A Reflection on Material: Skye Marble

Isle of Skye Marble

I first found Skye marble on the shores of Loch Slapin, a sea loch beneath the Cuillin, east of the Strathaird peninsula, on the southeastern coast of the Isle of Skye.

I have returned to this island many times, drawn not only by its landscapes but by something quieter. A sense of stillness and presence.

Skye has always felt connected to my family. Tracing my maternal grandmother’s side back to the 1700s, I feel a subtle thread stretching across time, pulling me back to this place again and again.

The stones on the shore are fragments of history, each one different. Some are smooth from years of water moving over them. Others bear marks of hands long gone, shifted and held before I arrived. Picking them up, I am aware of their weight and texture, and of the way a small piece of rock can hold so much of the world.

The stones feel grounded and complete, yet connected, part of something larger that moves beyond us.

Working with these stones in the studio is an extension of this connection. Each one begins as itself, whole and unshaped. Shaping and polishing them into jewellery feels natural, as if it has always been their purpose.

There is a quiet satisfaction in this work, in listening to the stone and allowing its character to guide the form.

Wearing these stones close, as our ancestors once did, carries a sense of continuity. A reminder that we are of the same earth, moving through the same cycles, connected in ways we do not always see.