I returned to Edinburgh from four years in Nigeria, aged 30. The experience I had had there of running my own art department and the amazing work that the students had produced had made me decide that I wouldn't, couldn't, return to school teaching in the UK. I would have to have a go at surviving on my own art or failing that, do something else. I managed to secure a number of sculpture commissions mainly for housing developments, in Hamilton, Galashiels and Tweedbank, being built by the Scottish Special Housing Association. Being married with three children it was tough going. I was getting work but money was short. I had to think about another way to do the work I wanted to do - that being to make art for architecture which was, I suppose, the limit of my aspirations at that time. I had read that artists had worked for the architect's department of London County Council and one or two new towns, so I wrote to several towns in Scotland suggesting that they employ me as their artist. Some towns replied saying 'thank you but no thanks' and others said that it was a good idea but there was no money for such an appointment. Others did not bother to reply. However serendipity took over when some time later Glenrothes, a new town in Fife, decided to seek out and employ an artist. The idea came from the Chief Architect and Planning Officer of the town, Merlyn Williams, and his deputy, John Coghill. They simply believed that it was a natural thing that an artist should work with the architects and other professions in creating a new town. I discovered later that some senior figures in Glenrothes Development Corporation did not share this belief but most, I believe, were won over as time went on. When I read the advertisement in 'The Scotsman' newspaper I had a feeling that this was 'my job' and that I would get it. I was interviewed with three other applicants and was offered the post, I think, because I was able to convince the interview panel through the work I had already done that I was very committed to the possibilities that the job offered. My contract stated that I had to 'retire on the day before I reached the age of 65!' But what was the job? That question has intrigued many people. Even today people talk about it being 'progressive; 'forward looking.' The job description stated that the artist would, 'contribute to the external built environment of the town', but it also said that the artist would be called upon for other things such as graphic design (probably a concession to the doubters). I resolved not to do any graphic design work.

I became a member of the Planning Department and, later, was expected to attend planning meetings for new developments in the town. This meant I had a voice at the inception of planning briefs that were then passed on to the various design groups - housing, factories, offices, engineering and landscape. This was clearly an innovative, and possibly unique, role for an artist in the UK at that time and although I would not claim to have had a major influence at these planning stages, nevertheless the precedent had been set and, in time, a clause was inserted into all planning briefs which stated that, 'the artist is to be consulted at every stage of development.' In this and in other respects, that of creating precedents for artists to be directly involved in planning, urban design and architecture, the Glenrothes experience was important and, later, other towns took up these ideas.

I moved with my family from Edinburgh to Glenrothes and chose to live in a rented council house in the town. This was crucially important as it allowed me to experience new town living as most other people experienced it. A common criticism of architects was that, while they were quite happy to design council houses for others, they would never themselves live in one. My office/studio was originally in the Development Corporation headquarters but I managed to secure a large studio in the corporation workshops among the plumbers, joiners bricklayers and other trades. Later I was to become a member of UCATT, the building workers union. All of these things were connected to the notion I had of identifying with the people of the town and that the artist was not necessarily a special person, part of an elite. This was the artist as artisan. The bricklayers were skilled in one way and I in others.

As an artist I had already developed what could be described as a 'contextual' practice in responding to the local, be it social or physical, when making public art works. This was reinforced even more by my work in Nigeria, where I believed it would be wrong to impose European cultural modes of expression on my students. I certainly wanted to contribute as an artist to the developing built environment of the town but was also concerned to create opportunities for other townspeople to do so as well. The early new towns, of which Glenrothes was one being designated in 1949, were mostly built on greenfield sites with the citizenry imported. Thus new communities were struggling to form with little shared history and tradition and often with broken extended-family relationships. It seemed to me that one of the areas in which an artist could operate was in creating memorable landmarks within the fairly uniform housing areas and the incorporation of 'marks', however small, by local people. I organised groups of primary school children into modelling in relief their own individual ceramic tiles and signing them on the front. These were then fired and cemented by the children themselves onto walls adjacent to their local play areas. Secondary school pupils and adults painted murals and participated in other art projects. In one of these I contrived, with some necessary subterfuge, a situation in which tenants were able to choose the colours of their own front doors.

Children cementing their tiles to a wall. 1970 Click to view large image [opens pop up window]