Welcome to Black Isle Abstract

BETI BRICELJ was born in 1974 in Postojna (Slovenia). In 2000 she graduated from Fine Arts on Arthouse – College of Visual Arts in Ljubljana. After completing her studies she continued her education in Australia where she lived for a year where she was invited to participate in a research study of the Aboriginal culture organized by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Adelaide, South Australia. 

Beti Bricelj has been invited to numerous Art Symposium, and has presented work for independent and joint exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad (Australia, Europe, Israel India and including the renowned Museum of Geometric and MADI Art in Dallas Texas, USA). Her work is published in various international catalogues and books of contemporary art. 

As an artist she also took up an architectural challenge and designed the front of the Epicenter B2 Trade and Business Centre in Postojna using her expertise in art. In 2013 she received Recognition for High Quality Artwork form the International Fine Arts Festival Kranj – ZDSLU. 
 
Since 2002 Bricelj has been a member of the Slovenian Association of Fine Arts Societies. She divides her time working in Slovenia and in Scotland.
 

IAN BARR is a sculptor and painter, born in Glasgow and a graduate of Glasgow School of Art.  He lives and works on The Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands.  After graduating in the late sixties, he taught in schools and universities in Scotland and the USA. 

As well as a practicing artist Ian also has wide experience as researcher and cultural policy consultant.  Clients have included the Scottish Government, UNESCO, the British Council, EU Comenius Projects, Department for International Development, University of Glasgow, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, University of Seattle, CIDREE and The Lighthouse.  

He is a founder member of the European Educational Design Group, an international partnership with a particular focus on educational innovation.  He has written extensively on aspects of education philosophy and curriculum.  His work is represented in public and private collections both in the UK and abroad and he was a Trustee of the National Galleries of Scotland from 2005 until 2013.
 

ALEX DUNN was born in Glasgow in 1951. At the age of seven he and his family moved up to the Highlands, where he has lived ever since. He studied at Aberdeen University in the early seventies, graduating with an honours degree in economic history. Since 1992 he has been director, designer and part-owner of Ardival Harps Ltd.

It could be claimed that he is self-taught as an artist; but with a mother who was a potter and a father who was a peripatetic art teacher in primary schools round the Black Isle he was surrounded by and always had an interest in art and artistic processes, and received a solid grounding in art history and techniques. In fact he has always felt that this 'alternative' training has greatly influenced and enriched his picture-making, especially since his art became more and more abstract after 2000, which also inspired him to create wooden sculptures. 

Dunn has exhibited extensively throughout Scotland, England and abroad. He has taken part in many annual Scottish open exhibitions including Royal Glasgow Institute, Society of Scottish Artists, Royal Scottish Academy, Visual Arts Scotland, Aberdeen Artists Society, and the Paisley Arts Institute. Since the late seventies he has exhibited with The Cromarty Group as a founding-member, illustrating his long-term contribution to the art community in the Highlands.