This space between projects is the time I use for putting work out, reflecting on what I have made, and preparing for what comes next.

I have organised a small local exhibition, A Tapestry of Connection, opening at Ceann na h-Àirigh in Grimsay at the end of August. This was the site where I delivered all the project workshops, so it feels fitting to return the work there and share the outcomes with the community involved. The exhibition also offers a natural point to close this phase of the project before moving on to the next stage. Much of my practice begins with looking closely at the landscape around me, so being able to share the resulting work within that same community feels particularly meaningful.

Alongside preparing for the exhibition, I have also been putting my work forward for other opportunities. I exhibited a couple of my prints in the Uist Artists Association Summer Show, and as a result I have been invited to be one of the artists representing the organisation in the Highland Art Prize. It is good to see my work being shown in different contexts, get some feedback and have opportunities come from simply putting it out there.

As a member of Highland Print Studio I am entering an editioned print into the 20:20 Print Exchange, and I have been preparing new acetates ready for development.

I am planning a trip to Inverness and Highland Print Studio in the next couple of weeks, where I can continue exploring some of the ideas that have been developing in the background. I’m waiting for some new polymer plates to arrive before I make the trip. Unfortunately, the recent extreme heat in the south has delayed their delivery. The plates are sensitive to high temperatures and need to be transported in cooler conditions, so I am now waiting for the weather to settle before they can be sent north.

There are new images being prepared, materials waiting to arrive, exhibitions being applied for, prints being made and work from the previous project being shared. It is a period of pushing my work out while, at the same time, quietly preparing to move on -gathering momentum.

Talk by Nicola Neate – A Tapestry of Connection (and Mild Panic)

Thursday 16 April 2026, 7.30pm, at Caenn na h-Àirigh, Scotvein, Grimsay, I stood up and did something that, a few weeks ago, I genuinely thought might not happen at all: I gave a presentation on my project A Tapestry of Connection.

First of all—thank you. Truly. To everyone who came along, listened, and engaged so generously. It meant a great deal. Special thanks to Sara for creating the poster and organising the evening so beautifully, and to Simon, who calmly wrangled the digital side of things and ensured that sound was, in fact, heard (never something to be taken for granted).

The talk itself began with a bit about my wider practice before moving into the winding journey of this project. And it has been a journey. One with unexpected turns, small triumphs, and at least one moment where I seriously considered emailing Creative Scotland to say, “Hello, I may have been wildly overambitious and everything is falling apart.”

But more on that later.

This project has been supported first by VACMA funding and then by Creative Scotland for this second phase, and I honestly don’t think I could have brought it to life without that support. It has allowed me to explore ideas of connection—between place, process, and people—in a way that has grown far beyond what I initially imagined.

A particularly important part of this has been working with two day care service users, who have been, in equal measure, fabulous and challenging (the best combination, really). Their work is at the heart of what comes next: I’ll be transforming elements of their artwork into photopolymer prints, which I’m very excited about.

In May, I’ll be attending a bookbinding workshop with Corinna Krause at Sollas Books, where I’ll be making concertina books that will bring together these prints—both theirs and mine. There’s something very satisfying about the idea of folding, layering, and physically connecting all these strands.

And connection really has been the thread running through everything. Through walking, making, collaborating. Through linking up with Lionacleit Day Care Centre, the Grimsay Community Association, and becoming part of Highland Print Studio in Inverness—which has opened the door to a wider and very supportive print community.

The project has also stretched beyond my immediate location. Sharing work online has allowed it to reach the mainland and beyond—like it has quietly grown its own set of tentacles (a slightly unsettling but accurate image). The connections keep extending, often in ways I couldn’t have planned.

Which brings me back to the mild panic.

Before attending Highland Print Studio, I ran into some fairly catastrophic technical problems. The kind that make you question all your life choices. There was a definite moment of “Well, this is it. I’ve broken everything. Time to write a very apologetic email explaining that the project has… dissolved.”

But somehow, things came back together. Not perfectly, not smoothly—but enough. And standing there giving the talk, hearing people respond to the work, I had a strong sense that all those threads I’ve been trying to tie together are beginning to hold.

So yes—there have been problems. Quite a few. But right now, I feel genuinely pleased with how things are going. And perhaps more importantly, I feel that the connections I’ve been building—slowly, sometimes chaotically—are starting to make sense.

Which is, after all, what this tapestry is about.

From Process to Print

This was the final workshop with the daycare participants – I can’t believe how quickly it has gone by. Over the weeks, they have engaged with and embraced a range of processes—stencils, frottage, colouring, tracing, collage, and moments of free-form drawing that allowed for independent expression to emerge.

It has been especially rewarding to see confidence build in subtle but meaningful ways. Today, one participant confidently used the small lino stamps I had made, combining them with collage to create something distinctly their own.

During the course of theses workshops I’ve learned to step back—resisting the urge to guide too closely and instead allowing space for intuition and play to take over. The balance between gentle encouragement and thoughtful restraint has been key, creating an environment where experimentation feels safe and personal voices can surface. From this rich body of work, I will now begin translating the artworks into photopolymer prints, bringing them together in a concertina book that will include both their work and my own—a true Tapestry of Connection, unfolding across pages that reflect our shared process of making and learning.

I’ll be giving a talk about my work and this project—if you’re on the island and would like to come along, all the details are on the poster below.