It’s an Edinburgh Alumni Showcase – we are gathering together all our Edinburgh College of Art artists and showing off their incredible creativity! As a way to mark the end of the Degree Shows in Scotland and to celebrate all the new graduates on the verge of taking the creative world by storm. If you think our collection of ECA artisans is big right now… just wait till we’ve invited this year’s alumni into the fold!
Swim Noodles by Mina Braun is a delightful A3 Risograph print. Mina Braun studied at the Edinburgh College of art and taught at ECA. She has lived both in Scotland and Germany, producing her many prints, zines and books in Berlin. Braun’s artwork is often inspired by stories, taken from fiction or everyday life – creating characters and backgrounds using bold colours, playful lines, dynamic shapes and detailed patterns!
This is Red Door Gallery by Pilar Garcia de Leaniz, an A3 print featuring our wee gallery – we are very flattered! Pilar studied an MA in Illustration at ECA, graduating in 2017 and has gone on to be artist in residence and a current tutor at Edinburgh College of Art too! Pilar Garcia de Leaniz illustration styles is super unique and ranges in prints, textiles, stationary and books!
Jeff Josephine is a designer whose real name is Sophie Elm and these are her beautiful Ceramic Greenhouse Plaques. Elm is an ECA graduate who creates a handcrafted collection of illustrative studio pottery, prints and printed textiles. The Jeff Jospehine collection often combines soft botanical forms with bold geometric shapes, all stemming from her background in illustration!
Kate McLelland graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with an MA in Illustration and we have stocked her work at the Red Door Gallery since 2010. McLelland has recently created some brand new works including Sunset – a 74x30cm Digital Print. What a bright and cheery illustration! If you’d like to know more about Kate, she is featured on our #MeetTheMaker blog!
This is Screenprinted Prayer Bunting by Louise Smurthwaite! Louise graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2008 after studying Painting and Drawing and has been a regular traveller to exotic and inspiring places. This beautiful bunting was inspired by her trip to Nepal and the Nepalese Prayer Flags. Smurthwaite’s beautiful screen prints are full of vibrant colours and printed in Edinburgh where she lives and works.
A brand new print by customer favourite and animal pun master, Alright Hen? by Mister Peebles. A graduate of The Edinburgh College of Art we have been proud stockists of Mister Peeble’s illustrations for a long and lovely time! Helen (Mister Peebles himself/herself) has kindly participated in our #Meet The Maker blog this week, so if you want to learn more about her, that’s the place to be!
This is Edinburgh Cranes by Rachel Turner, an A5 print inspired by those big, beautiful Cranes that hang over the Edinburgh city skyline! Turner graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2015, completing a degree in Painting and Drawing. Rachel lives and works in Edinburgh and is part of The Red Door Gallery team. Her illustrations are created with nib and ink!
This is Dadirri by Maria Rikteryte who graduated from Illustration in 2016 at ECA. Maria loves drawing and writing as ways for her to express ideas and feelings and to explore the interconnectedness of all things in the universe. This print is titled Dadirri which translated from the word’s Aborginal origins to English means: ‘a spiritual feeling of being at one with nature and the planet.’
Emily MacKenzie is the clever clogs behind what is possibly the most popular print in Scotland! It’s the 50 Shades of Scotland A3 print that has our customers in a real twirl. MacKenzie is originally from North East England and moved to Edinburgh to study Graphic Design at ECA, staying in Scotland ever since. A very successful children’s book illustrator, Emily is a very busy and very creative artist!
Fiona Luing is an Edinburgh based jewellery designer. Luing attended night classes at ECA so she could turn the hobby she loved into a full time business! Fiona Luing creates lovely, simple silver designs that are easy to wear and subtly detailed. These are her Silver Hammered Texture Studs, and they are also available in Lace and Leaf textures too!
Julija Straizyte graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with an MA in Illustration. Her illustrations often feature curious characters and mysterious oddities which makes her style most intriguing to look at. Just like this Jester (The Fool) A4 print who appears to be juggling mini moons! Julija describes her illustrations as being ‘fuelled by the complexity and ambiguity of the world we live in’. Currently living and working in Edinburgh, Julija often drops in her popular prints to The Red Door Gallery – new illustrations and handmade books are on the way too!
Scottish Mountain by Susie Wright – Susie is an lives and works in Edinburgh and is an ECA Alumni. Wright has many of her beautiful, limited edition screen-prints adorning the walls of lots of Edinburgh venues and has worked with many high profile clients on commissions create visuals and designs for their brands! Suise’s illustrations are inspired by Edinburgh, Scotland and further afield such as Tokyo where she often visits and exhibits!
Claire Fleck is a graduate of ECA’s Performance Costume and her illustrations often feature larger than life characters wearing delightfully imaginative clothes. Claire’s fantastic illustrations capture the costumes designed during her time at ECA. This is Summer Swimmers A3 print with three delightfully, dreamy ladies ready for a dip and maybe a synchronised swim! Claire Fleck lives and works in Edinburgh and alongside costume and illustration, she is a very talented wedding photographer too!
This adorable illustration is Little Owl Love by Lindsey Brown. Lindsey Brown is an Edinburgh based illustrator and designer and graduated with a BA Hons in Fashion Design from Edinburgh College of Art in 2007 and returned to do an MA in Illustration at ECA in 2009-2010. She has a super strong love of Owls and has a big collection of ceramic ones at home! Lindsey is also part of The Red Door team and is our go to gal for choosing new artists and wares.
GJewl is a silversmith and jewellery designer based in Edinburgh and she graduated in Graphic Design from ECA. GJewl’s peices explore how elements, stones and contrasting textures can work together with minimal forms to create wearable objects. These are her Circle Drop Earrings by GJewl made purely from silver and look superb!
White Foxes A4 print by Magda Boreysza is a magical illustration! Magda graduated with a degree in Animation from Edinburgh College of Art and has created a marvellous illustration style which explores the imaginary worlds and creatures she has created. Magda describes herself as having been ‘born by the salty, cold Baltic Sea and migrated through Poland, Sweden and Scotland to New Orleans, armed with a fineliner and a moleskine sketchbook’.
The Dodo by Patrizio Belcampo is a limited edition screenprint and part of an ongoing project to complete a full Avian Alphabet! Patrizio was originally born in Ravenna, North-Eastern Italy but he has lived and worked in Edinburgh since 2003 and graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2011. Patrizio Belcampo is a member of the Edinburgh Printworks and is a widely exhibited artist.
Anoushka Schellekens is a London based illustrator who takes a research based approach to her work. Anoushka graduated in 2017 from ECA Masters in Illustration and has exhibited across the UK since graduation. Anoushka has a particular interest in working partnerships and her print folio exists as a collection of stories told by others. This is a limited edition two colour screenprint by Anoushka Schellekens. Entwine is part of a series of prints from the exhibition “More than me” at Edinburgh’s Upright Gallery!
We hope you enjoyed our Edinburgh College of Art Alumni Showcase! We definitely did, and we’ve even got our shop windows filled with these talented artists – so come down and take a look and support Edinburgh’s growing art scene! 🙂