Travelling

Setting of first thing tommorow, got a long journey back to Stronsay! We dont arrive until 6pm on Friday, and thats provided all the snow and gale force winds forecasted dont get in our way! Stopping of in Glasgow overnight, spending some time with my little sister and Ally (my muse from 'Ally and Audrey') then setting of again first thing Thursday morning, staying the night on mainland Orkney then out to Stronsay on Friday. So hopefully i will actually have some decent research to post about starting at the weekend.

Bora Aksu A W 10/11

In a strange way this really really reminds me of the sea! Especially the shore line. The delicate chiffon ruffles make me think of gentle foamy waves, the puffy layers of sheer fabrics remind me of the water swelling, and the knitted knots and strands remind me of seaweed and ropes washed up on the beach. Some of the dresses also have a sort of ;fairy tale' feel which i really like. The subtle colours are beautiful. Its worth clicking on the images to see the bigger versions, the detail is amazing.

The selkie that deud no' forget

Ae time langsine, Mansie Meur wus pickan' lempeds i' the ebb, on the wast side o' Hacksness i' Sanday, whin he wus stunned tae hear some wey amang the rocks a unco' ceurious soond.

Sometimes hid wus like a bothy i' terrable pain, makin' meen; an' dan hid wad mak' a lood soond like the root o' a deean' coo. An' dan again de soond wad dee awa' tae a laich an' maist peetiful meen, as gin hid been a bothy ootmucht i' a bought o' the wark.

The soond wus sae awfu' peetifu', hid meed Mansie think lang tae hear hid. Mansie could see naethin' for a peedie while, bit a muckle selkie doss in at the rocks, rakin' his heed abeun de skreuf o' the water, an leukan' wi' baith his een i'tae a geo a peedie bit awa'. An' Mansie noticed that the selkie wus no f'aer'd, niver dookid, an' niver teuk his e'e aff o' that geo.

Mansie geed ower a muckle rock 'at lay atween him an' that geo; an' theret i' a cunyo o' the geo, he saw a mither selkie lyan' i' a' the trouble o' her callowin'-pains. An' hid wus her that meed a' the sair meen an' lood yowlin'; an' the faither selkie lay i' the sea watchin' his marrow i' her trouble. Mansie steud an' watched her teu, an' said it wus peetifu' tae see what the peur dumb animal suffered. An' there he steud, a bit aff, till sheu callowed twa bonnie selkie calves, that wur nee seuner on the rock or dey grippid for de pap. Mansie t'ought tae himsel' the calf hides wad mak' a bonnie waistco't tae him; an' he ran tae whar dey wur a' t'ree lyan. The peur mither selkie rowed hersel' ower the face o' de rock i'tae the sea; bit her twa birds hed no' wit tae flee. Sae Mansie grippid dem baith. An' dan hid wus sae winderful' tae see the atfares o' the mither selkie. She teuk sic' t'ought for her young. Sheu rowed aboot an' aboot i' the sea, an' baeted hersel' wi' her megs, like a t'ing distracted. An' dan sheu wad climmer ap wi' her fore megs on de face o' de rock, an' glower'd i' Mansie's face, wi' a luck sae terrably peetifu', hid wad hae melted a he'rt o' steen tae seen her. The faither selkie was ga'n the sam' wey, only he wad no' come sae near Mansie.

Mansie turned tae gang awa' wi' the twa selkie birds i' his erms - dey wur sookin' at his co't as gin dey been at the mither's breest - whin he heard the selkie mither gae a groan sae dismal an' how, an' sae human like, that hid geed stra'cht tae his h'ert, an' fairly owercam' him. He luckid about an' saw the mither selkie lyan' on her side, wi' her heed on the rock; an' he saw - as seur as iver he saw a t'ing on earth - the tares feeman' fae baith her e'en. Tae see nater wirkan' sae sair i' the peur dumb aater, he could nae bide hid mair. Sae he looted doon an' passed baith the peerie selkies on the rock. The mither teuk dem i' her megs, an' clespid dem tae her bosom, as gin sheu been a bothy wi' a bairn. An' sheu luckid i' Mansie's face; O! sic' a blithe luck the selkie gae him. Sheu deud Mansie geud tae see her. For dat day the selkie deud ivery t'ing but speak.

Mansie wus dan a young man; an' a while efter dat he merried.

An' a lang while efter he merried, whin his bairns wur groun-ap folk, he geed tae bide on the wast side o' Eday. Ae bonnie e'enin', Mansie geed tae fish sillos aff o' an oot-lyan' rock. He wus a ootflow rock, that ye could only gang tae dry shod wi' low water. The fish wad no' tak' ava' for a peedie while; bit whin be begood tae flou, sheu set on an' teuk brawly, sae that Mansie steud an' hauled whill he filled his sea-cubbie. The fish teuk sae bonnie, that i' his feurcness tae fish he forgot the gate he hed tae gang. An' whin he cam' tae gang heem, he was sairly stunned tae see the trink atween him an' the land fairly flou'd ower, an' the sea sae deep he wad taen him abeun de heed. Mansie cried an' better cried; bit he wus far fae ony hoose, and nee bothy heard his cries.

The water raise an' raise, cam' ap abeun his knees, abeun his henches, ap tae his oxters; an' miny a sair sich gae he, as de water cam' aye hicher an' nearer tae his chin. He cried whill he wus trapple-hers', an' he could cry nee mair. An' dan he gae ap; a' hup' o' life, an' saw naething afore him bit dismal daeth. An' dan, as de sea wus comin' roond his hass, an' comin' noos and dans i' peedie lippers tae his mooth, jeust as he f'and the sea beginnan' tae lift him fae the rock, - summin' grippid him bae thc neck o' the co't an' whippid him aff o' his feet. He kent no' what hid wus, or whar he wus, till he f'and his feet at the boddam whar he could wad ashore i' safety. An' whin de craeter 'at hed haud o' him passed him, he wadded tae the dry land.

He luckid whar he cam' fae, an' saw a muckle selkie swiman' tae the rock whar sheu dookid, teuk ap his cubbie o' fish, an' swam wi'd tae the land. He wadded oot an' teuk the cubbie fu' o' fish oot o' her mooth; an' he said wi' a' his he'rt, "Geud bliss the selkie that deus no' forget."

An' sheu luckid tae him, as gin, if sheu could hae spoken, sheu wad hae said, "Ae geud turn meets anither."

Sheu wus the sam' selkie that he saw callowan' on Hacksness forty years afore.

He said he wad hae kent her mitherly luck amang a thoosan'. Bit she wus groun a arkmae. Sae that wus the selkie that deud no' forget.

I wiss' a'bothy may mind on what's geud, as weel as that selkie.

By Walter Traill Dennison, published 1880

Hildaland and Hether Blether

"Given the mystical, almost dreamlike landscape of the Orkney Islands, with standing stones, ancient ruins, burial mounds and spectacular scenery, all hemmed in by the invisible walls of a raging sea, it is not surprising that the islands have such a rich and varied folklore."

Love this quote from the 'OrkneyJar' website. Really want to incorporate some of Orkneys folklore into my project some how. Theres fairies and trolls, witches and giants, but i want to concentrate more on the finmen and selkies, the islands that dissapear in the mist, the sea monsters and serpants. Stronsay, 'my island' actually has its own story - 'The Stronsay Beast'. Im going to look at the poems and stories of George Mackay, and other Orkney verses, perhaps i could print some of these onto my designs?

Interested in finding out more about Orkneys 2 'dissapearing islands', Hildaland and Hether Blether, and the folk lore and tradition surrounding them.

Amos Photography

Have been asking my pal Kat (Amos Photography) for some tips about where to get good photos of the sea and waves on the mainland of Orkney (being a 'Stronsay girl' i only really know the best places on Stronsay). She has suggested i try Yesnaby, Brough of Birsay, Skaill, Marwick and the barriers. Need to concinve Mark to take some time of work while we are in Orkney to drive me everywhere! Have been looking at some of Kats photos, they are really really good! Loads of lovely ones in Orkney, lots of sunsets and beaches! Her website is being updated so have a look at her work here. This photo is taken at the Brough of Birsay.

More thoughts...

Right, so until i arrive in Orkney (leave on the 31st, arrive late on the 1st but dont actually get to Stronsay until the 2nd...yes it takes me 3 whole days to get home) im going to do some fashion research. I have a few ideas of the kind of fabrics i want to create to represent the crashing waves etc (lots of oversized ruffles and texture), but am not sure how to incorporate my usual quirky images. Perhaps line drawings of Orkney scenes subtly printed on somehow? Orkney has a lot of folkloric history, so could perhaps use that somehow? Stronsay apparently had fairies and trolls, who managed to travel accross the sea to Kirkwall, on the mainland. Cant remember how, need to dig out my old Orkney story book. Wonder if the standing stones that move around on certain nights of the year count as 'movement in nature'?!?Yeah, so back to the fashion research. Here are some designs i came up with when i was at Cardonald college. I was set a very strict breif, that i wont go into right now (recycled wedding dress, only use white bla bla), but the sort of textures in them is kind of what im thinking. Probably more delicate, and obvioulsey better made, i only had 3 days to finish to design at the top, and about 2 weeks for the other 2. When i was working on these i was looking at japanese designers like Commes Des Garcons and Junya Watanabe, and also at Viktor and Rolfs blacklight collection. Am thinking about them again, but also more delicate designers like Bora Aksu. To the vogue website!

A long boring post of thoughts...

Since i am 'going home' for Easter, i thought i should base my project on Orkney. And since Orkney is surrounded by sea, i thought that would be a good starting point. Im thinking about crashing waves on cliffs, that sort of thing. Also perhaps about the tide and shoreline. These are 2 photos i had from my last visit, in 2008, both taken on Stronsay. Not particularly 'wavey' but this would be sooo boring without pictures!

Most of my time in Orkney will be spent on the mainland, so there are lots of different places to look at. Will go to Inganess and Scapa beach with friends (will bring back memories of drunken barbecues and driving cars on the beach!) to look at the shore line, and will convince the boyfriend to drive me to Yesnaby for some really big waves.

Im also going to be spending a few days on 'my island', where i grew up, Stronsay. Will start at the Ayre of Myers - sandy beach were i spent most of my summers paddling when i was little, with cliffs and rocks at the sides for bigger waves. Got in trouble quite a lot for attempting to climb those cliffs when i was younger! Also have to go to the Vat of Kirbuster, which is at the other end of the island. There are some low cliffs behind mum and dads house, with surprisinlgy splashy, dangerous waves, but i will have to walk through 2 fields of cows to get to them! Going to need wellies.

SWAY

OK, our new project is called 'SWAY', and its based on movement in nature. The final outcome is an outfit for our fashion show in June. Some examples we have been given to base our designs on are lava, animals (swarms, shoals, flocks), seeds, wind and weather. We have to study the movement of whatever it is we choose base our designs on, and 'through close observations translate your findings inventivly into fabric'. So this really isnt just a case of choosing to focus on shoals of fish, then printing cute little fish motifs onto a dress! Some key words to think about are - billowing, flying, trailing, floatng, erutping, flapping, darting, trembling, exploding, escaping, quivering, flowing, growing, spreading, fracturing and dissapearing. We need to not only think about making the fabric represent our chosen theme, we also need to consider how the garment and the fabric will move when its on the body, taking the key words into consideration.

"The connection between your fabrics, the three dimensional forms that they create and the movement of the human body through space when worn, are a key focus of the project. Your garments can encourage expansive movement, achieved by their volume and form or by 'trompe l'oeil' illusions of scale. Alternatively, garment shapes can exaggerate the human form by revealing and emphasising movement, when worn. Garments can be designed to swing of flap, trains and extensions can flutter, fabrics can shimmer, fringes can tremble, knots can bind or trap and pleats can break free. The fabric qualities will inform your garment structure"

So we have our Easter break to research, and then we find out more when we go back in April. Sounds exciting!