by pupils themselves from the most unlikely materials: carrier bags, bubble wrap, lampshades, bin bags, motorbike parts, curtains and old clothes; hair styles from juice cans and plastic bottles; and, jewellery and accessories developed from newspaper and plastic. In between the catwalk sessions, dancers and two of the school’s bands – The Samba Band and Apollo 13 – performed. The audience ranged from pupils, parents, and teachers to local council representatives.

The Artists: The Eco Group gives young people a unique opportunity to learn about sustainable development and to put it into practice in their local environment. The show was produced and directed by pupils and geared towards raising environmental issues in their local community. In this imaginative and inclusive event, the Group and fellow pupils was responsible for stage management, lighting, choreography, fashion design, stage make-up and hair styling. The project enabled pupils to work with local businesses and award winning fashion designer Claudia Escobar who introduced pupils to the creative possibilities of salmon skins and creating a salmon skin kilt!, animator Tessa Dunlop, media company Small Majority, and lighting company M&M lighting.

Solar Vintage by Elena Corchero

Solar Vintage is a prototype collection of solar powered decorative accessories for the eco fashion-minded consumer. The collection explores delicate ways of incorporating solar cells into textiles in which technology meets tradition. Electronic components like solar cells, resistors and LEDs are integrated directly into antique and hand-embellished fabrics and wired together into working circuits using conductive thread. The artist is a fashion and interaction designer with a fine arts background, has an MA in Textile Futures and specialist knowledge of smart textiles through work as a research associate in MIT Media Lab Europe. Elena is currently a senior researcher at Distance Lab in Forres, Scotland which is sponsoring the project and where she is developing the prototypes further. This work provides a refreshing angle on ‘wearable computing’ disguising it in a beautiful and stylistic way.

(www.lostvalues.com)

Ecoella by Sciennes Primary School Green Team

This is a positive, life-affirming and fun-loving version of the traditional children’s fairy tale, Cinderella. In performing the play, the Sciennes Primary Green Team introduce the audience to Ecoella herself, her ugly sisters Landfillella and Disposella, the dashing prince R. E. Cycle, and the Green Fairy Godmother. Amazingly, the Green Fairy Godmother casts her spell and recycled bottles become sparkling glass slippers – how eco-friendly is that! – and the stately carriage to the Prince’s Ball is replaced by a mountain bike to his grand opening party for a new wildlife centre.

The Artists: The Green Team began in 2005 as an after-school club. The group is made up of primary school children from primary 1 to 7 passionate about helping save the planet. Activities range from: campaigning against plastic carrier bags, doing litter pick ups, making mini beast homes with reused cans and straws, fundraising for a wind turbine, energy efficiency surveys, initiating an eco-friendly award scheme for teachers, to creative writing. The team have also just completed the RSPB Wildlife Action award programme and received their Gold Award.