HE WAS a man with a driving enthusiasm to popularise sculpture in Scotland and encourage people to practise and enjoy the creative process. Fred Bushe started the Scottish Sculpture Workshop (SSW) in Aberdeenshire and saw it grow to become an int
ernational force in art and sculpture. His desire to bring artists together to discuss and learn from each other has, over its 20 years, made SSW a place of learning, experimentation and a cross-fertilising of ideas.
Eden Jolly of SSW recalls Bushe as "a big man with a big presence". He said: "Fred was devoted to SSW and enjoyed talking about art around a blazing open fire in the kitchen – invariably with a whisky by his side. He had a glorious sense of humour and there was always a twinkle in the eye. Fred was a generous, kind-hearted man and a major force in Scottish art and sculpture."
Frederick Joseph William Bushe was the son of a tailor in Coatbridge and studied at Glasgow School of Art (1949-53) then spent his national service in Nigeria as an education officer. After working as an apprentice welder, he was awarded an advanced diploma in art and education at the University of Birmingham School of Art.
Bushe then taught at Aberdeen College of Art and accepted commissions for sculptures.
In the late 1970s he took early retirement and was looking for a studio in Aberdeenshire. He came across an old bakery in Lumsden, near Huntly, with a flat and a variety of outhouses. Bushe considered the properties ideal for development and in 1979 opened the SSW, initially under the auspices of Wasps (Workshop Artists Studio Provision Scotland). By virtue of the considerable space artists could create large-scale works and exhibit them in the open.
In 1996 Bushe built a foundry which much enhanced the teaching facilities – artists could now work in iron, bronze and aluminium. SSW fast became internationally recognised as an ideal setting for sculptors – the local terrain and the nearby coastline proved ideal for visitors to stroll around and collect driftwood and stones.
The sculptor Arthur Watson, who is on the board of SSW, considers Bushe "an innovator". He said: "Fred adapted the existing set-up at Scottish Print Workshop for sculpture and, with his unerring enthusiasm, made it work. His contribution to the arts in Scotland was tremendous. Through SSW artists made contacts abroad then travelled to gain fresh experiences and, indeed, exhibit.
"I have just completed a large bronze for the Gaelic College in Skye. Without the foundry at SSW it would have been cast at a commercial establishment. At SSW I could oversee the entire process."
Everyday life at SSW reflected Bushe's own outgoing and warm personality. The atmosphere was relaxed; residents chatted about their work in the large kitchen-dining room – called the bothy – or in the small lounge/library, and SSW was acknowledged as a place of artistic companionship and inspiration.
Bushe also established the Scottish Sculpture Open at Kildrummy Castle at Alford. It provided an opportunity to display large works by young artists in the garden.
In 2007 a similar scheme was set up – Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop – in Leith. The success of SSW and such a project in Leith are Bushe's lasting legacy. Bushe ran SSW with his infectious enthusiasm until ill health forced him to reduce his commitments in 1996.
Bushe's own sculptures, like the man, had a certain monumental grandeur about them. His 1978 work T-Fold is a collection of planks of wood nailed together and is now on display at the Highland Council in Inverness. The Grave Gate at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow brings together steel and wood while the entrance to the science lecture rooms at Liverpool University are abstract shapes in concrete.
He had successful one-man exhibitions at Edinburgh's Talbot Rice Gallery in 1982, London's Camden Arts Centre and the Piers Arts Centre in Orkney. Bushe was elected a Royal Scottish Academician 30 years ago and awarded an OBE in 1995.
George Beasley joined Bushe in the early days of SSW and confirmed he was an inspirational figure. He said: "Fred was always keen that SSW should empower artists to do things for themselves and then get on with it – a residency at Lumsden was a guide for artists to further their artistic knowledge. Students often returned to exchange ideas with their teachers, which was a fascinating exercise.
"Fred had this glorious vision of artists exchanging ideas and benefiting from each other's experiences. He created something very special."
Fred Bushe is survived by his third wife, Fiona, their daughter and three sons and a daughter from previous marriages.
