Moy Mackay :: Artist Talk at the Symposium 2018
Updated: Oct 30, 2021
Moy Mackay is a woman of many talents. She’s a an award-winning fibre artist, tutor, gallery owner, and TV personality. In 2016, she was a contestant on SkyArts Landscape Artist of the Year. She was shortlisted to the final three in her heat.
In 2013, she was awarded a Silver in the coveted Craft & Design Selected Awards in the category of Textiles and Needlecraft by the renowned fibre artist Kaffe Fassett.
Moy is the author of three books: Art in Felt & Stitch, Flowers in Felt & Stitch and the upcoming, The Art of Moy Mackay.
In her artist talk on Tuesday night at the Canadian Felt Symposium, Moy focused on the major creative influences in her life. Her family was particularly inspiring. Her Uncle, the painter John Pretence, who illustrated the famous children’s author Enid Blyton books gave her and her cousin, Andrew Crummy painting classes. This experience deeply affected her creative path . Her cousin, Andrew also went onto pursue art. He is the artist and designer for the famous Great Tapestry of Scotland project.
Recently Moy’s Uncle passed away and she has been looking after his paintings. She’s found pieces she’s never seen before. This has given her the chance to admire his work and get to know it again. It has also inspired her to do work based on his.
Another major influence was her Aunt Helen who encouraged Moy to attend art school. (Moy is a graduate of the prestigious Glasgow School of Art.) Dr. Helen Crummy is lauded worldwide for her work promoting community arts, social change and community action.
She’s the founded the Craigmillar Festival Society after her son’s school refused to give him a violin lesson. She’s part of The Edinburgh Women of Achievement trail. She is also in The “Travelling the distance” sculpture at The Scottish Parliament and mentioned in The Bill Douglas statue at Newcraighall Railway station. There’s a statue in her memory at outside the East Neighbourhood Centre on Niddrie Mains Road, Edinburgh. It’s one of three statues in Edinburgh dedicated to a woman.
When Moy is not painting or teaching, or exhibiting, she helps her partner with his business Wolf Glenn Tipis. doing some painting. The company creates hand-painted, custom designed tipis made with natural materials according to Native American Sioux traditions. The tipis are all made in Scotland.
Moy gives workshops in Scotland in her new studio in the beautiful Tweed Valley and in Spain. She regularly tutors in the US, Canada Australia and Norway. For more information visit here.
