Art |

Cypriot Lace

September 17, 2015 by Scran | 0 comments

You may have read our blog post last week Empowering Communities in Cyprus? Well look what we found at the back of the Scran linen cupboard! It’s a piece of Cypriot lace in the form of a table mat, from around 1935. This beautiful sample forms part of the National Museums of Scotland (NMS) collections shared via Scran.

The Needlework Development Scheme was set up in 1934 to encourage greater interest in embroidery and to raise the standard of design. Financed anonymously by J & P Coats, the intention was also to form a collection of British and foreign embroideries to which colleges of art and other institutions could have access. The aim was never to have a representative collection but rather to collect items purely on the quality of their design. A series of four embroidery experts were employed to oversee the collection and their international outlook is clearly represented in the collection.

In 1961 the Scheme was disbanded and its collection of over 3500 pieces of historic and contemporary needlework was dispersed to various museums and art colleges in Britain. The Royal Scottish Museum acquired 213 pieces and an exhibition was held in 1965 to show this magnificent gift.

Image © National Museums Scotland. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk.

Feast Your Eyes on Scran

September 10, 2015 by Scran | 0 comments

Whether you simply enjoy looking at art, perusing design classics, studying the visual arts at school or university – or you just need a picture of an elephant for a project – Scran can be of assistance. Intended to whet your appetite, the above gallery post is a just a tiny sample of the fabulous Art & Design content we have available.

Remember if you are using imagery or information you find on Scran for school work, portfolio preparation or even SQA coursework, it is vital that you attribute the usage correctly. You can get advice on our © is for Copyright page and we are happy to answer any questions if you want to contact us. We are here to help and appreciate it can be a tricky subject.

For any Blogging Bootcamp schools out there working on a Glow Blog, which is public, it is best to follow the example set in this post. When using Scran content in this manner, it is permitted to insert the thumbnail sized images, then hyper link them back to Scran & of course, attribute the copyright holder – see below. Meanwhile happy blogging!

Images © Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Lothian Health Services Archive, Tain & District Museum Trust, The Sangsters, Zhao Xie and The British Museum. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk

Winners

July 27, 2015 by Scran | 0 comments

Our photography competition attracted a lot of entries, and the judges deliberated long and hard over the outcome. The theme was What Scotland Means to Me, and we received a variety of interpretations, from images of Munros and monuments to the odd bottle of Irn Bru.

The overall winner, was Rona Stewart’s picture of three rams looking through a fence. The judges said “Rona’s photo is a fantastic composition. It’s sharp, beautifully-framed and captures her Highland heritage.” Rona won an iPad for herself and 10 iPads for Kingussie High School, where she is currently studying. She was presented with her prize at an assembly on a sunny morning in Kingussie. She is pictured here with Head of Art & Design, David Douglas, and Andrew James of Scran.

We also travelled to Dunbarney Primary School near Perth to present Angus Johnston with his prize. Judges commented on his picture, of two boys jumping into Portsoy harbour,

“…it captures a picture of enjoyment and also it is filled with light just waiting for a photographer to come along and capture the inspiring photo.” Angus is pictured receiving his prize from Jackie Sangster.

Isobel Mair School for children with additional support needs was the winner in its category. The winning image, of a path leading through a Scottish forest, was selected by the judges for its sense of “calmness” and a feeling that “you could really be there in the photograph.” The picture was a joint effort, taken by pupils from the school’s Tiree class, and the class was presented with their prizes by Neil Fraser.

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