A pilgrimage destination since early Christian times, Iona is a tiny island off the west coast of Scotland just 1.5 miles wide by 3 miles long, with a population of around 170 permanent residents. Often described as the jewel in the Hebridean crown of islands, Iona’s beauty and tranquillity are world renowned. The journey here from mainland Scotland takes you across land and sea and is a modern-day pilgrimage in itself through some of Scotland’s most stunning scenery.
Iona has captured the imagination of pilgrims for centuries, from the early hermit monks of the 6th century to modern day travellers seeking peace, beauty and solitude.
Over the centuries Iona has been home to, and has inspired, poets, musicians, craftsmen and women, writers, artists and theologians. Its landscape speaks of angelic visions and ancient burial grounds, a hermitage of the sea and a place of reflection and revival.
We hope that the creative retreats will connect you to an essence of this ancient spirit through the mediums of art, craft and mindfulness.
ABOUT MHAIRI
You will be hosted by Iona artist, Mhairi Killin who has lived on the island since 1997. Mhairi’s story has a vibrant backdrop of wonderful island characters, artisans who led her to live on Iona in 1997, following many generations of her maternal Macdonald clan.
A Royal Scottish Academician, Mhairi works across the mediums of drawing, print, sculpture and film. Her art practice is inspired by her life in the Hebrides and her love for Iona.
Mhairi has exhibited widely in the UK and abroad. She has been artist in residence at the Leighton Colony, Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada, and in 2021 was an invited artist on the international project, In Search of the Pluriverse, a Travelling Academy project for Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam.
She has recently returned from a 2 month residency at Artica Svalbard, by invitation of Contemporary Arts Oslo where she was exploring the idea of 'islandness' in relation to climate change.
As well as having an active visual arts practice, Mhairi continues the creative legacy of 19th Century Iona artisans Alexander and Euphemia Ritchie, and relative, Iona silversmith, Iain MacCormick, through her island business, Aosdàna.
Mhairi has nearly 30 years of experience of welcoming people to her island home, and she looks forward to sharing Iona with you, from the perspective of an islander and an artist.
OUR INVITED ARTISTS
SARA KEITH
Sara’s love of jewellery and the Hebrides started at a very young age, with all her family holidays spent on the islands. The beaches provided endless fascination and just like then, she still can’t walk along the shoreline without being inspired to make a piece of jewellery.
Mhairi and Sara met at the Glasgow School of Art and formed a lasting friendship with many shared experiences. After a period working in costume, Sara developed her studies further with a PhD researching the union of silver and textiles. The skills of Goldsmithing and stone setting were further refined at Vanilla Ink Jewellery School.
Having taught in several art schools over the last twenty years and developed a unique jewellery practice, Sara looks forward to sharing her creative passion on the beautiful Island of Iona.
More information about Sara and her jewellery can be found here.
FRANCES LAW
Frances Law is a visual artist and educator working with drawing, painting, print and artists books. Her role over the past twenty five years as an educator has involved working with a wide variety of people and with a diverse range of skill levels; from socially engaged projects, art in healthcare to primary, secondary, higher and further education.
Fran's current work, "explores the archaeological and mythic undercurrents of the landscape where I live and travel to in Scotland. Walking in the landscape and connecting to ancestral voices through maps, stories and language, I work with drawing, print-making and collage overlaying textures, symbols and universal imagery in an attempt to understand the spiritual relationship between people, the land and nature."
Fran brings a wealth of cosmological imagination and teaching experience to our 2026 drawing workshop.
MIEK ZWAMBORN
Miek Zwamborn is a Dutch artist, writer and poet living and working in the Ross of Mull. Miek is perhaps best known locally for the vibrant hub, KNOCKvologan Studio - a place for creative research, cultural dialogue, and environmental stewardship - which she and artist partner, Rutger Emmelkamp founded in 2018.
Rooted in the Ross of Mull, Miek engages deeply with the land and culture that surrounds her. She has exhibited internationally, and her writing is included in many national collections including the Royal Library of the Netherlands. Her 2020 book, The Seaweed Collector's Handbook: From Purple Laver to Peacock's Tail, is an exquisitely illustrated portrait of the history, culture and use of seaweed from the Neolithic people of the Orkney Islands to sushi artisans in modern Japan.
Miek brings a love of her coastal home to our drawing retreat in 2026, sharing her local knowledge of foraging for, and making drawing materials from the shore.
https://knockvologan.net/studies-projects
Image of Miek with thanks to Rutger Emmelkamp