Art House 23
Address: 33 Esplanade Terrace
Open: 2/3 and 9/10 September
James will be showing a range of hand-made artefacts, all crafted at home. Inventive woodwork, model vessels and sculptural toys are displayed, alongside unique viewfinders, drawings and frames.
About James is an art engineer and designer. After training as an engineer and working as a technical teacher he became increasingly interested in the creative opportunities provided by the interface of art and engineering. His woodwork is functional, it has a robust aesthetic and an attractive minimalism. He uses his engineering skills to design mechanisms that enable kinetic sculptures to perform, toy boats to operate and bespoke devices to function. Products are made from recycled and found materials wherever possible, or high quality sustainably sourced new materials if not. As well as creating his own work he has developed a range of graphic products that allow others to explore their creativity, such as long landscape sketchpads, portable drawing boards and unique frames.
Originally from the north of Scotland, James qualified with a B.Eng in Engineering Technology at Robert Gordon’s in Aberdeen in 1987. After 2 years fish farming in Assynt, he trained as a technology teacher at Moray House and then spent 23 years teaching Design and Technology at Plockton High School. He first exhibited his woodcraft at the Lochalsh Art Fair in2012, shortly before moving to Edinburgh where he is now a lecturer in mechanical engineering at Edinburgh College. He has written a variety of teaching texts including his book “The Launchpad of Opportunity-How to be an Inventor”. James has exhibited his work at the Artwalk since 2018 and also often runs his Technocroft stall at the Portobello Farmers Market selling his craftwork and Forthographic art materials. He makes bespoke furniture and takes on one-off product design commissions. He has developed mechanisms for kinetic sculptures by Paul MacPhail and Jenny Pope. The latter was integral to work exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy during the Scottish Society of Artists annual exhibitions in 2021 and 2022.
Website: www.technocroft.co.uk
Instagram: @technocroft.ltd
Contact: technocroft@btinternet.com
