Introducing the Lady Shed: My Outdoor Crafting Sanctuary
From childhood havens to a garden sanctuary: how a lifelong dream of a creative space finally came to life.
All of my artworks and creative pursuits are inspired by nature. The colours of my homespun yarn, the textures in my weaving and my love for floral prints, all come from Mother Nature. I love being outdoors, and I especially love our garden, which we’ve created here in Troon from scratch. I’ve always dreamed of having a shed of my own - a space where the light floods in, the doors can stay wide open, or if it’s wet, I can still be immersed in nature but protected from the elements.
I grew up in a house that had lots of interesting spaces from my papa’s workshop in the old stone outhouses to my mum’s abandoned art studio in the attic. I would spend hours in these havens, dreaming of things that I could make. When we moved to a small modern house when I was a teenager, I wished the tiny 4×6 garden shed was bigger so that I still had a place to retreat to. The idea of a separate space, a place to completely immerse myself in my making - has always appealed to me. And now, that dream has finally become a reality.
One proud lady-shed owner.
Choosing the Shed and Adding the Finishing Touches
We ordered a ‘Potting Shed’ from our local Tiger Sheds branch, based at Dobbies in Ayr. I first saw it last October, and from the very first time I stepped inside, it brought back so much of that childhood nostalgia - a safe haven, a space to retreat to, a place to make things and let your imagination run wild. We ordered it at the end of March, and by the end of May, she was delivered right to our door. Neither of us has the time or energy to build something like this ourselves anymore, so we had it professionally installed, which included getting a nice, level base. The installation was finished by lunchtime, so then it was over to me for the finishing touches.
I started by painting the inside with Frenchic Paint in Dazzle Me! (from the Al Fresco range) which I bought from the lovely Denise at Honeybee Cottage in Saltcoats. I gave it two coats for a nice, clean white finish that gives off a real studio vibe and keeps the space feeling bright, even on a dreich day. Because the workbench is slatted, I knew the grooves would get on my nerves as dust and debris collected in them. My solution was to cover it in a wipe-clean vinyl. The bench is half the width of a regular table, so I was able to cut the vinyl lengthways to make it fit perfectly. It now gives me an ideal, easy to maintain surface that takes care of any spills or drips - which are just part and parcel of the work I’ll be doing in here.
Finding Joy in the Making: My Self-Taught Creative Journey
My daughter, Freya, gave me a beautiful flower press for my birthday in January. Since then I’ve been collecting and pressing both wildflowers and blooms from the garden throughout the seasons. Pressing flowers is another thing that brings childhood memories flooding back. I used to have a flower press as a child and I’m not sure at which point I decreed that it was no longer cool and relegated it to the scrap heap. It is something that brings me so much joy. Just as collecting posies of beautiful flowers brings unbridled happiness, preserving them to enjoy their -albeit faded- beauty for so much longer feels really special to me. I’ve started to use some of the pressed flowers in my artwork and I’m going to experiment with incorporating them in to my weaving too.
I’ve also kitted the lady shed out with a full set of art supplies so I don’t need to humph things back and forth from the house. This means I can while away my time drawing, painting and creating art in this most inspiring of spaces. I’m not a professionally trained artist; I was too scared to apply to art school as a teenager because I couldn’t face rejection. When the head of art offered to take me to the Galashiels open day because he believed I could be a textile artist, I wasn’t allowed to go. When I was younger, I used to tell myself that I could learn when I was older and go to art school when I was 50. Now I’m 53 and my perspective has changed. While I still love learning -and I’m constantly discovering what materials can do and what’s possible - I no longer feel the need to do this formally. Instead, I learn from artists who inspire me*, and, more than anything, I simply make stuff in the free time that I have while juggling a full time job. When I was at school, I absorbed the belief that you had to go to art school, preferably the Glasgow School of Art, to be a ‘proper’ artist. But with life experience, I now believe the main criterion you need to be an artist is simply to make art.
Artists I’ve been learning from recently include Susan McCreavy and Laura Horn
Weaving Willow in the Garden: Returning to an Old Passion
One of the crafts I’ve not been able to do since I moved here is willow weaving. Again, I’m no expert, but I was lucky enough to spend a weekend with a willow weaver almost twenty years ago, which gave me a lifelong passion for making baskets. I was really excited to get weaving again now that I have the ideal space, so I ordered tools from Musgrove Willows and a kit with an online class from My Own 2 Hands. I made this gorgeous berry basket and loved every second of it! I actually bought a few of their kits, so I’ve still got a foraging basket and a fruit basket left to make. Having the instructional video really helped, and I was able to hone my techniques much more than I ever managed using books and the internet over the last two decades.
Dye Pots and Eco-Printing: Capturing the Garden on Paper
One of the other crafts which I can now do in the lady shed is eco-printing. I used to do it in the kitchen in my old flat, but living in a smaller space with other people and a dog makes it a bit more challenging. Consequently, this was something else I hadn’t touched much in the last couple of years. I bought a marble chopping board for the workbench in the lady shed so that I could set up a hob on top for my dye pot. We haven’t installed electricity directly to the shed, but it’s easy to run an extension lead from the utility room whenever I need to power the hob.
I originally learned how to eco-print by attending a workshop with the brilliant Elisabeth Viguie-Culshaw, who is an absolute expert. I highly recommend her in-person classes at her studio in Glasgow if you want to try this for yourself. It took me a couple of attempts to get going this time because I didn’t realise I had bought an induction hob, meaning my old dye pot wouldn’t work on it! Once I bought a compatible pot a couple of days later, I was good to go. I gathered leaves around the garden that I knew would print well including cotinus, clematis, hydrangea, rose and eucalyptus. Some of these plants I added to our garden primarily so I have them to print with, but I also love gathering leaves when I explore new places too.
I used Sappan wood in the dye pot, which is supposed to give a beautiful pink colour, but I have a habit of accidentally turning it purple. The last time I tried it, I learned that it is incredibly susceptible to pH shifts, so this time I made sure everything was spot on—yet it still went purple! I think it might be a case of heating it too much for too long, but I won’t give up. I’ll try again, because when you do successfully get that pink, it really is magical.
The final craft I’m keen to have a go at is Mosaic making. This is something I’ve done quite a few times over the years, using shells, stones, and more recently fragments of slate. It was Rachel Davies, another inspiring artist, whose online workshop during the pandemic introduced me to slate. All my mosaic kit had been stored in a big plastic box behind the greenhouse for the last year, but now it’s all organised and easily accessible. We’ve had a couple of trips to various beaches recently and I’ve been adding to my collections, ready to get going again.
I first made a mosaic way back in 2006 or 2007, after a trip to Eigg with some pals and my dear friend Fiona, who sadly died a few years ago. I still look at that piece of slate adorned with shells we gathered on the beach, and I am taken right back to that moment. I’ve also collected shells with my Aunt Christine in different parts of Scotland, which found their way into various pieces that remind me of her and my cousin. And I introduced my friend Stephanie to the joy of mosaic making after a trip to a beach that is now just a few miles from where I live. It’s so lovely to make things that hold so much memory and meaning, and I’m excited to do it again. The lady shed has finally given me the space and freedom to indulge all of my passions—even the messy ones!
It feels so wonderful to have all these passions gathered together under one roof. I can't wait to share what I create next in my little garden haven!