A visual arts workshop has commissioned a new artist – and it is one with a keen eye on food science.
Storyteller and baker Jenny Watt has been visiting Gaada in Burra to experiment with creating plant-based pigments for painting and printmaking.
She plans to develop a new body of work that examines Shetland’s ecology through colour, chemistry, and story.
Watt will research and create a series of recipes for Shetland plant-based pigments, culminating in a publication and workshops for artists and the wider community.
The publication follows in the footsteps of the now rare Shetland Dyes by Jenni Sim, first published by The Shetland Times in 1985, and seeks to create a new visual nomenclature of Shetland pigments – a contemporary reference for artists working with local materials.
Watt’s project builds upon Gaada’s growing focus on sustainable and hyperlocal material practices, including the development of a library of Shetland matertials – an evolving resource of natural and found materials that aim to replace imported art supplies in the Toogs artist workshop.
Watt has already been testing out recipes and ideas through a work share event for artists which Gaada held recently.
Over the coming months, she will continue developing her research with support from the Gaada team before launching the publication next year.
This new commission also continues threads from Gaada’s 2021-22 programme Safeland, which celebrated the work of Shetland botanist Walter Scott, and resulted in several new artist publications inspired by his Shetland by Numbers project.
The project is part of Gaada’s 2025–28 multi-year programme, supported by Creative Scotland and the Shetland Charitable Trust.
