MEET THE MAKER: KATY ECCLES

About ten years ago my mum spotted an ad in Gardens Illustrated for a casting workshop hosted by the botanical bas-relief artist Rachel Dein

- Catherine Coyle

She promptly signed up with the idea of casting her own garden through the seasons, and then started practising at home using the basic skills she’d learned at the workshop. What started as a personal project centred on her own stunning garden in Fife became a hobby-business, and she then taught me how to cast in early 2019. Since then, I have taken over as the main maker and creative behind our business, Imprint Casts. My current collection is the result of years of experimentation and research into techniques and materials, a lot of broken casts and clay pummelling, as well as encouragement from family, friends and clients.

The first house my parents built was in Elie, so my early years were spent by the sea. Then we moved along the coast to Upper Largo, where Mum and Dad bought an old dilapidated farm steading which they slowly converted into our family home; the garden here and surrounding woodlands have had such an impact on my botanical casting.