Every parent feels their child is something special: great at sport, dance, academically gifted. Val Johnston falls into the category of proud mum of talented young artist Honor. And after meeting Honor, I’m with Val. She’s something special.
Glasgow Art News
By Tracy Mukherjee
‘Every child is an artist’, said Pablo Picasso. ‘The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.’ For fifteen-year-old West End artist Honor Johnston, however, no such problems should arise. Honor and mum Val speak to me one rainy Friday afternoon, but the passion with which Honor speaks of her work brings sunshine to the day.
Honor tells me she has loved art for as long as she can remember, drawing and painting from being a toddler. Nothing unusual in that. But as she got older, Val could see that her daughter was indeed gifted. ‘Even when she was very young, she was creating amazing works of art,’ says Val. ‘The house is full of them.’
But it was only when Lockdown reared its ugly head that Honor’s talent really started to bloom. ‘I’m a perfectionist,’ says Honor, ‘I wouldn’t be happy with my work if even there was a small dot out of place.’ Honor started to experiment with different mediums of art, different materials and found her self designing corsets and ballgowns. ‘I’m inspired by Victoriana,’ she says. ‘I love looking at historical fashion.’
With huge support from her school, Kelvinside Academy, she’s worked on the sets and props for the school shows and music festivals. She’s also creating headpieces and banners for Macbeth with Paisley Opera, as she had with Scottish Opera in summer 2024. Always wanting to experiment and with innovation being part of her school’s ethos, Honor has made gowns out of cardboard, seashells and paper. Her mum speaks highly of the school’s support. ‘She gets so much encouragement and support from her teachers and from her older peers.’
Inspiration
The school’s belief in Honor is key to her success and indeed her confidence. Having been unwell as a toddler, Honor has found some areas of her learning difficult. She has dyslexia, dyscalculia and short term memory problems. Yet in her innovation and art class, she excels. Recently Honor created a ballgown styled with hundreds of tiny roses, each taking over 20 minutes to make and all from the pages of books. Modelled by Honor in the Kibble Palace, her dress looks like a piece of Alexander McQueen couture.
In terms of inspiration, Honor is constantly researching and following designers and artists online, her favourites being Tomas Hammar, Kim Black and Dimitra Milan. With regular visits to our local galleries – GoMA, The Hunterian and Kelvingrove, city breaks with the family usually include an art gallery or two. Honor loves the London art scene and has just returned from visiting the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Her Scottish art heroes? Ken Currie after seeing his exhibition in An Lanntair, Alice McMurrough, and finally Gerard Burns, after being bowled over by his home Christmas exhibition, which Honor was delighted to be invited to.
Recognition
As well as winning many school art awards, recently Honor entered the Glasgow 850 celebration Christmas card competition. The competition was open to Glasgow Senior School children who were asked to create a card that celebrates Glasgow’s 850th birthday. To her delight, she won and her design will now grace the commemorative Lord Provost’s card this year.
Honor was invited for tea with the Lord Provost and renowned Artist Gerard Burns at the city chambers on the 14th of November. Both The Lord Provost and Gerard Burns had chosen Honor’s card as the winner. She loved the day, and got to see some of Gerard’s work in the City Chambers. With the talent she has, it won’t be long before her own work is gracing the Chambers hallowed halls!
A Bright Future
It’s clear that this West End girl is going to have an amazing career in art and design. With her commitment to honing her talent, she dreams of attending Glasgow School of Art one day. With such a supportive school and parents, she isn’t short of cheerleaders. When Kelvinside Academy asked their students to look for work experience in the field they want to study, Honor knew who she wanted to contact. She follows the work of Stuart Duffin RSA at The Glasgow Print Studio in the Merchant City and reached out to ask if they could help. She has now secured a week of work experience under the guidance of the working artists there.
With such a drive to learn, to innovate, to create, Honor it would seem is bound for great things. Westender Magazine adds their voices to her supporters, her parents, her school. Good luck with all you do Honor. Remember to speak to me when you’re exhibiting at The Tate!
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