Small Stones - January 13

Tropical Cold

A tropical place
Of great cold and ancient stories
White caps chasing wind
The sun can wait

Small Stones - January 12

Sea Kingdoms

Castle Stalker
Sits on sea
Going nowhere
Seen everything

Small Stones - January 11

Peat and Turf

A Blackhouse sinks
Into grass
Turf that once burned
Within

Small Stones - January 10

Double Glazed Living

Three windows
In a blackhouse

Double glazed
Incongrous

Small Stones - January 9

Tin roof blues

An ancient Blackhouse
With a tin roof
A place to play the blues

Small stones - January 8

Skiing for the senses

Grass slides down to a bed of rocks
Ski slope for the senses

Small Stones - January 7

Diffused

Cloud of bronze touches
Gently Kissing the sea with a tobacco
Caress

Small Stones - January 6

Hidden Horizon

Coll stretches along a wide horizon
Rock and light shining and calling
People shopping and living
Invisible to my thoughts

Small stones - January 5

Sheep Fank

A foreshortened forest
Above a turf top
Narrowed depth of field
Creates a space to think

Small Stones - January 4

A place to sit

A place to sit
Hard granite and slate
A canvas to rest my soul

Small Stones - January 3

Pointing

Scorched but wet
Dead but living
Reaching out
Pointing
A branch tells its
Own story

Small Stones - January 2

Church Door

Carved leaves form the corners

An old door waits

The lock a new invention

A Chubb

Spirits locked in

Life locked out

Small Stones – January 1

Droplets and Jewels

Droplets like Jewels await under branches
I stand and marvel at their patience
Rain waits above the canopy
Trees collect my thoughts and they hang
Like leaves waiting for action

Monty Hall's Hebridean Adventure

If you didn't catch this excellent programme watch it on iplayer. There is loads of Island stuff including Monty meeting with a local group to discuss interpretation and guided walks. This is so similar to the start of the Isle of Luing Interpretation Project I was involved in - although there were more cakes on Luing!!

Read a short BBC review:

After a year of city living, marine biologist and professional diver Monty Halls returns to live the good life in the Highlands and islands of Scotland. This time, he and his canine companion Reuben are sharing a restored crofter's cottage on the Hebridean island of North Uist. And he has a job to do, as a volunteer wildlife ranger.

Monty throws himself into island life: Highland Games, fishing for salmon and trout, and exploring the wildlife and remote reaches of his new domain. But winter is just around the corner, and he also needs to dig peat for fuel and fatten up pigs and turkeys for Christmas.
Here is the link for the programme:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s635z

Boulmer Sands

One of my favourite places in Northumberland - Boulmer Sands. The light the sand and the sky all combine to create a lovely special place.

Ripples

My current project is to do with Ripples. Ripples in time, Ripples in Nature and how thoughts and ideas can flow between the spaces in life. Spaces can be created in your head - Zen Meditation and the Nothingness of Wuji create the space to think and be at one with nature. Then stuff happens.

Here my newts

Did some great crested newts which are zinc etched and tactile.

Nico - I'm Not Sayin' (1965)

Love this song by Nico - how cool is she? and the video of her sitting in water under a bridge - phew fantastic stuff.

Immortalised in Stone

So at last we have the first project on the ground for the Caledonia Way. At Kentallen Norman Bissell's poem "A Mooring" has been carved into stone along the shoreline. David Campbell Stonemason worked all last week to get the stones all done before the really bad weather sets in.
The poem goes like this:
ON ROCK
Air clach
LICHEN CIRCLES
Cearcall Crotal
THRIFT QUIVERS
Neòinean-cladaich air chrith
BIRCH GROWS
Beithe a' fàs
WATERS RUSH
Uisge a' ruith
A MOORING
air acair

And here is the proof:

A pile of stuff has been happening lately. Workwise and otherwise. Tonight I have just finished a tender document - basically three days work in order to jump through the hoops of official speak - at least my tender document was a fraction of the length of the procurement document terms and conditions. These things are supposed to make things easier and yet they simply reward the companies who are able to read through the clutter of all this nonsense.


Been working hard on the west coast of Scotland projects. The Oban panels are done but they are still not installed - over a month and they are still sitting in a box in Oban somewhere. These panels are the first major pieces of work I have produced using the Stoneware Enamel process and they look georgeous. Here are some images of the artworks that make up the panels.

The images to the left are graphics based on each of the themes. Other stuff going on includes working with my group of Adults with Learning Disabilities on branding their project - Holder House Community Allotment. Tomorrow we visit Sunderland Winter Gardens to see what they are all about. More about this another time.

My guitar stuff is still on the go - got a new guitar - Yamaha Semi Acoustic.

Andy James visit is approaching and we are all getting ready for that.

Got to go now - more later.