01/10/2026
šITāS OCTOBER, WITCHES š
and I can think of no better way to celebrate the start of my favourite season than to share my submission to The Oracle Exhibition The Inverarity Gallery
which opened today.
SMEDDUM
is a Scotās word meaning grit, energy, spirit and resourceful courage.
It is also a cultural reference to the landscape I call home, as the title of the 1934 short story written by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, and the tale of a farming family in North East Scotland.
In order to choose a theme for my painting, I laid a Tarot of three, pulled the Seven of Wands, and set to work.
Smeddum represents the seven but with a twist.
In Tarot, the wands are normally considered a masculine suite, but here, we reclaim the totems of perseverance, defiance and courage.
Now more than ever, we women must take back what is rightfully ours, and as coven we have the power to disrupt the status quo.
This painting also symbolizes the collective strength of trees and the ancient wisdom of Celtic mythology, and magick of Scottish Witchcraft.
The Seven represent feminine sovereignty and divine justice.
In line with the ethos of Foggy Bummers, the painting itself is made entirely from repurposed and reclaimed materials.
The wooden picture frame, and mount are flea market finds. Seven itself sits on vintage paper, salvaged from an old photo album.
The rusted plate and tacks, I found when digging on my land, deep in the heart of the forest.
Smeddum is a potent, seven totem of defiance created by a woman of a certain rage.
Original in mixed media of oil and acrylic.
Available exclusively at The Inverarity Gallery.
https://www.inveraritygallery.com/product/smeddum/
