Threads of Rural Innocence: Edinburgh Napier Degree Show

The last few months have been chaos! Completing a degree and preparing for our degree show was slightly overwhelming and consuming. But now, finally, that is over.

The Edinburgh Degree Show was last week and the opening night was magical! It was everything I had hoped for and more. Seeing our hard work displayed, surrounded by friends, family, and industry professionals, was truly exhilarating. And to make it even more special, the girls from my project were there - thanks to Clair Nichols and Coral Allan!! - to see what we created. It was amazing to share that moment with them and to see the look on their faces as they saw their images on the wall. Some of which were bigger than I think they were expecting! ᵕ̈

The degree show for me, and this project, was a sneak peek into what's to come. It was a taster of what's to be revealed in the full finished collection of work that I intend to create with the girls for the rest of the year. The next step being exhibiting it at the Free Range London Exhibition.

This project has been the most rewarding thing I've ever done. It's been an incredible journey, watching the girls grow over the past 7 months. Seeing their confidence, enthusiasm, authenticity, and kindness shine through has been an absolute privilege. It's been a true joy to see them develop into strong, lovely individuals who are unafraid to be themselves.

I'm so grateful to have had this experience, and I can't wait to share it further with the world. The degree show was just the beginning, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for this project. I'm already thinking about ways to continue and share this important story.

For now, I'm enjoying just preparing for London and chilling in the knowledge of knowing I've completed my final year at university. I hope that this is just the beginning of the project, for the girls, and me.

Threads of Rural Innocence - in association with Youth Highland & Balintore & District Residents Group.

Thank you to Clair Nichols, Coral Allan, Isla Mackinnon and all the parents for the help and support!

And a massive thank you to Amelia, Anita, Bella, Kaycee, Meryl & Lacey!

Thanks for reading! love always,

Lily Skye x