Newport-On-Tay, Scotland, United Kingdom
Rio is an illustrator, sculptor, and painter. In 2021 she was commissioned to create a 10ft whale out of recycled material for COP26. Her practice is varied and she is currently heading a small team of creatives under the name ‘Festival Arts Collective’ making large scale festival puppets. She has created sculptures for various art trails including Oor Bowie 2016, Peacock Penguin 2018, Oor Freddie 2019, Woodland Spirit 2019 and Brave Wee Boy 2019. In 2022 her sculpture Wildlife Warrior (which was part of Giraffe About Town Trail) could be seen at Waverley Station in Edinburgh. It was sponsored by Highland Wildlife Park. She is currently working on several Sculptures for ‘Bears Big Adventure’ in various locations yet to be disclosed in Perthshire over the summer of 2026. On behalf of Wild in Art and Historic Royal Palaces Rio translated a design by Corpus Christi Primary School Glasgow onto a Coronation Bench (Throne) in 2022. Only 15 designs were chosen from across the UK these were then displayed at the Tower of London from the 4th May to the 22nd September 2022 to mark the Coronation of King Charles III. In 2024 Rio was commissioned by CHAS to be the Artist Coordinator for ‘The Hairy Highland Coo Trail’ which saw 30 individually painted sculptures located through Perth and Perthshire over the summer of 2024. Rio was previously Artist Coordinator for ‘Scotties by the Sea’ which culminated in an auction raising monies for Maggies in November 2023. (St Andrews Day). They raised £256,600 for Maggies. Her business names are Kitchimama and Festival Arts Collective. Rio is an experienced tutor with a demonstrated history of working in the museums and institutions industry. She is currently employed as a Freelance Artist by the DCA in Dundee on their Art at the Start program and Family Art Club. Community engagement and the benefits of Art on mental health and well being are key to her practise. Skilled in Customer Service, Communication, Problem Solving, Leadership, and Project Management. Strong arts and design professional with a Bachelor of Arts - BA focused in Illustration from University of Brighton. Courses: Introduction to Community Action Course with the Eden Project (Summer 2024). The Circle Academy Cohort 6 Programme.
Freelance Artist working with YMCA Tayside on their ‘Bear’s Big Adventure Trail’ maintaining the sculptures up until their Auction in the Autumn.
Creating Large Scale Puppets and Sculptural pieces for Events and Performances.
Artist Coordinator for the project ‘The Hairy Highland Coo Trail’. For ten weeks in summer 2024, a herd of 30 Highland Coo’s took over Perth and Kinross, each individually designed and painted by talented artists.
Excited to have been part of the ‘Scotties by the Sea’ Team. The art trail raised £256,600 for Maggie’s in Dundee.