BETH LEGG STUDIO
The remote environment Beth Legg comes from on the far north coast of Scotland has strongly influenced both the work she produces and the materials she uses.
Her work is rooted in a delight in the poetic nature of metal, wood and stone; a fascination with both their surface and content.
She has always been fascinated by the hinterlands and quiet edges of places and it is the beautifully bleak and elemental nature of the Scottish landscape that Beth aims to be reflected in her jewellery.
Beth’s career has included periods where drawing, writing, and curating have dominated but her jewellery making has always remained constant. She works from her studio on the Fife coast in Burntisland.
BIOGRAPHY
born 1981 Caithness, Scotland
education
2009 – 12 PhD (Practice-led) in Design, Edinburgh College of Art / Edinburgh University
2003 – 05 Master of Design (MDes), Edinburgh College of Art
1999 – 03 BA (Hons) First Class, Design & Applied Arts, Edinburgh College of Art
awards
2014 – 16 Creative Scotland Artists Bursary of £15,000
2013 Opportunities Grant, FCAC / Creative Scotland
2011 Spirit of Stone International Jewellery Competition, Finland, 2nd Place
2010 The Arts Foundation Award 2010 – Jewellery Finalist
2009 Edinburgh College of Art 3 years Graduate Research Studentship
2009 ‘Best New Work’, Goldsmiths Fair, Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London
2009 ‘Best Jewellery’ ACJ Jewellery award at Bovey Tracey Craft Fair
2006 The Scottish Arts Council Start-Up Grant
2005 The Business Gateway Start-Up Grant, Scottish Executive
2003 The Harley Award for Best Use of Materials, New Designers London
2003 Second Place in New Designer of the Year, New Designers London
2003 The Helen A. Rose Bequest Award for High Achievement
2003 Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths Craftsmanship Awards Commendation
2002 Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths Bursary Award
2002 Visual and Cultural Studies, eca, Excursion to Persia (Iran)
work in public collections
The Permanent Collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
The Inverness Museum and Art Gallery Permanent Collection
professional experience
2015 ongoing Artists Panel Member for Fife Contemporary Art & Craft / Creative Scotland Grant
scheme submissions
2015 Programme Coordinator, XPO North engagement programme, Inverness Museum
& Art Gallery ‘Highlife Highland’.
2015 Mentor, Fife Contemporary Art & Craft
2015 Visiting Fellow, Hong Kong Design Institute, Hong Kong
2015 Resident Artist, ‘Gullkistan’ Laugavatn, Iceland
2015 Contributing Artist ‘Naked Crafts’ Make /Workshop & Symposium Burlington,
Ontario, Canada
2014 Resident Short Course Art Tutor, West Dean College, Sussex.
2013-14 Visiting Lecturer, The Glasgow School of Art – Supervisor of Final Year Jewellery
Students
2013 Mentor for the Crafts Council Collective: Hothouse Mentoring Programme
2013-14 Crafts Researcher, Highlife Highland, Inverness Museum and Art Galleries.
2009-12 Graduate Researcher, Edinburgh College of Art / Edinburgh University, 3 year
studentship award for a practice-led PhD
2010 Featured Speaker, Edinburgh College of Art Seminar on the theme of the Haptic in
craft practice
2008 Artist in Residence, The Highland Council / Province of Nova Scotia, Resident
Artist based in Cape Breton, Canada.
2008 Author, ‘Jewellery from Natural Materials’ a handbook for makers published by A&C
Black ISBN 978-0-7136-8276-2.
2008 Invited Speaker at the Jerwood Applied Arts Prize 2007 Jewellery Symposium,
Crafts Council
2008 Visiting Artist, Killearn Primary, Stirlingshire Council
2008 Visiting Artist, Contemporary Jewellery Workshop, Lanark Grammar School,
Lanark
2007 Visiting Artist, ‘Six Cities’, Children & Adult’s Recycled Workshops, Stirling Council
2007 Visiting Artist, Felt & Plastic Workshop, McLaren High School, Callander
2006-7 Adult Education Tutor, City of Edinburgh Council
2006-7 Commissioned Artist, Fife Council
2006 Visiting Artist, Contemporary Jewellery Workshop, Lanark Grammar School,
Lanark
2006 Tutor, ‘A Random Narrative’ Applied Arts Master Class, The Dick Institute,
Kilmarnock
2005-06 Visiting Artist, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
2005 Introduction to ‘New Jewellery’ for High School Students utilising NMS
Contemporary Jewellery Handling Collection
2004-05 Artist in Residence, Edinburgh College of Art Jewellery & Silversmithing
Department
2004 Visiting Artist, Taigh Chearsabhagh, South Uist, Scotland
2001 Summer School Assistant, Edinburgh College of Art
selected exhibitions
2017 Goldsmiths Fair, Goldsmiths Hall, London
2017 The Scottish Gallery 175th Anniversary Exhibition, Edinburgh
2016 Goldsmiths Fair
2016 Elements, Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh
2016 ‘Jewel: the inspiration in the past’ The Museum of Human Evolution Burgos, Spain
2015-16 Naked Craft Touring Exhibition, Ontario – Quebec – Halifax, Canada
2014 Nature Table, The Shop Floor Project, Cumbria
2014 Solo Show, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
2014 Loot, Museum of Art & Design, New York
2014 The Goldsmiths Fair, Goldsmiths Hall, London
2014 Special Exhibitor at Dazzle at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
2014 Hallmark, Somerset House, London
2014 The Ring, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
2014 Silver Schools, Gallery of Art in Legnica, Poland
2013 MADE, London
2013 ‘Magnificent Views – Landscapes in Jewellery’, Schmuck Museum, Pforzheim,
Germany
2013 ‘Connect’ SOFA Chicago
2013 The Goldsmiths Fair, Goldsmiths Hall, London
2013 ‘Process’ showcase, Gallery Mostyn, Wales
2012 ‘Natural Artificial’, Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h, Montreal
2012 ‘A Sense of Place – New Jewellery from Northern Lands’, The National Museum of
Scotland, Edinburgh
2012 Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife, Scotland
2011 ‘UltraMarine’ International Jewellery Exhibition, Noblessner Foundry, Tallinn,
Estonia
2011 ‘Close to Nature’, New Brewery Arts, Cotswolds, England
2011 ‘The Spirit of Stones’ exhibition, South Karelia Museum, Lappeenranta, Finland
2010 KCDA/Korea Craft Designer Associations Exhibition, Seoul, Korea
2010 ‘British Jewellery’, Gallery Cebra, Düsseldorf, Germany
2010 Silver Schools, Gallery of Art in Legnica, Poland
2010 ‘Natural Beauty’, Electrum Gallery, London
2009 Origin, The Crafts Council Fair, Somerset House, London
2009 The Goldsmiths Fair, Goldsmiths Hall, London
2009 ‘Inner Voice’ Curated by Prof Dorothy Hogg MBE, Contemporary Applied Arts,
London
2009 Jewellery Showcase, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
2009 Collect, The Saatchi Gallery, London
2009 The Wytch Elm Project, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
2008 Origin, The Crafts Council Fair, Somerset House, London
2008 The Goldsmiths Fair, Goldsmiths Hall, London
2008 Black & Gold, Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
2008 Winter Walks, Showcase at the DCA, Dundee
2007 Analach, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh
2007 Crafts Council Showcase at the V&A, London
2007 Highland Arts, Glasgow Art fair, Glasgow
2006 Made, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
2006 Sieraad, The Amsterdam Rai
2006 Scottish Contemporary Jewellery, Beeld en Aambeeld, Amsterdam
2006 Gifted, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
2006 100% east, Brick Lane, London
2006 Contemporary Scottish Jewellery, Manchester Craft Centre
2006 Winners Showcase, The Harley Gallery, Nottinghamshire
2006 Design Collection, The Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
2006 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art (SOFA), New York
2006 Highland Arts, Glasgow Art Fair, Glasgow
2006 Up Your Street, The Dick Institute, Kilmarnock
2005 Multiple, Goldigger, Northern Ireland
2005 The Front Line, Brazen Studios, Glasgow
2005 New Designers, Islington, London
2005-06 100% Proof, Traveling Exhibition Touring USA and UK
2005 Edinburgh Comes to Clerkenwell, Lesley Craze Gallery, London
2005 Contemporary Art Objects, Gallery Wattsu, Tokyo, Japan
2005 Contemporary Art Objects, Gallery Kan, Kyoto, Japan
2004 Masters of Design, ECA, Edinburgh, Scotland
2004-06 Highland Touring Showcase, Mallaig, Inverness, Caithness, Kinguissie
2004 New Jewellery, Harley Gallery Showcase, Nottinghamshire, England
2004 Array, Taigh Chearsabhagh, North Uist & Barra, Scotland
2003 Visual Arts Scotland, Royal Society of Arts, Edinburgh, Scotland
2003 The Graduate, Metal Gallery, Mayfair, London, England
2003 New Designers, Business Design Centre, London
2003 Graduate Degree Show, ECA, Edinburgh, Scotland
publication of works
2013 ECLAT ‘Masters of Contemporary Jewellery’ by Professor Carlos Pastor
Promopress, Barcelona
2012 Natural Artificial, Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h, Montreal
2011 Spirit of Stone, Saimaa University of the Applied Sciences, Laapeenranta, Finland,
p157
2011 Ultramarine Exhibition Catalogue, Tallin Estonia
2009 The Wytch Elm Project, ed. M. Coleman, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh,
Scotland
2005 New Directions in Jewellery, Black Dog Publishing, Double Page Feature
2003 Crafts Magazine Issue 185 Nov/Dec, Double Page Feature
writing & research
2013 ‘Hunting for Lost Crafts’ – A report on craft practices associated with hunting,
shooting & fishing for a Heritage Lottery funded project by ‘Highlife Highland’,
Inverness Museum and Art Galleries.
2012 ‘The Materiality of Place – An investigation into the makers approach to material
and process as a reflection of place within Northern European contemporary
jewellery practice’ PhD Thesis – Edinburgh University
2012 ‘The Topophilia Box Project’, Association for Contemporary Jewellery (ACJ),
Findings Magazine issue 54
2011 ‘Stacey Bentley at the Scottish Gallery’ Exhibition Review, ACJ, Findings Magazine
issue 53
2008 ‘Natural Materials in Jewellery’ a handbook for makers published by A&C Black
publishers in 2008 ISBN 978-0-7136-8276-2
research papers
2014 Research into the heritage and contemporary crafts of the Highlands relating to hunting shooting and fishing (for ‘Hunting for Lost Crafts’, a Heritage Lottery Funded Project)
2012 The Materiality of Place: An investigation into the makers approach to material and process as a reflection of place within Northern European contemporary jewellery practice (Edinburgh College of Art/Edinburgh University practice-led PhD)
