Fashion and Textiles students at Gray’s School of Art have teamed up with the National Trust for Scotland’s (NTS) Drum Castle to produce a range of tea towels, drawing inspiration from the 13th century building.
The project has seen the 27 first year students each produce their own unique design, with the cotton tea towels set to go on display later this month as part of a public vote.
The most popular design will then be produced and sold in the castle shop, with the winner taking home a prize donated by the team at Drum Castle.
As part of the project the students visited Drum Castle to gain insight into the attraction, which is the conservation charity NTS’s oldest intact property, and enable them to capture the spirit of the castle in their designs.
They were also required to produce sketchbooks and research analysis, showing the development of their ideas, as well as a presentation board visualising the theme of their design inspiration.
Property manager of Drum Castle, Dr Alison Burke, is pleased to be working with the students from Gray’s on the project.
She said: “The Fashion and Textile students at Gray’s are phenomenally talented and creative artists. This is our third year of collaborating and each year I am amazed at the exquisite results. Their vision and creativity provides a fresh perspective on Drum and help keeps the 13th century castle relevant to young people in the 21st century.”
Lecturer Elaine Gowans said: “For the students, this is the first time they have worked with a live client or done any technical printing and design and they have done so in such a short project window – just four weeks.
“They have all worked very professionally and with maturity. It is clear to see from their resolutions the enthusiasm in their body of research work gathered during a visit to Drum Castle. This has been reflected within the t-towels and through their inspiration evidenced on their mood boards.
“They were set a high standard to deliver and have dealt with the challenges creatively.”
Drum is currently home to an outstanding collection of contemporary art on loan from the city's Aberdeen Art Gallery while the gallery undergoes a major refurbishment.
Northern Lights: Aberdeen Art Gallery at Drum Castle exhibition is open on weekends from 11 am to 4pm until March 2017. Normal castle admission charges apply. Drum Castle is located 10 miles west of Aberdeen off the A93. The castle is set in extensive grounds with walks, picnic area, an historic rose garden, adventure play area, tearoom and shop.