Portfolio
About
Stoic Birch
Contact

Richard Bracken Artist

sculpture | environment | education | making

Portfolio
About
Stoic Birch
Contact

About

b. 1986
Edinburgh College of Art BA(hons) Sculpture
Highland based artist and maker. My creative practice is fed by an ongoing, personal exploration of ‘willed land’ and is a response to place, ecology, culture and memory.
I typically work across a range of disciplines including casting and mould-making, photography, printmaking and drawing. In 2018 I established Stoic Birch; a craft-based practice with a focus on wood and woodlands.
I am passionate about contributing to the cultural life of the Highlands and have worked with organisations, communities, and young people in the region since 2011.
Selected Projects:
Room 13. Lead Artist, 2011 - present.
Radical landownership, community and creativity. Creative Carbon Scotland, Green Tease event at the Stove Network, Dumfries. 2023. More…
Loch Arkaig Art Trail / Ulaidh. Created site specific sculpture at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest for Woodland Trust. 2022.
Inland Navigation. Lead Artist and project manager for youth arts project celebrating 200 years of the Caledonian Canal. Circus Artspace. 2021-22.
Artists and Community Landowners. Working with Abriachan Forest Trust and community to tell the story of their landownership journey through a series of handmade and engraved walking sticks. 2020 - 21. More…
Making Mountains. - 2-day Participatory casting workshop - Lyth Art Centre, Caithness. 2019.
Facilitator at Creative Changemakers Programme. 1-day workshop for teachers, National Galleries Scotland. 2019.
Journey. Collaboration with artist Louise Kernaghan. 3-day workshop exploring environment with primary pupils, Glen Nevis. Room 13 International, Fort William. 2018.
LIVE!/BEÒ! Festival. Participatory sculpture workshop on the theme of ‘landforms’ at National Trust centre in Glencoe. 2018.
Wolf Den. Designed and constructed low-impact hill shelter in collaboration with artist Alec Finlay, as part of Project Wolf, an innovative re-wilding initiative at Trees for Life, Dundreggan. Featured in the exhibition & publication Machines à Penser at the Venice Architecture Biennale. 2018.
Tales of Mud and Mischief. Installation for public den-building and community engagement events. Public invited to share memories of play during childhood which were then presented on local radio. Falcon Square, Inverness and Cameron Square, Fort William. 2015.
The Cruise of the Betsey, In the Footsteps of Hugh Miller. Sail voyage from Oban to Eigg following the trail of Victorian geologist Hugh Miller. 2014.
Glenmore. Artwork designed and produced for Glenmore Lodge - communicating the heritage and values of Scotland’s National Outdoor Training Centre. 2014.
Journeys in Nature. Facilitator for SpeyGrian project encouraging creative exploration of the environment. Kingussie High School, Kingussie. 2010.

Awards & Grants:
Visual Artist and Craft Maker Award. Grant to develop new work on iron-working in the Highlands. 2023.
Spirit 360. Grant to develop new work linking to Highland stories. Highlife Highland. 2022.
Visual Artist and Craft Maker Award. Grant to develop new work at Scottish Sculpture Workshop 2018.
Belize Travel Scholarship to Las Cuevas Research Station, Chiquibul Rainforest Belize. Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art and Oxford University. June 2008.

Selected Exhibitions:
Dùthcas. Community Land Scotland. COP26, Glasgow. 2021
All Things Connect. Resipole Studios, Ardnamurchan. 2021.
Living Memory. Solo show. Resipole Studios, Ardnamurchan. 2019
Stories in the Land. Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh. 2013
George Wyllie/Room 13. Demarco European Art Foundation, Edinburgh. 2013
Freeze/Thaw. Solo show. Resipole Studios, Argyll. 2013
Poste Restante. An Tobar, Mull. 2011
Mountains Like People. Hackney Wicked Arts Festival, London. 2010
Inordinate Fondness. Wolfson College, Oxford. 2010
RSA: NC. Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. 2010
Hot Box. Lauriston Glass Houses, Edinburgh. 2009
Now I know My ABC’s. +44 141 Gallery, Glasgow. 2009
ECA Degree Show. Edinburgh College of Art. 2009
Bloodfeathers. Morningside, Edinburgh. 2009
Keep Calm and Carry On. Niddry Street, Edinburgh. 2008
Seed Shadow. The Tent Gallery, Evolution House, Edinburgh. 2008
Glass Ceiling. The Drill Hall, Edinburgh. 2008
An Exhibition on Cramond Island. Cramond Island, Edinburgh. 2007