deirdre nelson

2010-10-30T03:55:00.005+01:00

look at http://dstitch.blogspot.com/ for deirdres latest blog and recent projects.

stay here if you want to find out more about an artist residency exploring knitted birds,Handa island and Cape Breton.

2007-10-29T10:38:00.002Z

2007-10-16T19:37:00.000+01:00

the birds are getting ready to fly

2007-10-15T23:03:00.000+01:00

I am now getting very excited about my trip to cape breton and in meeting nancy and the kids at sydney river elementary school ..

beautiful photos of cape breton : http://www.paulillsley.com/ns/capebreton/

2007-10-01T06:43:00.000+01:00

In october 2007 deirdre will be travelling to sydney in cape breton and will meet with the teacher and school involved in the birdie exchange. She will attend an arts education conference and speak about her work and related education work.

2007-04-15T06:19:00.000+01:00

wings of flight

12th april 2007

As a result of the 'birdies' artistic exchange Sydney river elementary school Cape Breton exhibit their bird prints and paintings and the work of Sutherland pupils.

http://www.cbv.ns.ca/elemweb/sriver/art_gallery_2006-2007.htm#Wings_of_Flight_Art_Show_

2006-11-28T23:18:00.000Z

is binngach eun na dhoire fhen
sweet sings each bird in its own grove

animation with rm*

http://www.cbv.ns.ca/elemweb/sriver/Handa%20video.htm

http://www.rm-star.com/

The stills from the animation show the end scenes where the flying birdies reach Cape Breton and are greeted by artic terns and the names of the children who originally lived on Handa ( Handa concensus 1841)

2006-11-28T23:01:00.000Z

Serius

artic tern

Serius is said to be the name of the boat people travelled on when
emigrating to Cape breton.
artic tern is a small bird that takes the longest migration of
any bird. Immediately before migration a noisy colony of
birds suddenly becomes quiet and they all take to the air and
fly away. This behaviour is called 'the dread '

2006-11-28T22:44:00.000Z

auks

members of the great sea bird clan

the auk family/ clan members all sat together in the exhibition with labels explaining who they were and a list of inhabitants on Handa in 1841 .. Macloed Tartan labels gave a hint of the clan they are from !

Handa Consensus 1841

Hector Falconer 35 years

Flora 30

Catherine 10

Alex 7

Hughina 5

Mary 3

Alexander Macloed 50

Ann 55

Lucy 10

William Macloed 80

Mary 77

Donald Macloed 30

Mary 25

George 4

George Macleod 60

Ann 55

John 25

Robert 20

Hugh Macloed 30

Lucy 25

Ann 15

Roderickina White 25

Hector Ross 45

John 3

Robert 1

Cathill Kerr 35

Ann 45

John 11

George 9

Isabella 7

William 5

Barbara 3

Barbara White 55

Jean 25

Williamina 20

Diane 15

Barbara 40

Donald 4

Donald Macleod 50

Betty 45

Johnina 25

Neil 20

Hugh 20

Christy 15

Anne 4

2006-11-28T21:14:00.000Z

gillie guillemot

guillemot , member of the great seabird clan
auks are generally poor walkers on land so this has given rise to the saying 'drunk as an auk'

somewhere on Handa island there is a cave, which was said to contain casks of whisky, rum and brandy.

2006-11-28T20:56:00.000Z

bill
razorbill

2006-11-28T11:01:00.000Z

Queenie oystercatcher
Probably the most unusual bird - an albino oystercatcher
with a twisted bill- now resides, stuffed ,in an Edinburgh
museum having died on Handa in 1967

Queen of Handa .. a title bestowed on the oldest widow
on the island. She had the last say in all disputes.

An oystercatchers call is said to resemble the Gaelic
bi glic.. bi glic ...be wise be wise

skua
bonxie
evander

2006-11-28T10:54:00.000Z

2006-11-27T22:39:00.000Z

birdies of weavers bay exhibition

2006-11-22T15:18:00.000Z

birdies of weavers bay

Scourie Village Hall
Scourie
By lairg

Saturday 25th September

2006-11-18T17:55:00.000Z

I have been experimenting with labels for the birds . as the majority of inhabitants on Handa in the concensus of 1841 were Macleod , i have been looking at tartans of the Macleods. this one dates in 1800's so is appropriate .. i hope to print the names of the birds in gaelic on each label.

some of the Macleods on Handa in 1841.. there were 23 in total

alexander macleod 50
ann 55
lucy 10

william macleod 80
mary 77

donald macleod 30
mary 25
george 4

2006-11-17T19:18:00.000Z

i am just finishing the skua ( bonxie) and thinking of calling him Evander (the factor in Scourie).
bonxie come from the norse bunksi, a dumpy bird.

2006-11-17T19:15:00.000Z

made local news again !

http://www.northern-times.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/946/November
_exhibitions_in_Mackay_Country.html

2006-11-12T19:58:00.000Z

bonxie
i am trying now to knit a skua and using black/ brown cheviot wool to make the beast!
fasgadair mor, great one that picks off or destroys vermin.
bonxie comes from the norse bunksi, a dumpy bird. Despite its predatory habits it is believed in Orkney to protect young lambs from eagle and there it is sometimes called the herdsman.

2006-11-12T11:54:00.000Z

a very odd albino oystercatcher with a twisted bill

I have been trying to link idea of the albino oyster catcher found on Handa with the history of Handa.I thought she would make a great queen of Handa the title bestowed on the oldest widow on the island. the queen had the last say in all disputes and this links well with the oystercatchers call which is said to resemble the gaelic 'bi glic ,bi glic' ( be wise be wise)..

i have added some darning in silk to the neck of the bird and she has been knitted from wool spun from cheviot sheep.

2006-11-11T14:48:00.000Z

serius the artic tern

artic tern nearly finished.. i cant decide whether to give him wings as i like the simple shape of him and think the colouring and black head cap distinguishes him as a tern.i have been thinking again about emigration and the migrations of artic terns . Serius is the name of one of the boats which took people to Cape Breton.

2006-11-11T14:23:00.000Z

thinking again about the importance of the birds as a source of food i have found some more information on the catching of birds in St kilda using hemp and horsehair ropes .

The men often worked in small groups, descending the highest cliffs in stages using long ropes of hemp or horsehair. The women and children often helped deal with the catch at the cliff-top. The lower sections of cliff were scaled from a boat. Snares made of horsehair were employed to catch auks, one woman catching 127 Atlantic puffins in three hours and another 280 in a day! Nooses attached to long poles extended the reach of the fowlers, while Atlantic puffin eggs could be scooped out of burrows easier with a spoon on the end of a stick. Dogs were also useful in catching adult Atlantic puffins and shearwaters, a good one catching 60 or 70 in one night. Harvests were divided up amongst the community, the birds being plucked and dried for the winter; feathers and oil contributed to the rent. Latterly, some St Kildans sold eggs and stuffed birds as souvenirs to tourists

2006-11-11T14:15:00.000Z

man with snared puffins in the faroes

2006-11-11T14:05:00.000Z

puffin gin

when i was in Edinbirgh museum i found what is called a 'puffin gin' a rope used for snaring puffins..

Finlay Gillies catching puffins

'Snaring puffins

'When we reached a point some five or six hundred feet up, our boat,
which we could see tossing on the waves below, looked like a little
chip. Nothing was visible of her except her gunwale and seats, upon
which were three small figures - our friend Mr Young, and a man and a
boy who had been left in charge.

I got Finlay Gillies to lay a Puffin snare on a rock which jutted out
seawards, and was considered the favourite spot on all the St Kilda
group of islands for the sport. Before he laid the engine of destruction
down, the crag had been covered with birds; but the sight of the bit of
rope, weighted at either end with a stone and crowded with horse-hair
nooses in the middle, made them fight shy of it for a while as they flew
past in perfect clouds.

By-and-by one individual, bolder than the rest, alighted on the rock,
and with an air of foolish curiosity commenced to step along sideways
towards where the snare was set. He pulled several of the nooses about
with his beak, and after examining them for awhile grew bolder. Poor
bird! his inquisitiveness cost him something; for in the course of his
investigations one of his feet slipped through a noose, and when he came
to lift his leg he discovered that he was a prisoner. He contested his
captivity with great spirit and vigour, to the fright of all the other
members of his species that kept on flying close past in a continuous
and exhaustless stream, until he became either weary of the struggle or
convinced of its uselessness, and rolled over upon his side.

Whilst the captive remained quite still several birds alighted beside
him, but directly he stirred they all promptly decamped. They were soon
back again, however, and fell to poking about and examining the snare,
at which pastime they were solemnly engaged until their relative in
bondage had regained his breath and began to beat his wings violently.
At this they started up to fly away, but one of them suddenly discovered
that he was unable to do so. He had become inextricably entangled, and
without the slightest ado set about his fellow-prisoner, evidently
thinking that he was the author of all the mischief.

After they had fought and argued, argued and fought, alternately, over
the matter for several minutes, they effected a temporary reconciliation
and lay on their sides quite still. Presently the other Puffins came
back, and alighting, looked on in gaping wonderment, everyone, however,
taking flight in the most precipitate manner directly either of the
entangled birds stirred.

In a little while two more Tammy Nories became fast, and fought with
their companions in misfortune precisely as these had done with each other.

Finlay Gillies stepped along the crag, and sitting down upon one of the
stones securing the snare- with as much, and probably far more,
composure than he would have shown in a studio - had his portrait taken,
along with that of the birds he had secured, in a position from which
the slightest slip would have meant a headlong plunge of five hundred
feet into the ocean below. Some idea may be gathered of the nature of
the place when it is stated that the photographer had to be held
securely by a rope whilst making the study.

Two of the Puffins were secured by both legs, one by a leg and its neck,
and another by one leg only.Each piece of rope carries about forty snares upon it, and seven or
eight Puffins are sometimes caught at a single haul. In Martin's time
the natives caught forty or fifty birds a day with a snare, but one
woman has been known recently to kill as many as two hundred and eighty,
and another one hundred and twenty-seven in three hours.

In former days these snares must have been made very much stronger than
they are now and fastened down with extraordinary security, if we are to
believe a story recorded by our old friend Martin, on the authority of
the folks who lived at the time he visited St Kilda. A fowler whilst
setting one of these snares accidentally got one of his toes entangled
in a noose, and being thereby tripped to a fall went over the edge of a
precipice, and spent the following night hanging upside down with
nothing but one hundred and twenty feet of thin air betwixt himself and
the sea below. The snare, it is pleasant to relate, proved equal to the
strain; and such was the endurance of the fowler that he was recovered
alive, and lived for many a day to tell the tale of his remarkable
adventure'.

glasgow digital library

http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/keacam/keacam0305.htm

2006-11-05T22:22:00.000Z

2006-11-05T22:16:00.000Z

i have begun making an artic tern and have been looking at its migration. each bird i have made has closed wings but i may make this one with wings spread and possibly a patch of tartan on them

2006-11-05T12:01:00.000Z

guillemot now stuffed
he is a slightly odd shape but hes got lots of character ..
and is a bit slender due to lack of sandeels!.

2006-11-05T10:29:00.000Z

another aspect of the work has been a collaboration with rm* animators
http://www.rm-star.com/ . ( recent winners of scotttish style tastemakers award http://www.scottishstyleawards.co.uk/categories.php)

we have been discussing aspects of my research and of the childrens work and are coming up with ideas for a short animation exploring emigration from handa to cape breton. We are also exploring colour (relating to maps and landscape )and texture ( knitting / tartan ) This will be the third collaboration

http://rm-star.com/showreel

2006-11-03T17:52:00.000Z

i am nearly finished knitting a guillemot now .. i hope i have got the shape of the long neck.

i have been thinking of the word guillemot and discovered that guillemot derives from guillaume the old french spelling of William.

Pennant wrote of them in 1768 'foolish guillemots are found in amazing numbers on the high cliffs of our coasts.. they are simple for notwithstanding they are shot at , and see their companions killed by them, they will not quit the rock'

i have made him quite skinny as i had been reading about hungry guillemots

Starving guillemots hint at seabird crisis

,Reports of hundreds of dead or starving young seabirds around Scotland - including some many miles from the coast - and Northern Ireland are leading to speculation among experts that these incidents may be linked to a much larger problem.

Staff from several organisations, including the RSPB, are assessing the extent of the situation. Most of the casualties are guillemots - a type of seabird.

Post mortems on the birds shown that many of the birds are underweight and have empty stomachs, suggesting they are suffering from a chronic shortage of food. Sandeels are a principal prey for guillemots and many other seabirds.

Dr Euan Dunn, head of marine policy for the RSPB, said: 'Able to dive 300 feet for fish prey, guillemots are massively buffered against scarcity, so evidence of starvation signals a desperate lack of food.

'Food shortage has reared its ugly head in a number of guillemot colonies in recent years, but the breadth and scale of these reports of starving birds is more troubling'

'Food shortage has reared its ugly head in a number of guillemot colonies in recent years, but the breadth and scale of these reports of starving birds is more troubling.'

Counts of seabird colonies around Scotland and in Northern Ireland have revealed that they have had another disastrous year with food shortages leading to a low recruitment of young birds.

Commenting on the potential impacts of climate change affecting UK seabirds, the RSPB's Conservation Director, Dr Mark Avery, said: 'The seas surrounding the British Isles are among the most productive in the world and, despite decades of overfishing, they still support internationally important seabird colonies. ,

http://www.rspb.org.uk/action/guillemots.asp

2006-11-03T17:40:00.000Z

when looking through some of the archive material i found some bird notes and images in a folder called Edna Dawson.

It was full of notes relating to birds of the area and lists of birds spotted

.

2006-11-03T10:51:00.000Z

before i left scourie i was given a bird book which had been on Handa .. its al ovely book with records and images of all the birds. each bird has been ticked as it was spotted.

2006-11-02T17:00:00.000Z

i visited edinburgh museum in search of the albino oystercatcher from Handa.. it must be behind the scenes ! i did see alot of birds in cases including a case of albino birds.

2006-11-02T16:58:00.000Z

i have been thinking again about using gaelic in some way with the work and have been trying to think of titles for the exhibition ..i found a few sayings relating to birds

bha gaidhlig aig na h-eoin
the birds spoke gaelic

is binngach eun na dhoire fhen
sweet sings each bird in its own grove

eisdibh ris nah-eoin
listen to the birds

2006-10-22T15:31:00.000+01:00

i have just had some photographs developed which were taken on Handa with George the knitted puffin ..

George Mackay of Handa
apparently there was a man called George mackay who had 21 children ( and one wife!).. he was so attractive that all the women were always asking if he were married!

2006-10-20T22:39:00.000+01:00

i have been experimenting with different backgrounds and maps of the area of Scourie and Handa

2006-10-20T22:35:00.000+01:00

i have been preparing the pupils birds for printing onto postcards. these will be sent on their journey to Cape Breton ..

2006-10-18T18:12:00.000+01:00

i have been looking at emmigration lists again in a book called 'after the Hector' the scottish poineers of nova scotia and cape breton 1773 - 1852.. by Lucille H. Campey

i came across some passenger lists from earlier emmigrations ( than the people from Handa) each occupation is listed .. its seems that all the womens occupations were listed as 'spinsters'.. i didn't know being a spinster was an occupation !!!

on a sadder note on some passenger lists 'cause of emmigration' was listed ...

farm taken from him
rent raised but could not live by it
want of employment

2006-10-18T04:34:00.000+01:00

i have had another e.mail from Nancy the art teacher in Cape Breton with some images of her grandfather. its great to think that her personal family research is carrying on over there .

'I have included a photograph of my grandfather James Murdock McLean , when he was a tailor in Inverness Nova Scotia and also a portrait of him with his first wife. Dad has a paper that suggests that an ancestor left Lock Broom in 1803 when she was 2 years old. It says that she was kept nursing so that her passage would not have to be paid. and it says that she came over on theHector....Did the Hector make more voyages ?

it is interesting that her grandfather was a tailor. this ties in well with childrens stitched birds

2006-10-17T22:32:00.000+01:00

local news!!

http://www.northern-times.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/753/
Knitted_birds_in_link_with_Nova_Scotia.html

2006-10-17T21:46:00.000+01:00

before leaving sutherland i was told a story about a local woman who had a wooden box with letters from those who had travelled to Cape Breton . she had collected stamps from the letters.
this lead me to find images of cape breton stamps of the 1850's and i am now thinking of ways i can use this.

2006-10-16T14:42:00.000+01:00

2006-10-16T14:29:00.000+01:00

today i have been organising the images of the childrens work to prepare them for printing onto postcards.

2006-10-15T20:51:00.000+01:00

i arrived back in glasgow tonight and will take some time to aclimatise to the city again! i will continue to blog as the birds are in progress.

2006-10-11T23:23:00.000+01:00

'every fourth stork is Polish'

2006-10-11T08:48:00.000+01:00

i have been thinking about emigration and immigrants in this country. there is a large population of Polish now living in this area so i am beginning to think of ways i can incorporate this into the work. looking at Polish birds i discovered that storks are an important bird there. i am not sure that i can knit one though!!

Each spring, Poland welcomes home roughly 25 percent of the nearly 325,000 white storks (scientific name Ciconia ciconia) that breed in Europe. When the storks return from their wintering grounds in Africa, they are attracted to tall trees or buildings where they build nests that often weigh up several tons. People sometimes attach wagon wheels to rooftops and barns or tall poles near buildings in hopes of luring the birds to nest near their homes. Today, telecommunications companies put up special poles and nest supports for the storks.

Nearly 41 thousand “couples” of the 160 thousand worldwide breed in Poland,

thus, “every fourth stork is Polish.”

2006-10-09T21:30:00.000+01:00

a friend has sent me a link to an american knitting group .. http://www.knittaplease.com/Home.html

Knitta began in August 2005, when AKrylik and PolyCotN were discussing their frustration over unfinished knitting projects: half-knitted sweaters and balls of yarn gathering dust. That afternoon, they knit their first doorknob cozy. Then it dawned on them… A tag crew of knitters, bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art, wrapped around everything from beer bottles on easy nights to public monuments and utility poles on more ambitious outings. With a mix of clandestine moves and gangsta rap — Knitta was born! Today, Knitta is a group of more than 10 ladies of all ages, races, nationalities, religions, sexual orientation… and gender.

and another interesting knitting link.......

http://obsessiveconsumption.com/movabletype/archives/2006/10/for_my_obsessiv.html

2006-10-06T14:58:00.000+01:00

i have now completed school work and am beginning to pull all the imagery together for printing onto postcards. these will be returned to the school and each child can write message to be sent to cape breton.
i now have one week left in Sutherland on my residency but will continue blogging when back home in glasgow. ( possibly more efficiently as i will be back to broadband internet!) i will also continue to knit !

2006-10-03T12:16:00.000+01:00

this is a knitted piece from an artist called rachael gomme

'In making work about waiting, one of my aims was to make concrete the time spent waiting which often ‘disappears’ when the thing awaited arrives. This is How Long is a cumulative performative knitting piece. For a residency in London, I knitted each time I waited for public transport. Each different-coloured section thus marked and materialised a time of waiting. Each time I returned to the gallery for which the piece was made I hung the work, marking on the wall the times and places where I had waited.'

i have been thinking of the time invested in making and how often i am never sure how long it has taken me to make work. i should begin to document the time involved in the next bird .

2006-10-03T11:44:00.000+01:00

i have now finished work in the schools. it has become an important part of the residency with each child making a bird. the birds are fantastic and each has its own personal characteristics.

an image of each bird will be sent to cape breton on a postcard......over 60 bird cards will be posted

2006-10-03T06:14:00.000+01:00

i found great websites with quirky knitting

http://www.donnawilson.com/

http://www.freddierobins.com/#

2006-10-01T13:33:00.000+01:00

i have been looking at albino birds trying to decide whether to make the oystercatchers eyes, legs and bills pink.

'You can get what are called albino birds, although they are unusual. Most albinos have normal coloured eyes, bills and legs, but their feathers have no colour pigmentation making them completely white. Very rarely true albino birds are seen. In addition to white feathers, these have pink beaks, eyes and legs.'

2006-10-01T12:59:00.000+01:00

i have started the legs of the oystercatcher making them from pink twine found on the beach. when trying to find images of the birds legs and feet i came across some information on damage to oystercatchers legs and feet from sheeps wool

'One of the distressing aspects of getting close to Oystercatchers is discovering the high proportion that have injuries to their feet and legs, caused by their becoming entangled with sheeps' wool on their breeding grounds (mostly in the uplands of England, Scotland, the Faeroe Islands, Iceland and Norway). Sometimes ringers are able to help the birds by removing the wool, but usually it is too late. The birds seem to be able to adapt to this and there are many long-lived examples.'

2006-10-01T12:04:00.000+01:00

cheviot wool sock bird hanging on the line to dry!

2006-09-30T16:53:00.000+01:00

i have had a message from Nancy the art teacher in Cape Breton who i am arranging an artistic exchange with . originally we had thought that her ancestors had travelled on the' Hector' travelling from Loch Broom...

'I was talking about this connection , with my Dad , who is 83, and how interesting it was that you are close to Loch Broom , where our ancestors came from . I also questioned him about them coming over on the Hector as that was what I had always been told. Anyway Dad then said he wasn't sure on that now.... so I 've been going back through the family records as I never really questioned it before now. And so I must set the record straight..... The Hector sailed in 1773.......my great, great grandfather Murdock MacLean, was born in Loch Broom in 1782 , his wife , Mary Innis born in Loch Broom, 1801......needless to say, they didn't quite make that boat!!Their first child, Rodrick Mclean was born in Riverdale , Nova Scotia in 1820, my great grandfather , Murdock MacLean was born 2 years later. I am not certain when the family left Scotland. My grandfather, James Murdock Maclean, was the only one in his family to live in Cape Breton. He started out as a tailor,working in the coal mining town of Inverness in the Cape Breton Highlands. '

2006-09-30T11:49:00.000+01:00

the knitting begins again!

the spun cheviot wool is a bit thicker than the other wools i have been using so this bird should move a bit quicker! schools work is coming to a close so i will have more time to work on my knitting ! originally i had thought that i would knit all the birds in cheviot wool as this would tie in so well with the history of the area. i decided to knit them using accurate colours to the actual birds as i felt that this would make art work which could be used in some way as a learning resource and remain with the community for that purpose.. knitting solely with cheviot wool may be something to explore as a development from this project.

2006-09-30T10:18:00.000+01:00

i am now attempting to knit an albino oystercatcher using wool spun from the cheviot sheep.
oystercatcher,gaelic names gille brighde, drilleachan, dollaid.
gille brighde servant of st bridget, onomatopoeic name,
dolaid means impatient

the call is said to resemble the gaelic ' bi glic, bi glic', ( be wise be wise ) appropriate for a bird under the protection of the patron saint of birds st bride

2006-09-29T19:41:00.000+01:00

details of some of my previous work with knit have been uploaded to a knitting website

http://www.bhkc.co.uk/data/knitted_textile_artists.htm#Deirdre

2006-09-29T18:47:00.001+01:00

razorbill finally finished!

2006-09-28T17:34:00.000+01:00

i am just adding legs and feet to the razorbill and will be soon finished another bird. the feet and legs are made form black twine found on scourie beach

2006-09-28T02:57:00.000+01:00

'Probably the most unusual bird - an albino oystercatcher with a twisted bill - now resides, stuffed, in an Edinburgh museum having died on Handa in 1967'

an albino oystercatcher may be a good bird to make next! i have been thinking i may use some of the wool spun from cheviot sheep for this . a twisted red bill and pink legs from twine and fishing line would be a good contrast.. it will also be a good odd bird to put in amongst the others.. perhaps to represent the queen of Handa.

2006-09-26T15:18:00.000+01:00

i have been taking alot of photographs of the children working on their birds and also filming myself stitching and knitting. i am also interested in the making of fishing nets and would be interested in filming nets being made.

knitting and netting.

netting needles

2006-09-24T11:24:00.000+01:00

at the beginning of the residency i was interested in trying to link with cape breton in some way though an artist exchange with a school . i had been thinking about ideas of migration of birds and emigration to cape breton / nova scotia . through contacts made in Canada from a visit last year i was able to get possible contacts in cape breton .. we put out some information to teachers in the area and i had a reply from a teacher whose ancestors were on the ship the Hector one of the first boats to take imigrants from this area. she is an arts teacher in the area working in different schools and an exchange with sutherland is also of personal interest to her . she is interested in working with Sydney elementary school in Sydney Cape Breton http://www.cbv.ns.ca/elemweb/sriver/

the children in this area have been working with birds (drawing and making ) and i hope to photograph these birds and create postcards. the children will then send them to Cape Breton. i hope this will provide a positive link for the future and create further links and exchanges between the two areas. as a result of the workshops we will have over 60 birds. 64 people left Handa and although some did not emigrate , it will make a good link to this.

2006-09-22T17:16:00.000+01:00

i have been working in the local schools making birds . in one school the children have not been working with sea birds and the birds of Handa but local birds in the area. each child has chosen a bird to represent themselves depending on their characteristics. the girl who is making this red grouse plays computer games all the time so she decided to be a 'game' bird. they have been making the birds from felt and then stitching and following some of the techniques i have used to make beaks and feet.

2006-09-19T22:00:00.000+01:00

darning eggs

2006-09-19T21:44:00.000+01:00

darning the knitted birds will make another link to the human aspects of knitting /people on Handa

2006-09-19T21:09:00.000+01:00

today i have been trying to finish the head of the razorbill and add the eyes. the beak and eyes are stitched with black twine collected from the beach

i have been adding the white stripe by darning silk thread into the knitting . this ties in well with ideas of making the heads of the birds by using techniques involved with turning the heel of socks .

2006-09-19T12:24:00.000+01:00

i have eventually got the image i wanted onto the blog but the wrong way round ! this image related to my previous blog about the potatoes and the saying 'you'd think it was a famine'. the potatoes have been lazer cut with text .

2006-09-19T06:43:00.000+01:00

i have been trying to load photos today with not much luck so will try again later . i have been busy working in schools for a few weeks working with the children to create birds. each child has chosen a bird to represent themselves and is exploring drawing and making of the bird.. we hope to make an exchange with Cape Breton in the form of postcards which can be sent over to a school there with information about the children and the area . this links well with the history of emigration from Handa to that area but also provides a positive experience for young people . the teacher involved has told me that her ancestors travelled on the 'Hector' which travelled to that area from sutherland bringing the first immigrants from this area.

the razorbill is just getting some last minute adjustments and i hope to have him ready this week!

2006-09-17T21:20:00.000+01:00

i have just been to Belfast to 'interface' a new textile research centre. http://www.interface.ulster.ac.uk/

i had been there earlier in the year to do a masterclass called contemporary souvenir. taking irish souvenirs as a subject we experimented using the equipment there ( digital printers and lazer cutting technology) we spent two days experimenting on all types of materials food in my case as i was thinking of souvenirs as memories from holidays (taste ,smell ,sounds also) i was lazer cuting lettering onto all sorts!.. potato bread, wheaten bread etc.
this visit was a continuation of the process . i started experimenting with potatoes, (a staple of irish cuisine).. i was also thinking aobut the potato famine and this ties in well with my residency here also. people left handa at a time of famine and arrived in cape breton with famine there also.

i was printing onto potatoes with aran knitted patterns and also lazer cutting text onto potatoes. we were trying to think of ways that this experimental work could be translated into 'souvenir' products .. i started to think of a saying to do with the famine.. we often say 'you'd think it was a famine' if people have over eaten at a meal or bought too much food . i started to think about the idea of shopping bags with imagery text related to this.

the theme of the potatoes could also lead to more experimental installation work .

2006-09-12T22:53:00.001+01:00

i have been thinking again about the little penguins in knitted jumpers and how i could link that idea with the birds of Handa

these jumpers are used to help rehabilitate little penguins ( eudyptula minor) that have been oil affected. oil clogs the feathers of these tiny sea going birds and reduces their insulating and waterproofing qualities. even worse the penguins attempt to clean themselves by preening and rapidly become poisoned. www.tct.org.au/jumper#tasmanian

fishermens jumpers were knit with oiled wool so this links well with knitting history and industry of the island.. i could possibly knit a series of jumpers for the birds of Handa or representing the people of Handa in some way.

i have found a knitting pattern for one of the penguin jumpers.

How to Knit a Penguin Jumper

You will need:
8 ply wool
1 pair No 9 needles (3.75)
1 pair No 11 Needles (3.00) Method:

Cast on 36 Stitches
K1 P1 to the end of row
Repeat for 7 rows
Change to K2 P2 and increase on stitch at each end of every row 4 times (44 Stitches)
Continue until work measures 10 CM
Decrease 1 stitch at each end of every row until 28 stitches remain
Decrease 1 stitch in the middle of the next row
Leave on needle or stitch holder
Make second side the same as the first
Using the No 11 needles knit both sides onto these needles and K1 P1 for 22 rows. Cast off.
Stitch up the sides to the beginning on the decreasing to 27 stitches, this is to be left open for each flipper. Stitch up the neck.
The finished jumper should measure 4.5” (115mm) wide and 7.5” (190mm) longIf you are a loose knitter, use smaller needles.

*And remember, the knitting must be firm to prevent the penguins from getting out of them.

2006-09-08T19:03:00.000+01:00

i found this picture of a knitted bird and really like the simplicity of it. i have been thinking again about knitting with wool spun from cheviot sheep and making birds solely from that wool.

I discovered that there was an albino bird on Handa at one time. i could make an albino oystercatcher from the cream wool spun from the cheviot sheep.

'Probably the most unusual bird - an albino oystercatcher with a twisted bill - now resides, stuffed, in an Edinburgh museum having died on Handa in 1967'

2006-09-06T12:12:00.000+01:00

Artic tern is a small bird that takes the longest migration of any bird
It flies over 21,750 miles ( 35,000) each year roughly the circumference of the earth . They live in large groups called colonies

i have been thinking again about migration and emigration and been looking at artic terns. i discovered that 'Immediately before beginning migration a noisy colony of birds suddenly becomes quiet and they all take to the air and fly away this behaviour is called ‘the dread’ i wonder if there was the same 'dread 'before emigrating

2006-09-05T13:32:00.000+01:00

i am still trying to knit a razorbill but am nearly there .. i just have to work out how to do the beak. i have been reading a great book called 'Scottish Birds'. culture and tradition by Robin Hull. It has some great information about the birds and on folklore related to them.

razorbill.. family alcidae, the auks

auks generally are poor walkers on land and this has given rise to the saying 'drunk as an auk'

both guillemot and razorbill have short stiff wings that double up as underwater flippers once they plunge beneath the surface. in france the name for razorbill is 'petit pingouin'

2006-09-04T17:29:00.000+01:00

linking with ideas of local wool and cheviot sheep i am hoping to knit a bird with wool spun by a local spinner

2006-09-02T16:39:00.000+01:00

i have been thinking of a way of presenting the birds i have made and have thought about victorian bird cases.. the era would tie in well with the dates of people leaving Handa.( 1847) there is something quirky and quite sinister about these bird cases. an additional element could be that of sound recordings associated with Handa and the birds .

2006-08-31T11:14:00.000+01:00

i have been thinking today about wool being spun and knit into fishermans sweaters . i will try and find out more about patterns or as to what type of sweaters there were here . i could possibly incorporate that into one of the birds ( if i ever get the razorbill finished!)

2006-08-30T22:58:00.000+01:00

I have been looking at turning the heel of socks as a way of creating curved parts of birds ...the heads in particular. i have been talking to a local lady about the fleeces of sheep being sent off to the spinners and in return they got hanks of wool. This was then knitted into fishermans jumpers and socks.

Heel Flap: 1st row (WS facing): *P1, slip 1; rep from *. End p2. 2nd row: K to end Rep rows 1 and 2 for 2½" (2¾" for men). Heel: 1st row: Slip 1, K 12, K2tog, turn 2nd row: Slip 1, P 7, P2tog, turn 3rd row: Slip 1, K 7, K2tog, turn Rep rows 2 and 3 until there are 8 sts on needle; last row Slip 1, K 6, K2tog

2006-08-29T13:29:00.000+01:00

i am trying to knit a razorbill which is turning out to be quite difficult!if i can knit a puffin i am sure i am do a razorbill also...! i am knitting it with cotton silk and Shetland wool and creating the feet and bill from black twine found on the beach . i hope to make the birds actual size but have realised that there is alot of knitting in a razorbill!

i have been gathering information about each bird

Razorbills live in colonies.

They are very noisy with quarrels disputing territories between neighbours or intruders.

They come on land (rocky cliffs) only to nest, spending the rest of their life at sea.

Females lay one egg onto cliff ledges; its pear shape prevents it from rolling off.

Usually you can see them at the surface of the water flying in colony and making a "V".

As Guillemots, Razorbills dive to obtain food. As Puffins, adults Razorbills can stock some fish in their beak.

Half of the world’s population of razorbills breeds in Britain and Ireland

Ungainly on land and walks with a shuffle but is perfectly at home in the sea where it is an excellent swimmer

It can carry up to a dozen small fish at a time in its beak

Spend winter at sea go as far as the Mediterranean in winter

Circles landing spot several times

2006-08-26T14:50:00.000+01:00

am being attacked by midges today.. think i may make a midge or two. i have been using avon 'skin so soft' to keep them away but am not sure whether it works or not. its great to think all the big butch men around here are wearing avon skin so soft and smelling so sweet!

i was looking up information on midges and came across an e.bay advert .. ebay seem to put anything up to get someone to get to their site.

Scottish Midge

Find Scottish Midge!

Buy Scottish Midge on

eBaywww.ebay.co.uk

2006-08-26T14:45:00.000+01:00

2006-08-26T14:34:00.000+01:00

i found an article about a project in the past where jumpers were being knitted for penguins

'A Port Augusta woman who knits 260 tiny jumpers every year is part of an international effort to save thousands of fairy penguins threatened byoil spills in Australias Bass Strait.
Mrs Betty Gow is part of a loose collective of knitters from around theworld who make and donate the little garments used to protect fairypenguins covered by oil. Rescue teams retrieve the oiled birds from the beaches and they aretreated at the Phillip Island Nature Park Penguin Hospital. The birdsare cleaned, fed and given veterinary care before being released back into the wild.Fellow contributors from around the world provide more than a thousand of the jumpers a year, which are used to cover the birds affected during oils spills.
The penguins, which grow to around 33cm, are often covered in oil fromthe spills as they return to Phillip Island's beaches from the deeperwater of the Strait.The jumpers, when fitted, keep the penguins from preening (picking at their feathers) to remove the oil, which is highly toxic to them. Later they are used to protect them after cleaning, a process that temporarily affects the natural oil keeping the birds warm and waterproof.'

2006-08-25T15:54:00.000+01:00

this has been my source of 'threads' for beaks and feet of the birds.

using found materials washed up from the sea links with the importance of fishing and the sea but also to recycling/ rubbish on the shore .

2006-08-25T15:48:00.000+01:00

when on Handa i found a broken egg with a chick inside on the grass. a skua has possibly taken the egg from the rocks. i have been thinking about making eggs using some of the pale blue fishing line and twine found on the beach in scourie.

2006-08-23T12:40:00.000+01:00

guillemot egg collector

'collecting guillemot eggs involves climbing overthe edge of the cliff and making your way down to the precarious ledges where eggs are found

as well as the obvious danger of falling from a great height into the raging sea you also run the risk of being attacked by guillemots who quite naturally want to keep their eggs from your clutches. such birds assaults may result in cuts and bruises or more seriously in loss of contact between you and the cliff face

the rewards of this task are not many. however the protein provided by regularily eating guillemot eggs make the difference between life and death for your family. the position is therefore only open to the desperate'

worst jobs in history. channel 4

2006-08-22T15:17:00.000+01:00

'self sufficient in their isolation they had organised a tight matriarchial society. it is significant that the queen was the oldest widow of the island for the men of the island risked their lives, fishing and harvesting Handas special asset the seabirds. they climbed for food , birds and eggs for themselves and feathers for trade with the mainland'

2006-08-22T12:31:00.000+01:00

Auk Family guillemots, razorbills and puffins

'members of the great sea bird clan'

I have been thinking about families of birds and families living on Handa. Looking at a consensus of 1841 on Handa i see that many people living on the island at that time were Macleod

I have also been thinking of residents of Handa emigrating and taking their cultural identity with them through language , music/ culture. Although the residents would may not have worn tartan, using tartan may be a contemporary link..

..birds with tartan patches or sneaky bits of tartan under their wings ...

gaelic could feature also.

puffin ......fachach.....razorbill.....coltraiche....guillemot...eun dubh an sgadain

2006-08-22T12:01:00.000+01:00

I have been watching a film on Handa ( Handa Island ,summer RSPB ref 3608 Scottish Screen archive). it is an interesting film with some great footage of the island and the birds. When commenting on the birds there are descriptions of the accomodation of the birds

'luxury apartment ( gulls) or overcrowded slum ( razorbill and guillemots)'

2006-08-21T22:04:00.000+01:00

bog cotton

Handa island

when a coastal area is dangerous,

folklore has it that bog cotton is flagging a warning.

on a visit to Handa i have been photographing and taking small video clips of bog cotton in the wind.

2006-08-21T18:34:00.000+01:00

The stack on Handa.

From a distance you dont realise that there are so many birds on the stack . apparently there are 90,000 guillemots on Handa.. They along with the other birds are the current tenants of Handa..in my first visits to Handa the cliffs were crammed with birds and on later visits the birds had gone and the place seemed quite eery without them.

I have been reading a book called 'findings' by Kathleen Jamie.. many of her descriptions are relevent to Handa and the birds.

'the westerly wind brought squalls in like great wings. only a few fulmars were at home, the puffins burrows empty waiting for spring'

'the air was worked by oystercatchers, fulmars and terns'

'the oystercatchers went piping overhead'

'knowing birds is like being fluent in a foreign language or adept at a fluent language'

'most of the wardens work is negotiating and compromising with people rather than the birds. given the conditions, the birds will look after themselves. Its the tenant farmers and neighbours that need the managment '

2006-08-21T14:19:00.000+01:00

i have been thinking about binoculars and wondering if there is a way i can incorporate them in the work.. it would be great to have an exhibition of the birds where the viewer had to look at the exhibition through binoculars from a distance

2006-08-21T12:02:00.000+01:00

knitted puffin spotted human watching on Handa island

I have been thinking of ways to work with the knitted birds and thinking of ways of documenting them on Handa island. This could be an interesting way of engaging young children with the history of the island

2006-08-21T11:57:00.000+01:00

i think i am becoming a twitcher myself

2006-08-20T16:57:00.000+01:00

I was amused by the ammount of 'twitchers' on Handa island and wondered about the birds and how they felt about being stared at .

Apparently puffins love to have an audience.

I could possibly make a pair of binoculars for a bird so that they could look back at the twitchers.

2006-08-19T15:23:00.000+01:00

residents on Handa island ( undated)

2006-08-19T15:02:00.000+01:00

board walk on Handa.

visitors walk around the island on a designated path as many of the birds are breeding on parts of the island so it is protected. There are many interesting plants and mosses at the edges of the paths.

2006-08-19T13:44:00.000+01:00

I have had a few problems uploading photographs but at last can show some of the photos taken on trips to Handa.

I have been over to Handa in all weathers but have hada few fantastic days with clear skies. Even on wild and windy days Handa is a special place and it has been interesting to imagine life for the people there before emigration and relocation.

I have stood inside the ruins looking out to sea with the view that inhabitants would have had when living there.

ruins of houses on Handa.

2006-08-18T16:33:00.000+01:00

one bird complete

2006-08-18T16:22:00.000+01:00

I have found an exhibition space for my first bird. He will live in the ticket office for the Handa boat to greet people going over to Handa.

Handa ferry ticket office Tarbet

2006-08-18T16:08:00.001+01:00

Evander Maciver

factor .Scourie

His ghost is said to haunt Scourie Lodge.

Clearance in the wake of famine had a different aim. Earlier removals were about relocation there was still an advantage in keeping people/ tenants to work. After the famine the aim was to reduce population rather than relocate.1000's were evicted and 16 000 people shipped overseas between 1847 and 1857

When famine came Evander Maciver claimed to be amazed by the reaction of crofters which was panic. People had fresh memories of vicious clearances . He claims he was approached by many crofters who asked the Duke of Sutherland to fund emmigration.

About 1000 people emigrated at a cost of 7000 to the Duke

When Handa was cleared it became part of Macivers farm. Maciver though that crofting was not a sensible way of life for local people and thought it was good that local people learn how to work!!
He had a free hand in running the estate and thought he had done a good job in improving peoples lives

' there is no duty I performed during my services as a factor in Sutherland on which I look back with more satisfaction than the time and trouble and care I expended in carrying out the transportation of so many families from the poor position of crofters in a wet climate and a poor soil for cultivation to the more fertile lands of Canada , Nova Scotia and Austrailia'

2006-08-16T18:24:00.000+01:00

I have been thinking again about ideas of emigration and migration. The people of Handa emigrated at a time of famine and arrived in Nova Scotia/ Cape breton at a time of famine also.

'Disaster struck parts of Cape breton between 1845 and 1849 when potato blight ( or rot ) devastated its crops. As ever it was the newly arrived , with the worst land who suffered the most'

After the Hector the scottish pioneers of Nova scotia and Cape Breton

hungry birds do not set off on migrations if food supplies diminish they may move to find a better source of food

a bird needs a reserve of fat in its body to be able to travel long distances especially those on non stop or very long flights

Sir John Harvey wrote to Earl Grey the colonial secretary explaining that this 'province is in no respect prepared for the reception of poor people....'the intervention had emmediate impact . while large numbers of destitute Scots arrived at Pictou in the following year, they avoided Cape Breton.

I am wondering if people from Handa managed to avoid the famine or arrived before this.