Step into the Old Mill Gallery with Lucy Lee

I am both a workshop facilitator and artist based at The Old Mill in Palnackie. Along with my partner Edward, I facilitate workshops in making art materials from ‘natural’ sources such as plants we have grown and foraged, and found objects such as stones and feathers. I almost exclusively use my own handmade art materials in my work, including the paper I work on which is made using recycled paper with the addition of plant material.

Recently we facilitated out first day long workshop on the plant Woad which I have been growing in our garden, this felt such a milestone for the amount we have learnt over the years of making our own art materials alongside the knowledge we have gained on specific plants, and woad being a particularly special plant to the heritage of colour in the UK and beyond.

We are also very passionate about the workshop series we facilitate called ‘Trysting Trees’, and in May 2022 I led the introduction to our very first which was on the tree, Hawthorn. This involved sitting under a very special Hawthorn tree, still abundant with blossom in a local community woodland called Talesin, learning together with the participants, the magic that is found within the culture of this particular tree. We then went on to spend a whole weekend learning the folklore, medicine and social history of Hawthorn, as well as how to make a whole range of art materials from the gifts of this wonderful and abundant tree.

Finally what comes to mind is my first Spring Fling as an exhibiting artist this year. This gave me a chance to share and showcase all that I have been busy developing over the last few years at the mill. The sun shone, I was surrounded by the plants in my garden and spent the whole weekend enjoying the fruits of my creative labour with all the enthusiastic visitors.

Recently we have been working with Outpost Arts (Langholm) on their Art Journal project which has been an absolute delight. We did our first zoom workshop which was somewhat nerve wracking but which we are so glad to have done, and an in person workshop at Shambellie House where we got to share all that we do here at the mill with a very enthusiastic and creative bunch of lovely folks.

Since Leaders I have been beavering away with my partner Edward growing the creative side of our business. We now have a full summer program of workshops which we absolutely love doing, and are branching out to working with other organisations, being booked to take our skills in making art materials out of the mill and into other creative communities in the region. The mentoring I was lucky to receive during the Leaders Unlimited course, from Tina of Cample Line, Thornhill, gave me a much needed confidence boost, it was really helpful to hear the story of Cample Line and to connect with an organisation I deeply admire. This mentoring came at a pivotal moment in whether I felt I had what it took to co-run our business, and the proof I guess is that we are still here and although it has it’s challenges, we absolutely love it!

The Old Mill Gallery is open Friday – Sunday, April – October, however we are often in outside of these hours, to check if we will be in, text or call 07926 454829.

To see our program of workshops visit our website www.theoldmillpalnackie.com or join our mailing list by emailing theoldmillgallery@gmail.com

“The new updated 2023/2024 edition of The Illustrated Freelancers Guide by Heather Parry & Maria Stoian is available for download now! This publication is a lifesaver for any creative freelancer and is a highly recommended read by the DGU team!

‘This essential resource has been created to fill an information gap for creative freelancers to understand their rights and best practices in avoiding and addressing difficult situations.

An easy to reference guide, written by Heather Parry and illustrated by Maria Stoian, it uses a highly visual combination of comics and text to highlight key issues, model scenarios and educate creative workers about how to protect themselves with regards to payment, copyright and creative work in general.’

To download the complete publication, in a variety of formats, click here.

Free physical copies of The Illustrated Freelancers Guide will also be available to pick up from the following locations:

- Creative Dundee

- Out of The Blue

- Leith School of Art

- Edinburgh College of Art

- Scottish Poetry Library

- Dovecot Studios

- Tron Theatre

- Lyth Arts Centre

- Gaada

- DG Unlimited

We have requested a supply for DG Unlimited members and will share how they can be obtained on our e-bulletin.