Visual artist Kirsty MacDonald Follow.Art Card

About me

I am an interdisciplinary artist / eco-artist currently based in Aberdeen. I create work using my own handmade botanical inks, paints, dyes, paper and more.

In terms of what kind of work I make using those materials, it is a mix of sculpture, paintings/ drawings, fabric pieces and installations.
I am inspired by Scottish culture, folklore, nature and science. As a research-driven artist, I explore the interconnections between these topics whilst also researching them individually and from that I then create work as a reaction to that research and translate what I have learned into an art form where others can access the same learning visually. Some of the topics within my research interest have included concepts around plant villainy and the perceptions of plants as a result of language, human and plant relationships and ideas around control, plant cognition and the impacts plants can have on culture. At the moment, I am exploring the inks, pigments and dyes that I have made from plants and am looking at the historic uses of them in Scotland, the historic contexts, as well as the old recipes and plants that played an important role in these materials.

Over the last year, I have undergone training in natural crafts with Old Mill Arts as a result of being awarded the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust Grant, which has given me the skills to explore natural crafts and continue my sustainably focused practice.