“My fork gets stuck in the clay; it's a nightmare,” said my dad, explaining how he dug for fishing worms. Red-faced and bogging, digging clay soon became my passion, and sculpture became my medium. Following a process-led research practice, I forage and experiment with natural materials. Being out in the field, collecting rocks, plants, shells and soils, provides me with a greater understanding of our planet’s resources. Within the studio, I have a domestic and alchemic approach.  Drying, crushing, grinding, sieving, burning, and mixing liquids result in various samples. For the past year, I have tested these materials, firing them to high temperatures and recording the findings. Providing a medium to explore geology, clay facilitates my interest in the crossover between art and science. I feel sensually connected to our earth and ancestors when using organic matter. Dirty fingernails and clay in my hair; it is bliss.

Between the Hummock and the Hollow, is a creative response to Scottish peatlands. Since October 2023, I have been volunteering with Nature Scot's volunteer peatland programme, which allows me to collect the by-products of restoration and learn about this habitat on-site.

The hydrology of bogs and their pool systems has always intrigued me. These organic shapes of pools sculpted across the Flow Country are called surface patterns. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) such as ARC-GIS and DIGI-MAP, I traced each surface pattern and laser-cut it on MDF. Next with my stencil, I replicated these patterns in wild clay and natural glaze. The cause of these surface patterns is still highly debated, and it has been highlighted that science is not as black and white as I thought. While doing fieldwork with a PhD student from The University of Highlands and Islands, he advised me, “you could spend your whole life trying to work that out”. Exploring beneath the bog, I researched the peat depths for this same area of the Flow Country. Using open-source data from Peatland Action, I visualised these depths using fabric tubes dipped in clay and organic matter. The gallery ceiling height restricts these depths to 2.4 metres; however, some are 5 metres deep. Interdisciplinary projects such as Between the Hummock and the Hollow can offer an alternative method of engagement with Scottish Environmental science in a way that is accessible and aesthetic.

This project was presented at the Flow Country Research Conference poster session and the OUR PETROCHEMICAL LIVES: Encounters with Art, Archive, and Climate Change Conference. Between the Hummock and the Hollow will continue to be explored during my Leverhulme-funded PhD Creative Responses to Wetlands and Woodlands. This project will research natural flood management (NFM), an area of science close to my heart. I lost my home during Storm Babet one month into my MFA, and this experience has inspired me to continue the interdisciplinary exploration of the impact of climate change on Scotland.