A Glasgow School of Art silversmithing and jewellery student is unveiling his collection which has been inspired by the coastline around his Portsoy home.
Scott Smith used the carving skills he learned as a boy at Portsoy Scouts to create pieces reflecting the practices favoured by the seashore’s ancient craftspeople.
The works in his Boorachie Collection are handheld objects carved to sit as comfortably on the dining table as in the wild Scottish landscapes that shaped their designs.
Using the natural riches of the region
They use the natural materials which are available in abundance in rural Aberdeenshire.
The collection, in three parts, features vessels made of cast bronze, oxidised copper, eco-silver and reclaimed wood.
Spoons are made in cast silver, cast bronze, eco-silver and reclaimed wood.
And there are also proposals and mock-up designs for a jewellery collection inspired by the wood chip castings that inform the vessel and spoon designs.
The 22-year-old former Banff Academy pupil has already been crowned for his work.
He is the only person to have won the Gosset Champagne 2D Silversmith of Year award at the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Awards, aka the Jewellery Oscar, for two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021.
It was his brief to design a visually distinctive and unique stopper for Gosset’s Celebris Champagne to preserve the wine for a minimum of three days after it is opened.
Shining future
As Scott moves on from study to professional practice he will take up a prestigious Artist in Residence placement at The Glasgow School of Art.
He also has a special trip to look forward to once travel restrictions lift.
Part of his prize for winning both the 2020 and 2021 2D Silversmith of the Year award was a trip to visit Gosset in France.
Founded in 1584, it is the oldest wine house in Champagne.
It was in that year, Pierre Gosset, alderman of Aÿ and wine-grower, made still, mostly red, wines from the grapes he harvested from his own vines.
Scott says: “Gosset have said they would like to make my trip extra special as I didn’t get to go on the last one, and they sent me a wonderful bottle of champagne in the meantime.”
Encouraged by his art teacher
Scott originally wanted to be an architect but does not regret his chosen path.
He adds: “I soon learned that architecture was too mathematical and technically-based for me and I wanted something more expressive and creative.
“My art teacher at Banff Academy introduced me to body adornment and encouraged me to create large sculptural headpieces for catwalks and music videos.
“I enjoyed playing with scale and the relationship between an object and the body or the space it occupies so I moved to Glasgow to study HND Jewellery Design right after 6th year.”
Scott has been working with The Smiddy in Banff in a continuing creative partnership.