Sculptor and teacher, John Cumming was born in Burra Isle, Shetland in 1947, As a sculptor he has exhibited widely, both in Scotland and overseas, and was one of the subjects of a Channel 4 film Shorelines.
In 2003, in collaboration with Frances Pelly and Christine De Luca, he created a portfolio of poems in Shetland dialect and woodcuts, entitled Hansel, which was shown in the Pier Arts Centre, Stromness and in Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale, Shetland. Since then the cooperative has gone on to other projects.
In 1997 John’s illustrated children’s book Peerie Boat won the Shetland Literary Prize and in 2003 the short story, Kevin, won him the Rhoda Bulter prize for dialect writing.
John Cumming lives and works in Stromness, Orkney, with his wife Fiona, who is also a founder member of the cooperative.