Newcastle University

This weekend, Linda Scott-Robinson, audio visual design technician at the Centre for Physical Recreation and Sport, and computing officer Adèle Davison from ISS are joining forces to hold an open studio event at Linda’s North Northumberland home.

Linda (pictured, left), who is already an established artist with a growing following for her dramatic acrylics and watercolours of the Northumbrian landscape, got chatting to Adèle while she was fixing a problem with her computer software.

Adèle is currently in her third year of studying part-time for a degree in contemporary ceramic practice at Newcastle College. She said:  “Even though I have worked in IT for a long time now, I have always been interested in art. IT by its nature is very technical, so I wanted to do something more practical, requiring more use of my hands than my head.”

Adèle is especially interested in Raku, a type of pottery traditionally used in the Japanese tea ceremony. The technique uses a special glaze which forms a colourful crackle effect.

"Taking up ceramic art has made a massive difference to me. It gives me a chance to get away from my 'grown up' IT work, and have fun playing with clay!" says Adèle. "As a result, I feel much better at work, and I would definitely recommend this kind of activity to anyone seeking to improve their work/life balance."

Linda and Adèle’s open studio event takes place in Howtel, North Northumberland next weekend (11-12 December) and will include examples of their work, including ‘puddle pools’ – bird baths which are designed to be sunk into the ground.

For further information see Linda’s website and Adèle’s website or contact Linda.