Selina-May Miller: Workshop Bursary Blog

Introducing our series of guest blogs from the Workshop Bursaries for 2024/25 starting with Selina-May Miller…..

Finding Myself in Print

The Gaada Workshop Bursary changed the course of my life.

That might sound dramatic — but it’s true. I applied on a bit of a whim, not entirely sure what I was doing or why I thought I might deserve a space. I didn't feel like an artist. I wasn't even sure if I could draw. But I knew I wanted something to change. What I didn’t know was that the bursary would become a turning point: not just in my creative journey, but in how I see myself entirely.

From ‘Not an Artist’ to… Maybe I Am?

I had spent most of my life believing art wasn’t for me. That story started in high school, where I was quietly discouraged and subtly pushed in other directions. I was told — not in words exactly, but in the way people looked at my work or didn’t — that I wasn’t good enough, that I didn’t have "it." And I carried that with me for years.

So when I stepped into Gaada’s workshop space for the first time in Burra, I came with a lot of that baggage. But from the beginning, the atmosphere was different. There was no pressure to be “good," no gatekeeping around what made someone an artist. Just encouragement, tools, and space. Space to try things, make mistakes, and follow curiosity wherever it led.

Trying Everything — And REALLY Loving It

During the bursary, I got the chance to explore screen-printing, letterpress, and Risograph printing — all processes I’d never tried before. Each one opened new ways of thinking and making. Gaada staff were there every step of the way: explaining, demonstrating, guiding — but always gently, and always in a way that helped me build confidence.

One of the most helpful moments was a one-to-one session about Adobe programmes, where I learned how to prep my drawings for print. It gave me the skills I needed to bring digital and handmade elements together — and more importantly, it made me feel like I could learn. That I wasn’t behind or out of place.

The tools and techniques were exciting, but what really transformed things for me was how safe and supported I felt throughout. I wasn’t being judged or tested. I was being encouraged — and that made all the difference.

A Transformation I Didn’t Expect

The changes didn’t just happen in the workshop — they rippled out into every part of my life.

I started drawing more. Printing more. Thinking more creatively. Ideas that had been stuck inside me for years started to take shape. I made work that connected with my personal history, my identity, my Shetland roots. I found myself returning again and again to themes of memory and reconnection — not because someone told me to, but because I wanted to. And for the first time in a very long time, I felt proud of what I was making.

The confidence I built through the bursary led me to take a big step: I enrolled in the Fine Art programme at UHI Shetland, part-time. A year ago, I would have laughed if someone had suggested that. But now? It feels like the most natural thing in the world.

The truth is: I am an artist. I just didn’t know it yet.

More Than Just Art

What I gained through Gaada wasn’t just technical knowledge or a few prints to take home. It was something much bigger. This bursary helped me reconnect with a version of myself I thought was lost — the creative self, the curious self, the one who gets excited by colour and process and possibility.

It gave me space when I really needed it. It gave me a community. It gave me time to slow down and play and process. Most of all, it gave me permission to begin.

The outcome of all of this? Better than I ever expected. I’ve started to see myself as an artist — not because someone gave me that title, but because I feel it now. I’m still learning, still growing, but I know now that art is for me. And that changes everything.

I still have so much to learn — and I’m excited to keep going. I’m looking forward to coming back to Gaada during Open Access sessions and continuing to develop the work I started during my bursary. The prints I’ve made so far already mean so much to me, and I hope to keep building on that momentum.

Art doesn’t have to look a certain way, and artists don’t have to come from one path. I’m so grateful that Gaada helped me see that — and helped me see myself.

If you’re reading this and wondering whether you should apply — do it. Even if you’re unsure. Especially if you’re unsure, actually. You don’t need to have everything figured out. You just need that spark of curiosity. Gaada will meet you exactly where you are.
I didn’t think I was an artist either — but someone believed in me, and that belief changed the course of my life.

You never know what might come from walking into that workshop in Burra. It might just be the start of something incredible for you.

Just like it was for me.

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Thank you so much, Selina - your energy, openness, and curiosity have been a joy to have in the workshop. We’re so proud to have been a part of the journey and can’t wait to welcome you back through the doors soon.

2025/26 Bursaries are now open for applications:

Gaada workshop bursaries are made possible by the funding of Creative Scotland and Shetland Charitable Trust.