Newport-on-Tay artist Jill Skulina has spent the last 20 years living and breathing creativity – but her latest project might be her most ambitious yet.
The 51-year-old wants to turn her commercial art studio in the Fife town into a “liveable work of art”.
But it’s not just for her.
The Tay Street property will also serve as a creative hub for the local community through workshops, exhibitions, and events.
The mum-of-one, who bought the former jewellery shop in 2022 after selling her flat on Newport’s High Street, is currently drawing up plans with her architect brother.
She then hopes to secure planning permission for a change of use.
The property, which Jill believes was used as a cafe in the 90s and early 2000s, is currently set up as an artist studio.
It is an “open space with big front windows” with a cubicle-sized bathroom (there’s a toilet, but no shower) and a kitchen.
There is also a ladder leading up to an attic, which is a “fairly-decent expanse”.
Jill plans to create a mezzanine sleeping platform in Newport art studio
Jill, a Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design graduate who specialises in ceramic sculpture, would like to lower the loft and turn it into a bedroom.
Alternatively, if she gets planning permission, she may knock the floor of the loft out and install a mezzanine-like sleeping platform.
In both scenarios she would install windows in the roof, to allow the whole space to benefit from natural light and improve ventilation.
She would also like to create a staircase leading to the bedroom area and a shower in the bathroom.
Half the ground floor area will act as a living room for relaxing, while the other will be her workspace.
Essential repairs, including window restoration, will also be carried out, as well as insulation and plasterboarding.
“Rather than a house that you have a studio in, it’s a studio that you have a house in,” she explains.
Jill, who admits it is not a huge space, is hoping her brother will come up with some “clever storage solutions”.
She has taken inspiration from George Clark’s Amazing Spaces – a Channel Four programme where the architect explore small builds.
Newport liveable artwork takes inspiration from Essex project
As well as all her equipment – including a large kiln – she will need somewhere to store and present artwork.
Not to mention her piles of books, clothes and other belongings.
One of her ideas is to install pull-out drawers and cabinets in the staircase.
She also plans to build a couple of storage units.
Jill says her idea for the project has been brewing for about four years.
She has taken some inspiration from A House for Essex – a well-known art house project designed by London architecture firm FAT Architecture and English artist Grayson Perry.
It is both an artwork in itself and the setting for a number of works by Perry exploring the “special character and unique qualities of Essex”.
Jill says: “The outside is all tiled, and then there’s these big sort of figurines on the roof, and there’s tapestries on the inside.
“Every part of it is considered and the whole thing is like an artwork.
“So I’m thinking of [my whole space] as an artwork.”
Jill hopes Newport livable artwork will inspire marginalised artists
Jill would also like to welcome artists to use the liveable studio as their own.
They will be able to hire the entire property for days or weeks when she is out of town, giving them a platform to “fully express themselves and share their work with the world”.
Jill, whose project is built on a “strong social mission”, says she will prioritise artists from marginalised and underrepresented communities.
She says life as an artist can be “unstable” and she hopes her liveable artwork will inspire them to “take the plunge and live life differently”.
When it comes to decor, Jill admits she is overflowing with ideas – a side effect of having studied interior design.
The project, which she estimates will reach competition in two or three years, will not be cheap.
She hopes to secure funding from Business Gateway.
She has also launched a Crowdfunder, which has raised nearly £2,000 so far.
The artist is offering rewards to those who donate, including stickers, enamel pins and ceramic tiles.
As well as the renovation, these funds will be used to hire a planning consultant and cover planning fees.
Conversation