Iseabal is a leatherworker and multi-disciplinary craftswoman based in the Scottish Highlands.
She is inspired by the traditional crafts she saw growing up in rural Scotland, from basket-weaving and clinker-boatbuilding to roof-thatching. Her practice has seen an evolution from intricate accessories to large scale sculptural works, combining woven-leather with steam-bent wood to create sculptural forms.
Iseabal graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 2016 with a Textile Design degree, specialising in embroidery with a specific focus on leatherwork. She launched her first collection of handwoven accessories in 2020. Her works are sold at luxury hotel, The Fife Arms, and in Scotland’s home for contemporary craft, BARD.
QEST funding will enable Iseabal to push her leatherworking practice in new directions. She will undertake one-on-one training with five different master craftspeople across the UK – she will learn willow-weaving with Annemarie O’Sullivan, rush-weaving with Felicity Irons, random-weave with Polly Pollock, cordage, coiling and twining with Caroline Dear and plaiting with Sarah Paramor. Iseabal’s long term goal is to combine traditional basket weaving with fine leatherwork to create beautiful, bold and contemporary works. In the future, Iseabal hopes to pass on local basketry techniques to young people in schools.