Education:
Fine Art Degree (First Hons) Sculpture (stone ,ceramic, textiles & paper making ) at Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork, Ireland.
Masters in Youth and Community University College Cork, Ireland.Incorporating arts practice with community engagement.
Exhibitions & Collaborative Projects 2024
Professional Art Tutor /Project Development :Project Ability ,Third Floor 103 Trongate, Glasgow.Lead tutor project engagement & delivery of visual art workshops in printmaking, ceramics & mixed media with adults and young people with learning disability & autism.
One Ren Library Art workshops for a Greener World Programme February -March 2024.
Artist Talk - Pigments and Place - exploring the growing, foraging, extraction and use of natural pigments in my work.Alexandria Library - 14th March 2024.
World Book Night Collaboration 2024 In Praise of Birds. Exhibition of Art work Bower Ashton Library UWE,Bristol 17th April - 30th June . Hong Kong Design Institute ,1st September -31st October 2024.
Selected Exhibitions & Collaborative Projects 2023
Professional Art Tutor/Project Development: Project Ability, Third Floor 103,Trongate, Glasgow. 2004 – Present. Lead Tutor facilitating, developing and delivery of Visual art workshops in Printmaking, Ceramics and Mixed Media with adults and young people with learning disabilities and autism. https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/projects/our-100-portraits https://artetal.org/collections/mentorship02 https://www.project-ability.co.uk/blog/project-ability-was-in-prague-for-the-conquering-public-spaces-international-conference/
Professional Art Tutor, Living Well at the Library Arts Programme, Renfrewshire Libraries, OneRen. September 2022- December 2023 https://www.oneren.org/news/posts/ferguslie-residents-craft-new-ways-to-beat-isolation-in-their-local-library/
Benmore Botanic Garden, Argyll. Artist talk and community workshop on foraging, growing and extracting dye pigment from plants. March 2023
https://www.facebook.com/benmorebotanicgarden/posts/art-in-the-gardenmany-thanks-to-local-artist-valerie-oregan-birdhouse-studio-arg/3013090635384715/ https://www.the-soc.org.uk/content/about-us/exhibition-archives
World Book Collaboration Project, University West of England, We remember inspired by writers Georges Perec and Joe Brainard. March 2023. https://youtu.be/cURx1fDHxTM Artist book exhibition Friday 21st April – Friday 30th June 2023 at Bower Ashton Library, UWE Bristol and in the Hong Kong Design Institute 30th July – 30th Sept 2023.
No Vacancy Gallery Melbourne, Australia - Compass Exhibition An exploration of place, space and belonging.3rd September 2023- 22 August .
https://www.no-vacancy.com.au/
Southbank Printmakers,London, MiniPrint Exhibition - 3rd October -3rd December 2023
https://www.southbankprintmakers.com/miniprint-s-r
Anxiety of Interdisciplinary 0.2 Art @ ARB 25th September 2023 - 25th September - 17th November 2023 https://www.anxietyofinterdisciplinarity.com/
https://arbart.crassh.cam.ac.uk/The%20anxiety%20of%20interdisciplinarity%202.0/
UpRight Gallery Edinburgh - Making Waves - Artist Book Exhibition - 2nd -23rd December 2023 https://www.uprightgallery.com/
SSA Society of Scottish artists 30x30 online exhibition of small works 18th November - 14th January 24
https://ssa.viewingrooms.com/viewing-room/20-30-x-30-online-edition-2023/
Exhibitions & Projects - 2022
Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield . Selected Group exhibition, The Environment 24th March -16th April 2022.
Marchmont House Borders Art Fair 30x30 exhibition, SSA Spotlight Area at this year’s Borders Art Fair (25 – 27 March 2022)
Bower Ashton Library , Bristol,13th April - 29th June at Bower Ashton Library. http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/wbn2022
Keep Scotland Beautiful -Scotland's Climate Festival -project to grow a dye garden to explore natural dyes and pigments to use in my practice and community workshops, harvest and share seeds. https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/scotlands-climate-festival/
LiTE-HAUS Galerie + Projektraum Exhibition, Berlin September 8th - 24th 2022 https://www.lite-haus.net/
The Garden of Loss and Triumph Commelinstraat 308 1093 VD, Amsterdam The Netherlands 1st -18th September 2022.
HKDI Hong Kong Design Institute Library, China 20th June - 19th September 2022 Exhibition of collaborative Book art project Ghost in the Machine.
IMPACT 12: The Printmakers' Voice (21-25 September 2022) Selected Exhibition at Island Venue, Bridewell St, Bristol BS1 2QD https://www.anxietyofinterdisciplinarity.com/impact-12
Southbank Printmakers Mini Print Selected Exhibition 4th October 2- 4 December 2022, Southbank Printmakers ,London.
Upright Gallery,Pattern Book Art Exhibition,Edinburgh. 26th November - 23rd December 2022. https://www.uprightgallery.com/now.html
SSA 130 Years.Selected Members Exhibition, The RSA, Edinburgh 17th December - 10th January 2022 https://www.s-s-a.org/annualexhibition2022
Exhibitions 2020/2022
Upright Gallery, Edinburgh. Selected Exhibition Nature Works 3rd December – 24th December 21 https://www.uprightgallery.com/nature-works.html
Lillie Gallery 6th -22nd December 21 https://artuk.org/visit/venues/lillie-art-gallery-6985
Auld Kirk Museum, East Dunbartonshire Exhibition 30th October -22nd December 21 https://artuk.org/visit/venues/auld-kirk-museum-6983
No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne, Australia. The Garden of Loss and Triumph Exhibition 8th-14th November 21 https://www.artaviso.com/the-garden-landing-page/
The RSA, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh,30x30 Exhibition 1st November -23rd November 21 https://www.s-s-a.org/annualexhibition2021/
The Hall of Awa Japanese Handmade Paper (141 Kawahigashi, Yamakawa, Yoshinogawa City, Tokushima) Awagami Mini Print Exhibition 9th October -7th November 21 http://miniprint.awagami.jp/ENGLISH/exhibitions/index2021.html
Donald Watson Gallery, Waterston House, Edinburgh Selected exhibition Song lines 29th July – August 1st 21. https://www.the-soc.org.uk/about-us/art-gallery
The Viewing Rooms, Online selected Exhibition, Society Scottish Artists 1-31st July 21 https://ssa.viewingrooms.com/viewing-room/10-instant/
Recycl-Age -Art Selected Exhibition, Granton Hub, Edinburgh 9-11th July 21 https://grantonhub.org/recycl-age-art-exhibition-9-11-july-2021/
Donald Watson Gallery, Edinburgh. 4th - 28th 2021 Song Lines, Exhibition of prints at Scottish Ornithological Club.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKMR6yTqjt5/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Lillie Gallery & Auld Kirk Museum - December 2020: https://artuk.org/visit/venues/auld-kirk-museum-6983
Society of Scottish Artists SSA open call 30x30 Online Edition Exhibition 2020 - January 2021:. https://www.s-s-a.org/ssa-open-call-30-x-30-online-edition/
Seacourt International MiniPrint Biennial. 2020: Exhibition of original prints on paper 20x20cm. https://seacourt-ni.org.uk/international-mini-print-online-exhibition/
Art Aviso. 2020: Door to Door Project,A) International online exhibition. https://www.artaviso.com/
Court Yard Gallery, 2019 – June 2019 – 'Exchange' A curated group exhibition inspired by Lichen specimens. Benmore Botanic Garden. www.britishlichensociety.org.uk
Selected Projects & Residencies 2019-22.
The Cowshed Gallery, Farmleigh, Dublin, Ireland. 15cm x 15cm artworks Pluid Project August 27th -5th September 21 https://visualartists.ie/events/pluid-the-national-comfort-blanket-the-cowshed-gallery-farmleigh-estate-2/
Tea by post exchange of seed sharing and alternative practice, with Artists uk and Ireland. https://www.instagram.com/teabypost/
12o Collective, Collaboration and Exhibition with 12o Collective, 30 works in 30 days .
Artist in Residence with the National Library of Scotland. 2019- March 2020 – . https://www.nls.uk/ Making work in response to archive recordings from the Scottish Ornithological Club. Developing and facilitating a series of community workshops responding to key audio recordings. Curating the exhibition of work ‘Song Lines’ at the Court Yard Gallery, Benmore Botanic Garden. https://kelvinhall.org.uk/national-library-of-scotland https://www.the-soc.org.uk/
Lichenology at Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, Science building. 31st – March 2020 ‘Small is Beautiful’ A curated group exhibition of Art work inspired by Lichenology at Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, Science building. https://www.rbge.org.uk/visit/royal-botanic-garden-edinburgh/
Benmore Botanic Garden-Public Talk and workshop . A talk and workshop on my recent residency experience at Benmore Botanic Garden and my research into the Cyanotype process. 2019
Benmore Botanic Garden residency . 2018 -2019 – Self-directed residency at Benmore Botanic Garden. Researching Lichen and the Cyanotype https://www.rbge.org.uk/visit/benmore-botanic-garden/
Recent Awards 23/22/21/20
The Southbank Printmakers Prize ,Southbank Printmakers Mini print Exhibition ,Gabriel's Wharf,London. December 2022,
Creative Scotland Award Individual Fund to research Wood Lithography June - 23
The Richard and Siobhán Coward Foundation Award for Analogue photography July 2022.
VACMA Award 2022 Visual Artist and Craft Maker Bursary. To research natural pigments site specific to Cowal, develop ink for printmaking and create a series of artists books. https://www.creativescotland.com/ https://www.chartsargyllandisles.org/
KEEP SCOTLAND BEAUTIFUL – Scotland's Climate Seed Funds- February 2022 Funding towards starting a dye garden for the research into natural dyeing, pigment extraction and seed sharing.
VAMCA Award Visual Art Creative Scotland & CHARTS Argyll & Isles 2021 Bursary Award. To explore and experiment with using solar etching plates using intaglio and relief printmaking techniques. Creative Scotland and Argyll & Isles. https://www.chartsargyllandisles.org/
VAMCA Award: Visual Artist and Craft Maker Award 2020 Bursary Award. To explore and develop alternative photographic process with traditional printmaking skills and towards purchase of a Print press. https://www.creativescotland.com/
Hope Scott Trust Award July 2020 A grant to finance the purchase of an Intaglio Print Press
Memberships
SAU Scottish Artists Union Membership. https://www.artistsunion.scot/about
SSA Society of Scottish Artists https://www.s-s-a.org/
Art Aviso https://www.artaviso.com/
Charts Argyll and the Isles https://www.chartsargyllandisles.org/
Stockists
Juno Design Gallery 142 Argyll Street Dunoon PA23 7NA Scotland
Auld Kirk Museum Cowgate Kirkintilloch, Glasgow G66 1HN Scotland
Lillie Gallery Station Rd,Milngavie, Glasgow G62 8BZ Scotland
Dunoon Burgh Hall 195 Argyll street, Dunoon PA23 7DD Scotland
Publications/Extracts /Videos