Maeshowe

Maeshowe is one of the most impressive chambered tombs in Orkney.Thought to date from around 2700BC, it is constructed from Orkney flagstones some of which weigh up to 30 tonnes and clay.There is a low entrance passage on the south-west side of the mound which leads into a large central chamber.Three smaller side-cells branch off from the main chamber.

It appears from the outside as a large grassy mound in a field....

Information board......

View from the entrance....

For a few days each year as the midwinter sun drops below the horizon,its rays shine directly on the rear wall of the central chamber-aptly described in George Mackay Brown's poem 'Maeshowe:Midwinter'..

George Mackay Brown was born in Stromness in the Orkney islands in 1921.His first book was published in 1954 and he went on to write many books including plays,novels,short stories and poetry.

His  book of poetry entitled 'Following a Lark' was 'written mainly in praise of the light, and to glorify in a small way the Light behind the light,that gives life and meaning to all the creatures of earth......:

'Maeshowe:Midwinter'

Equinox to Hallowmas,darkness

falls like the leaves. The

tree of the sun is stark.

On the loom of winter,shadows

gather in a web;then the 

shuttle of St Lucy makes a 

pause;a dark weave

fills the loom.

The blackness is solid as a 

stone that locks a tomb.

No star shines there.

Then begins the true ceremony of 

the sun,when the one

last fleeting solstice flame

is caught up by a

midnight candle.

Children sing under a street

lamp,their voices like

leaves of light.

George Mackay Brown Poems

'Following a Lark'

1996

John Murray Publishers,London.

Yggdrasil revisited.....

In my final year of university I made 'Yggdrasil'-a standing stone based on  Norse mythology and after my visit to Orkney.

It stands 132cm high and is a mixed media piece built around a wire frame. The hole is significant- we visited the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness who have a collection of work by Barbara Hepworth including 'Oval Sculpture', from 1943.Having also seen her work at the Hepworth in Yorkshire and studied her at university,her use of form remains inspirational to me.

                          
                      'Oval Sculpture', 1943
 
Margaret Gardiner (1904-2005) ,the founder of the Pier Arts Centre was a close friend of Barbara Hepworth and her second husband Ben Nicholson. Gardiner visited Orkney during the 1950s and established the centre to support art in the islands  and also to act as a venue to display the portion of the private collection she donated.

In the meantime I've started researching for my next body of work &  I came across holed stones-in Penzance,Cornwall but also existing in other locations..'Men a Tol' is derived from the Cornish language meaning 'stone of hole'....

The circular stone is 12 foot in circumference .There are various speculations & stories including that it may be part of a burial chamber or part of a stone circle.Up until the 18th century the holed stone was said to have curative powers and people passed through the stone to cure rickets, rheumatism and tuberculosis. It was also considered to be an astronomical device for solar cycles and a symbolic site in fertility rites.....

I have a strong feeling that the stones are going to remain important in my work....a case of the rolling stones! 

Information was obtained from the following: www.pierartscentre.com/permanentcollection.html

www.pznow.co.uk/historic1/holedstones.html

 

Sketchbooks & Scribbles....

We managed to squeeze in a couple of days away in Yorkshire over the Bank Holiday-helped by the fact that Scottish schools had 2 days off....
The sun shone-yes,on a Bank Holiday-two words not normally mentioned in the same sentence!The children played down by the river and it was just great to be able to relax in the warmth for a change....Breakfast and lunch out on the decking...and chance to reflect on my sketchbooks.

I keep a growing collection of sketchbooks in which I capture ideas,thoughts,techniques,quotes,experiments etc. One journal I use primarily for writing in-and others for mark-making. What I've done over the last couple of days is go through a pile of my written journals and some sketchbooks -capturing ideas that continue to interest me and may appear in some format in new work. This time those ideas have been put into thumbnail sketches in an A4 sketchbook....

 
These sketches are from my Orkney sketchbook.....

These pages are slightly more chaotic and include quotes,rock art ,symbols and ideas......They'll be used as a concise reference and also as a reminder of ideas for pieces that come ...and go if they are not captured........ 

Standing Stones....

It's only three weeks until Spring Fling so I'm busy making lists and more lists of jobs that need doing.Phil the Framer on Buccleugh St ,Dumfries is doing a fantastic job on framing some of my pieces. They can really finish a piece of work and show something off to it's full potential. There will be some pieces unframed as it is preferable for some people to frame a piece to their own taste and surroundings.

I've been enjoying working with watercolours,gouache ,acrylic inks and watersoluble graphite  pencils.A key subject are the standing stones on Orkney......

    

Broch of Gurness

Another hectic weekend over ,chores done and back to preparation for Spring Fling.My trip to Orkney continues to inspire ...
Excavations in the early 20th century revealed the Broch of Gurness at Evie on the Mainland.Dating from around 100BC,the Iron Age broch was originally built as a tall and easily defended tower.
Around the broch was a sprawl of stone dwellings,enclosed by outer defences.As time passed and the defensive role deceased,upper sections were dismantled most probably to provide building material for the surrounding village. The structure that remains today is at its maximum,3.5m tall with a solid base.Within the broch is an underground chamber containing a spring-filled water tank.

I decided to do a loose watercolour and gouache work based on the plan view of the settlement.

                 
                 'Broch of Gurness'
                 Watercolour,  gouache,acrylic ink
                 on watercolour paper