Halló¶
The Chat¶
Originating in Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland. After living in several British cities I moved to Reykjavik in Iceland 10 years ago. After dropping out of 2 biology 1st years early on in life and having no real training in the arts, I found myself achieving a BA in Weaving and Textile Design from Glasgow School of Art.
Passionate about contemporary music and culture, I have been involved in many projects in upcycling, art , event management and fashion.
I have been working for 28 years in the beer industry and was at the forefront of the craft beer revolution in Iceland.
Above, Here I am in one of my favourite places in Reykjavik, Höfuðstöðin , The installation Chromo Sapiens by Shoplifter.
Previous Work¶
A few of the things I have created.
Image 2 photography Livio Morabito for Betty Spoke White Noise
Images 3 and 4 photography James Porteous
Welcome to my Fabricademy Journey¶
I first learned of Fabricademy in 2019 when everyone came to Iceland for the 2019 bootcamp. As soon as i saw the program I knew I had to participate so I booked a week off work and showed up. You can see me hanging round all the action with pink hair in the video below.
It has always been a dream of mine to do the full course. Distance, time, covid all slowly moved on.
I carried on as before running bars, In April, I opened a new huge place as a live music venue, craft beer bar and arts space when in June I fell ill after my shift.
It was at that moment my life changed.
After initially being misdiagnosed with an stomach ulcer and sent home for 6 days it turns out I had had a Micocardial Infarction, commonly described as a heart attack and had been in heart failure for that entire time.
Having a heart attack at 43 really changes your perspective on life.
I always knew I would probably have one early due to a family history but not this early. Luckily the damage to my heart is quite small and I had very good care at the Landspitali Hospital that put me on an amazing path to recovery.
I was offered a space in a cardiac rehabilitation center called Reykjalundur. A decicated month long program in physiotherapy, ocupational therapy, excerise, nutrition and mental health for cardiac patients. I was then I saw that Fabacdemy was coming to iceland and starting the week after I completed rehabilitation. I took it as a sign that I should get myself physically and metally fit, pack up my life in the big city and move north to the tiny town of Blönduós.
The Heart of The Matter¶
My experience at Reykjalundur was transformative I learned alot about my condition and heart disease in general so I have decided to use this as my inspiration for my time in Fabricademy. I plan to use each of the workshop weeks to focus on a different projects relating to Cardiac health, monitoring and maintenence. I will continue to develop the most sucessful of these projects forward for my final project
Considerations for Heart Health¶
- General Health improvement
- Nutrition
- Excercise
- Reduction of Stress.
- Smoking
- Drinking
- Genetics
Also, increasing the awareness of coronary heart disease and the issues surrounding womens heart health particularily in Iceland.
Heart Facts¶
- Coronary Heart Disease was the Number 1 Cause of death in Iceland in 2020.
- The Incidences of Coronary Heart Disease in People in their 40s and Under have been Increasing According to Research.
- Women are Frequently Misdiagnosed when Experiencing a Heart Attack and Often Experience Different Symptoms to Men.
A 2019 Documentary on the Subject of the Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease in Female Patients
Heartspiration¶
Here you can see a facinating study at Stamford showing Acoustic Choreography in heart cells.
Acoustic Signals Steer Heart Cells through a Gel to Form a Series of Precise Patterns. Video courtesy of Sean Wu and Utkan Demirci.
Utkan Demirci PhD, an Acoustic Bioengineer and Professor of Radiology and Cardiologist Sean Wu MD, PhD use acoustics to manipulate heart cells into intricate patterns. A simple change in frequency and amplitude puts the cells in motion, guides them to a new position and holds them in place.
