I enjoy creating and spreading knowledgeable content for everyone around the world and try my best not to leave even the smallest of mistakes go unnoticed.
Alison Kinnaird
Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share
Sign in
Origin
Edinburgh, Scotland
Record label
Temple Records
Years active
1971 – present
Associated acts
Battlefield Band
Labels
Temple Records
Genres
Folk music, Celtic music
Name
Alison Kinnaird
Occupation(s)
Musician, sculptor, teacher, writer
Role
Musician · alisonkinnaird.com
Albums
Music in Trust, The Scottish Harp, The Quiet Tradition
Similar People
Wendy Stewart, Brian McNeill, Ed Miller, Aly Bain
Alison Kinnaird, Artist & Musician - Psalmsong
Alison Kinnaird M.B.E is a glass sculptor, Celtic musician, teacher and writer born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1949.
Kinnaird earned a MA in Celtic studies and archaeology at the University of Edinburgh and studied glass engraving with Harold Gordon. Kinnaird uses lead and optical crystal. Her works are in many galleries and private collections. The techniques used by Kinnaird include copper-wheel engraving, cutting, sandblasting, acid etching and casting.
Kinnaird is also a musician. She plays, teaches and lectures on the small Scottish harp also known as the clarsach. She was one of the first acts signed to Temple Records during the 1970s and she has had eight albums released through the label. She worked with the Scottish music group Battlefield Band on their albums Music in Trust Vol I (1987) and Music in Trust Vol II (1988).
Kinnaird has written many books about traditional music and the small Scottish harp. Her first book on the subject was published in 1990 and is a collection of 24 harp tunes that she arranged. Tree of Strings (1992), written in collaboration with Keith Sanger, documents the history of the harp in Scotland and is the first book of its kind. The Lothian Collection (1995) has 25 harp tunes from the big houses and great families from East, West and Midlothian all arranged by Kinnaird. The Small Harp Tutor (1996) is a book about learning to play the small harp which covers the history of the instrument, maintaining the instrument, arranging tunes and gives useful finger exercises. The book is accompanied by a 60-minute CD which guides the learner from novice to more accomplished player. Kinnaird's most recent book is The North East Collection which features tunes mainly from the 18th and 19th century arranged by herself.
In 1997, Kinnaird was awarded the M.B.E for her contribution and long standing service to art and music. In 2011 National Life Stories interviewed Kinnaird for their 'Craft Lives' archive. The interviews took place over three days and document her life from childhood to becoming a successful artist and musician. She has been recognised for her contributions to Scottish folk music and was inducted into the Scots Trad Music Awards – Hall of Fame in 2010.
Awards
2010: Scots Trad Music Awards
2004: Glass Sellers Award
2002: Creative Scotland Award
2001: Adrian Sassoon Award
1998: CC Chelsea First Exhibitors Award
1998: Inches Carr Crafts Bursary
1997: MBE for services to art and music
1987: Glass-Sellers Award
1980: SDA/CCC Crafts Fellowship
Memberships
2003–2004: Member of the award panel for Creative Scotland Award
1993–1996* Scottish Arts Council Crafts Committee
Fellow of the Guild of Glass Engravers
BBC Broadcasting Council for Scotland
Contemporary Glass Society
Glass Art Society
Scottish Glass Society
Teaching
British Glass Biennale, Stourbridge
Northlands Creative Glass, Scotland
Corning Glass Studio, Corning NY, USA
Frauenau, Germany
Academy of Art and Design, Wroclaw, Poland
Urban Glass, Brooklyn, NY
Education
1970–1971: Edinburgh College of Art – informal classes
1969: Workshop training with Harold Gordon
1968–1971 Edinburgh University M A in Celtic Studies and Archaeology
Books
2008 20th Century British Glass, Charles Hajdamach, Antiques Collectors Club Ltd
2006 25 Years of New Glass Review, Corning Museum
2003 Jennifer Hawkins Opie, Contemporary International Glass, V & A Pub
2002 Dan Klein, ARTISTS IN GLASS, Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass, Mitchell Beazley
1999 Marilyn & Tom Goodearl, ENGRAVED GLASS, Antique Collectors Club
1996 Peter Layton, GLASS ART, Black/Washington
1984 Brian Blench, CRAFTWORK SCOTLAND, Scottish Development Agency
Exhibitions
2011 Johansfors, Kristallmuseum, Sweden
2011 British Studio Glass, Coburg
2011 A Passion for Glass, Dan Klein Collection, Royal Museum of Scotland