Creative
Perthshire An Interview with
Kirsty Dalton Kirsty Dalton was born and raised in Perth, Scotland. She studied her degree in Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee, and graduated in 2015. Since graduating, Dalton has worked both locally and internationally, having completed internships with Tin Roof Art Collective in Dundee and VinSpace Art Studios in Vietnam. Specialising in woodwork, utilising traditional methods of wood-turning and hand-carving, Dalton’s approach is purely instinctive; inspired by nature with a focus on bold shapes merged with intricate detail, aiming to capture the essence of prehistoric art combined with more contemporary ornamentation Dalton’s main focus is her ‘Primitive Woodland Line’. Each piece is individually handcrafted from various cuts of natural wood, shaped and then burnt freehand, using a process called pyrography. The wood is sourced locally and ethically in Scotland. The artist primarily uses sycamore—its naturally light and blond appearance accentuates the burnt in detail.
Thanks for joining us Kirsty! Can you describe what it is that you create?
fortunate to have my proposal selected for the Moncrieffe Hill sculpture trail whilst studying my 3rd year at Duncan of Jordanstone, in Dundee. I wanted to I create various wooden products and pieces; create bee sculptures to raise awareness of the issues using a laith to turn chunks of surrounding our dwindling wood into bowls, homeware, bee population and reflect the jewellery and sculptures. Once work that Woodland Trust was the wood has been shaped doing to promote this message. and carved I burn in detail, by I opted to make them from hand, using a technique called wood—an eco-friendly and pyrography. biodegradable material—and I then learned to turn wood by Sounds fascinating. How did you approaching local wood-turnfirst get into it? er, Jack Anderson, for lessons. My love for woodwork and py It all started with a bee! rography grew from there. A bee sculpture—I was very