Musings
Musing May 2009
ODIN STONE: Plates 12 – 15
Plate 12: Fursbreck Pottery, Harray, Orkney, 2005
Andrew Appleby (a.k.a. the Harray Potter) is both a potter and amateur archeologist. Although not an academic archeologist, he has spent uncountable hours in the fields studying the Neolithic sites of Orkney. Drawn to the pottery fragments of this era he has figured out how to make pottery virtually identical to the pots made thousands of years ago. It is no surprise then that Andrew has on his shelves not only contemporary ceramic mugs, jars and goblets but Neolithic-looking pots and urns that he fires in the way he imagines the ancients did.
Orkney has a vibrant and exciting art community and I wanted to include some of this in ODIN STONE. Of the many images I made of Andrew and his studio, this one speaks to me of the vibrancy I felt around him. Andrew is the blur in the background, making a new cup from the mound of clay on his wheel. The foreground is filled with cups in progress. Here is an artist, working in a medium, which spans time from the Neolithic to the present. I can’t help but believe that the standing stones were erected, just as pots were created, for practical as well as spiritual and artistic purpose.
Plate 13: Sam MacDonald Studio, Kirkwall, Orkney, 2006
Sam MacDonald is a sculptor born and raised on Lewis who moved to Orkney after art school. He is a scuba diver and sculpts the Marine wildlife he finds below the surface. Sam explained to me that the predatory side of sea life influences his work. Life under the surface is tough and harsh, but this battle inspires him to create. I saw his work in several locations around Orkney and in my own pursuit of photographing artists’ studios I boldly called him and explained my project. He graciously invited me to come by and see what he was doing. On this day he was making metal fish for a large sculpture that was going to be a triptych inspired by a recent dive on the wrecks of Scapa Flow. He let me wander around his tight studio observing and photographing him work. These metal fish were laid out on a plank in preparation for installation and at a glance appeared to me to be swimming among the wreckage of the German Fleet.
Plate 14: Ramsquoy Barn, Stenness, Orkney, 2004
If the house is Mona’s domain, the barns at Ramsquoy Farm belong to her husband, Jim. On a very windy and cold day I wandered into the barns to photograph out of the elements. For me, this image says everything there is to say about the beauty of north light on the ordinary arrangement of everyday work materials. I noticed the round patterns of the spider wheel, hoses and wires hanging on the wall. The white buckets in the foreground lead the eye across and to the front of the image. I enjoy the demon head of the power sprayer edging in from the right edge. On one level this simple image speaks to me of everyday farm life. On another I realize it is about the soft north light, which defines and brings interest to each of the implements. This is a found still life, one in which I didn’t move a thing and yet it’s very ordinariness seems extraordinary by the beauty of the light.
Plate 15: Nightgown, Corrigall Farm Museum, Harray, Orkney, 2006
The light, in this image, seduced me. I admit it – I am a sucker for window light, particularly diffuse light from a cloudy day. Neal Leask, curator of the Corrigall Farm Museum, arranges objects in the croft in such a way that a visitor feels more like a guest and not a tourist. Perhaps part of Neal’s ability comes form his personal history, as his grandparents lived in a house much like this one. Neal remembers the warmth and comfort he found there. At Corrigall, Neal recreates for us his own memories of his grandparents’ home. The croft museum is warm and welcoming, a small peat fire with bare bannocks on the hearth. This beautiful gown hands on the door of a wardrobe. Illuminated by a small window, the light falling on the gown is rich, almost buttery. The gown seems to glow with the warmth of fond memories.