About Emily Moir
I am an abstract painter, creative educator, & sculptor living in Galashiels, Scotland with my four children, my studio pup and Pablo the cat. My studio is built in the garden of my Art Deco south facing home, on a steep hill overlooking the green valley.
Being creative grounds me, it helps me to be present, in the moment, when my mind is often a whirlwind of ideas and day dreams. The majority of my work is made en plain air in the hills and valleys surrounding my home, in all the weathers. My studio offers me a place to gather my thoughts and explore ideas when the rain is too heavy outside.
It is my deepest hope to convey to my collectors that same sense of adventure and joy.
Collaborations
History
I grew up not far from where I live today. Desperate to leave as a teen and happily returning as a mum, recognising what an amazing place this is to raise a family. I’ve always been happy to explore the world, but always happy to return home to my roots, my base.
I was that weird kid, always slightly on the outside of everyone else not really understanding where I ‘fit in’ but also not wanting to either. I’ve always loved being creative, exploring and interacting with the space around me. Always making things, experimenting with scale and materials, I’d become so obsessed with an idea, I had to make it work somehow and would spend days figuring it out, these were in the days before the internet, cringe. My creativity wasn’t just visual art based but also performance, together with my sisters we’d record our radio shows, design magazines ( I always made the freebies that came with them) and collected leaves, seed pods and berries for our potions. I am still that inventive, creative, hardworking, entrepreneurial girl at heart.
As the years went on, I went to art school and got a degree in Fine Art. Specialising in Sculpture, I made installations which encouraged public interaction. I began teaching art workshops in class settings, had babies, moved a lot, moved some more, always exploring my creativity everywhere we went. I learnt many skills during these years, everything from photography to seamstress to silversmithing to website design. I love the freedom these years allowed me to explore my creativity and find my visual voice.
2006 - 2007
Fresh out of Art school, exploring a new city and adjusting to motherhood I wanted to learn how to be a creative professionally and embrace life and all the opportunities it presented. Etsy was new and offered financial opportunities never before heard of, making it easy for artists to connect with an audience. I opened a shop selling patchwork cushions of various one off designs, having set up a studio in the corner of my living room. Learning a lot about product photography, presentation and story telling along the way. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to sustain itself in materials and gave me a lot of experience I wouldn’t have got otherwise .
2009 -2010
We moved to another city and I had my daughter Leia, sadly I lost her in labour, you can read my more about my story of baby loss here. During this traumatic time I joined a local Print Studio and began silk screen printing Little Lamb, and then on to further designs.
I travelled to a lot of craft fairs across the country but never really found my ‘market’. I collaborated with Bonnie Bling on a limited series of ‘Och Aye’ cushion covers.
I also collaborated with the Hannah Maclure Centre to set up an experimental conceptual space with locally made artist and craft products.
2010
I moved to back to Glasgow again, and welcomed my second baby boy into my life. Consumed with motherhood at this stage I let go of my creativity in the way I had known it and started documenting our daily lives with a dslr developing these images in Lightroom and sharing on a weekly blog. (I continued writing in this blog through to 2015!)
2011 - 2013
Moved to the Auld Reekie aka the capital city of Edinburgh, we settled here for a little longer. Alongside running playgroups and art workshops, I set up a studio in a corner of my bedroom and dove back into a creative practice. I started making jewellery and taking part in craft fairs across the country again.
2014
In 2014 we moved our family to Berlin, Germany. I continued documenting my family with photographs and developing my style and skills. We soaked up the months of European summer, swimming in lakes and rivers and exploring the ground wall whenever the opportunity arose.cycling everywhere we went, I have some of my happiest memories here, just me and my boys for months on end. They are incredibly happy memories but also tinged with hint of sadness, unable to pick up the language and in a city where expats are always on the move, I felt increasingly isolated. I did make a few deep friendships but I was incredibly homesick and yearned for the fresh Scottish air and water.
2015
I moved to where I am today, a small town nestled away in the south east of Scotland. We bought our first home here and haven’t left since. It was during this time I became obsessed with interior architecture and design and how we interact with our homes. I poured all my creativity into making our house our home, sanding floors and DIY’ing as much as I possibly could. My blog turned into a mish mash of kids and diy. I taught myself carpentry, electrical and some plumbing. My skills are still very raw and not polished to the point of professionalism, but they were a lot of fun to learn and saved us a few bob at a time when we really didn’t have anything to spare.
2016-2018
Life was much of the same at this point. I started homeschooling my boys, allowing them to learn and explore whatever their curiosities lead them. This was a period of incredible freedom, we really felt like we had all the time in the world to play and learn at our leisure. It was a season of continual growth personally. I had the opportunity to soak in motherhood and relish in watching my boys grow and learn about themselves, follow their curiosities and find their interests.
2019
I officially launched my creative practice as it stands today. Started with receiving the Visual Artist and Craft Maker Award to reengage with my practice. This allowed me time and materials which helped me develop an aesthetic I fully resonated with.
I had a Tuin Cabin built at the bottom of my garden, giving me ample room to host my first exhibition, Belong. An exploration in my reactions to the landscapes surrounding my studio, everywhere I painted was a direct walk from the studio.
This project kick-started my painting career, my creative rhythm, and brought tremendous clarity to me personally and professionally. Though my work was still maturing, my vision for what a creative career could be was blossoming rapidly.
2020+
Like the rest of the world life took a turn. On top of the pandemic I fell pregnant with twins and renovated my home. In this process I built a new, smaller studio, squeezing it in my by babies nursery. From here I co-orinate everything that goes into my studio practice, from art hikes to developing new collections. This space has allowed me to be close to my family while also closing off the household chore lists and focus purely on my creativity.
2023
This year has gone in directions I had never even dreamed of. I’ve had the privilege of talking at a Pecha Kucha evening hosted by CABN, and collaborate with the Hike and Bike Hub in Galashiels to lead a series of Art Hikes, where I take people for a walk over well known trails in the valley to make art en plain air.
I’ve continued developing collections of work, teaching, collaborating, including the first natural pigment day retreat at Birkhill House CIC. I am so honoured at Birkhill House have invited me to play with their new product line of pigments made from the plants they grow in their dye garden, a therapeutic horticultural space, originally grown to provide organic dyes for the alpaca wool, also shawn and spun on the farm. I feel incredibly grateful for all the opportunities that are arising from my studio practice and look forward to seeing the growth in the coming years.
This new season has brought a maturing to both my creative practice and to me personally. It is creating the most positive ripple effect in the opportunities that are arising. I am so humbled to get to share this journey with you and share my work with you as it continues to grow and develop.