We will be hosting this fantastic exhibition from Sara Dodd until the 30th of July. Open from 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 1pm-5pm on Sundays. Admission is free as always.
Sara works with Scottish seaweeds creating original organic pressings and prints that celebrate their intrinsic beauty, colour and light.
We are delighted to be hosting a pop-up from Kirsty at Stormy Seas Scotland in our shop. Kirsty is a local jewellery maker whose designs are all inspired by her love of the sea and nature surrounding Dunbar. We particularly love that the resin she uses is a by-product of the oil industry. By using it to make jewellery it is kept out of our oceans.
A bit about me…
My name is Kirsty, I live in Dunbar, a small town on the East Coast of Scotland. Growing up in a seaside town I have always had strong bond with the sea. I am passionate about nature and studied wildlife and conservation at University. I love nothing more than taking a walk along the beach, seeing what treasures I can find, as well as picking up the plastics, rubbish and netting choking our seas. I love making things and did jewellery making courses a few years ago. I have been making jewellery for family and friends for years and decided to set up a shop and combine my love of jewellery and the sea.
Sea glass
All of my sea glass products are hand crafted and completely unique using genuine sea glass hand collected around my local town on the South East Coast of Scotland (Dunbar). I love thinking of the story behind the material, how it came to be in the sea and where it has travelled.
Every piece is as unique as you. Even though the glass may have slight imperfections, these are the scars of what it has been through. It is a stamp of their story and I think it makes them more beautiful and intriguing.
Perfected by the waves…
Sea glass comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours. It originates from glass which has made it into the sea. Over a number of decades (sometimes even hundreds of years) these pieces of glass have been chemically altered by the salt water and physically tumbled in the waves which results in their smooth frosted appearance. Some of the most rare colours are black, pink, teal, yellow, red, orange and turquoise with purple, citron, cobalt, cornflower blue and aqua being very uncommon, white and bottle green are found the most often.
I love the fact that our seas and oceans recycle broken glass into a beautiful piece of frosted glass which you can wear as a piece of jewellery. Be careful of some advertising sea glass as it is not authentic and has not been produced by the sea.
Resin
All of my resin products are hand crafted and completely unique using high quality resin, inks, pigments and powders which are all vegan, eco-friendly and cruelty free. The resin I use is a by-product of the oil industry, by using it to create beautiful art and jewellery we are saving raw materials from going to landfill.
Products are influenced by the sea or nature.
If you are looking for a particular colour with a particular charm or have any other questions please feel free to contact Kirsty on Etsy, Facebook, or Instagram (@stormyseasscotland).
This is just a quick post to let you know that John Muir’s Birthplace will be closed on Monday 8th May for the Coronation Bank Holiday.
We are grateful to Museums Galleries Scotland for a grant which has allowed us to produce a series of films outlining different aspects of John Muir’s life:
These films were researched and written by John Muir’s Birthplace staff during the lockdown in early 2021. Originally limited to just participating schools, we have decided to make the videos available for everyone to watch. You can access them here.
We’re recruiting!
With all the snow and the Christmas lights we are feeling very festive here at John Muir’s Birthplace.
We are pleased to be open from now until 1pm on Christmas Eve. We will then close for the festive season and reopen on Wednesday 5th January. 1pm is earlier than our usual Saturday closing time so do be aware of this if you’re planning on doing some last-minute Christmas shopping with us!
We’ll be back to our usual winter hours from January 4th – open Wed – Sat 10am – 5pm (last entry 4.30pm) and Sun 1pm – 5pm (last entry 4.30pm). We are closed on Monday and Tuesday. Feel free to come in and shelter from the blasting Janwar’ win‘ with our exhibition on John Muir and Robert Burns in the back room. We’ve also got a great programme of crafts running through the winter for our wee visitors, and a reference library set up to keep our big visitors entertained.
We would like to invite exhibitors from across the UK to be part of a ‘Climate Call to Action’. Combining the best in visual art with a passion for inspiring climate action, we plan to hold a series of exhibitions throughout 2023 to encourage climate action.
We welcome entries from amateurs or professionals working across a diversity of art forms, including artists, photographers, makers, crafters and community groups.
opportunity to host meet the artist sessions and workshops
Dunbar High Street location with 10m wall space and case
expressions of interest by 15th January 2022 to John Muir’s Birthplace,126 High Street, Dunbar, EH42 1JJ, museumseast@eastlothian.gov.uk, 01368 8659899.
Please don’t hesitate to be in touch with any further queries. We’re open to both first-time and seasoned exhibitors – no question is too silly!
