I grew up with a very strong connection to nature and the elements. In rural Scotland, it takes a lot to deter people from going out for a walk or a bike ride. I remember body-boarding with my family in the surf of the northeast beaches through every month of the year as a teen, hollering at the thrill of catching the same wave. We didn’t want to get out of the water even if we turned blue!

The joy of crushing icy puddles underfoot and picking up conkers (horse-chestnut tree seeds) as a child grew into drysuit diving in lochs and ‘munro bagging’ (reaching the peaks of several mountains in a day).

The standing stone circles in the landscape where we lived were an ever-present reminder that nature was the true ruler of this place.

As a youngster, I was also immersed in a vibrant, local Arts scene that allowed me to play, express myself, and disappear into fantasy when life became harder. By the time I left school, this potent mixture of adventure in nature and creativity set alight a wanderlust that would take me around the world.

My studies in Anthropology and History of Art at the University of Glasgow fuelled this curiosity for travel and culture. I spent several summers mentoring in Visual Ethnography at an Anthropology field school in Malta, and spent a month onboard a sailboat around the Orkney and Shetland Islands of Scotland doing an artist residency expedition.

After graduating, I became immersed in the British Art industry, curating exhibitions for a fine art gallery, learning the craft in a framing workshop, and assisting in the studios of Scottish artists Sir Peter Howson OBE and Alexandra [Sandie] Gardner. I also created a research paper exploring inclusive music education as a Research Assistant with the University of Strathclyde.

In 2015, I packed up my Scottish life to travel to Cape Verde to begin training as a professional scuba diver. I spent the next five years working globally as a scuba instructor and research diver in marine conservation, putting my anthropology skills to the test! During this time, I created a photography portfolio documenting nature and culture and made several sculptures with marine debris.

In early 2020, I fulfilled my ambition of becoming a scientific diver dealing with the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish invasion on the Great Barrier Reef, before getting locked down in Gladstone, Central Queensland. Around the same time, I developed a severe allergy to neoprene which abruptly ended my dive career, and, out of the blue, I met my partner!

This turning point in my life had a huge influence on my creative process as I realised that in art - as in life - it’s wise to expect the unexpected. By remaining curious and open-minded instead, we can learn to embrace the twists and turns and liberate our creativity.

In my artwork today, the buzzing biodiversity and vibrant colour palette of tropical coral reefs and eucalyptus forests are combined with the ethereal beauty of my Scottish homeland. Professional development in Art Therapy has also deepened my understanding of the symbolism that appears intuitively in my work, facilitating healing on a personal level through an even greater appreciation of nature’s flow.