A Vision for a Mission
We set out on a journey into the unknown, into the wilderness, the fringes of civilisation, with a small bag of coins, and a sack of hope. Leaving behind the “Creative Industry” of the Commercial Citadel during the financial crisis of 2008.
We bought a neglected former Presbyterian Church in the Bays of Harris, on the windswept rocky island of Harris, in the Outer Hebrides, with a vision of creating a live/work space where we could focus on what was important to us; Life, Nature, Art, Space, Freedom. So with newborn child and basic tools we set about the two year conversion from Church to Live Work Create Space.
Live.Work.Thrive
Not wanting to be saddled with a crippling overhead, and having a desire to build a home with our own hands, we worked hard over two years to build a space around our personal, individual needs. One that functioned and found its form around the way we worked. On a remote island, we had to be resourceful, work with what we had, learn as we went and allow the build to evolve organically. High-end glossy spec was not the brief.
A combination of foolhardy naivety, bravery, and “no way out” drove us quite literally to the edge, but with an extra handful or two of grit, the end result is a energy efficient, spacious building that has enabled us to work without chains, host world class concerts and share the profound ambience of the former church, but now as a house of art, music, thinking space and contemplation.
Wabi-Sabi
An aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience, described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”. Referring to the loneliness of living in nature, remote from society it connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, in both natural and human-made objects. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, adding uniqueness and elegance to the object. Wabisabi suggests desolation and solitude.If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi.
Convergence
There are no boundaries to Art. Over the years, as we have evolved, apart from expanding our own, personal, creative horizons, we have been very privileged to work with other creative souls, from large scale public art commissions, to world class musical recitals. As we venture forth on our journey in the wilderness, new opportunities arise with fellow seekers, to explore the “art of the possible” and far from the traditional “centres” of culture. The Outer Hebrides in it’s geographical location offers an accessible remoteness, and a rawness that triggers profound thinking and creative inspiration for many.
At the Mission House Studio, we have created a “Creative Space on the Edge of the Atlantic” with this in mind.
