2 pairs of replica Angus Macphee grass boots - one pair for the Art Extraordinary Gallery at Pittenweem arts festival and the other for the Morven Gallery on the Isle of Lewis.

The Scottish Collection of Art Extraordinary is to be rehoused to the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.

Info from Art Extraordinary Trust Facebook page:

1.  
   

   

   Photo: Joyce Laing outside her gallery in Pittenweem earlier this year, with Joe Kaar wearing a grass swallowtail coat and 'sunburst' hat I made for the Horse and Bamboo Theatres production 'Angus' weaver of grass.
   
   
   "Announcement.
   The Scottish Collection of Art Extraordinary is to be rehoused to the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.
   Preparations for the transfer include filming, documenting and conserving which will take some time before the Collection is held at GMRC.
   Students, researchers or galleries interested in seeing any of the works within the next six months, may do so by appointment - artextraordin...arytrust@yahoo.co.uk thereafter at GMRC.
   
   Joyce Laing, Convenor, The Art Extraordinary Trust will continue as honorary curator and can be contacted to discuss any aspect of the Collection by appointment - artextraordinarytrust@yahoo.co.uk.
   
   The Collection, the only one of it's kind in Scotland, has links with the Collection de L'art Brut in Lausanne, the original collection by the French surrealist, Jean Dubuffet and the Halle St Pierre at Paris.
   
   The Scottish Collection not only shows raw art discovered in Scotland but records many of the medical therapy and social changes that have occurred during the last century.
   
   The collection includes the work s of Angus McPhee and new art inspired by his art include poetry by Crys Salt and Roger Hutchinson and a play produced by Horse and Bamboo entitled Angus, Weaver of Grass.
   
   Amazing replicas and plant weaving by Joanne Kaar alongside some original McPhees will also be on show at Pittenweem Arts Festival. 28th July - 5th August 2012.

flat-pack grass cat already on it's journey from my studio to the Horse and Bamboo Theatre in Lancashire.

Inspired by one made by Angus Macphee.

Horse and Bamboo Theatre are now counting down the weeks till opening night of their production 'Angus' on the 11th July in Tiree.

A pair of full size replica grass boots.

Grass boots - replicas of ones made by Angus MacPhee. They are huge - I take a size 7 - that's my shoe next to the grass ones. These will be on display along with my other grass replica weavings at  the Art Extraordinary Gallery during the Pittenweem Arts Festival. Horse and Bamboo Theatre will also be performing their production 'Angus' weaver of grass during the festival as part of their Scottish tour.

Click here to see a pair of original grass boots made by Angus Macphee  - they are photographed next to a pair of mens boots - so you can see they really are huge.

I'm making another pair to be displayed at the Morven Gallery on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles - exhibition timed to be on when Horse and Bamboo Theatre will be performing 'Angus' weaver of grass at An Lanntair in Stornoway.

Horse + Bamboo Theatre Workshops 2012

Workshops will run alongside our Puppet Festival 

22^nd + 23^rd Sept 2012 in Rossendale, East Lancashire

Sat 22nd Sept –

Joanne B Kaar has been prolific in making replicas of the incredible costumes Angus MacPhee made from grass during his lifetime. Though our first contact with Joanne was for this purpose she has now taken the craft into her own hands making the most beautiful tiny jacket and a little grass calf amongst a mass of other pieces. Trained originally at MMU in textiles she is now a master grass weaver and this is a really special chance to learn the most wonderful techniques. 

This course is a full day and you will make a grass pouch to keep. No experience is necessary to attend. More information on Joanne can be found at www.joannebkaar.com.

Sun 23rd Sept –

Mark Whitaker has been performing with Horse + Bamboo for many years now in Storm in a Teacup, In the Shadow of Trees, Little Leap Forward, The Nightingale and most recently Angus: Weaver of Grass. He has also performed in Little Angel Theatre’s Fantastic Mr Fox and is a puppeteer on the latest Ridley Scott film, Prometheus.

His performances are enthralling and he is an experienced workshop leader. It will be an intense day long puppetry workshop studying the styles used in Angus: Weaver of Grass. Some experience will be needed to get the best out of this course.

Each course is £90 and will include an evening ticket to see the show Angus -Weaver of Grass in which Joanne’s grass pieces are used to tell the story of Angus MacPhee and Mark is a lead performer and puppeteer. You can sign up to both courses for £165.

For information on the courses contact esther@horseandbamboo.org or 01706 220 241

See the blog for more information on the show www.angusmcphee.blogspot.co.uk

Estonia - birch bark bread baskets.

Photo taken at an Open Air Museum near Tallinn.

This trip was organised and funded by:
Arch Network is a Scottish Non Government Organisation promoting learning and development in natural and cultural heritage between Scotland and other European countries..
Culture and Heritage Interpretation and Sustainable Tourism Program (CHIST

Estonia - fish on the washing line.

This trip was organised and funded by:
Arch Network is a Scottish Non Government Organisation promoting learning and development in natural and cultural heritage between Scotland and other European countries..
Culture and Heritage Interpretation and Sustainable Tourism Program (CHIST)

Making grass rope in Estonia.

I've just returned home after a fantastic, but very hectic cultural tour of Estonia. Our amazing tour guide, Maarika Toomel, organised for our group to visit a school, Lümanda Põhikool
 - they have a special interest in the environment. I shared my knowledge of making rope from grass and we watched a short DVD documentary of me making a replica of the grass garments made by Angus MacPhee. 


Photos taken with thanks to Sharon Pottinger - a volunteer at www.castletownheritage.co.uk in Caithness, Olive Brown chairwoman of http://www.mullmuseum.org.uk and Ellie Swinbank, keeper at http://www.scottishminingmuseum.com/

Maarika Toomel
Loona manor
www.loonamanor.ee
Pärimusmatkad/Heritage Tours
www.parimusmatkad.ee
www.heritagetours.ee

This trip was organised and funded by:
Arch Network is a Scottish Non Government Organisation promoting learning and development in natural and cultural heritage between Scotland and other European countries..
Culture and Heritage Interpretation and Sustainable Tourism Program (CHIST)

Paper wrappers and herbarium sheets - mixed media inspired by Robert Dick baker and botanist of Thurso 1811-1866 - his collection is in Caithness Horizons museum Thurso

Each work is approx 30cm x 60cm unframed.

Large grass boots

One pair of large grass boots (with hidden velcro fastenings and no sole) for first fitting. Two very small hats made from plaited blue iris leaves and one ball of thin string made from montbreita leaves. All now ready to pack and post to Horse and Bamboo Theatre in Lancashire for their production of 'Angus' weaver of grass -

First night performance -Tiree July. For  details of the tour click here.

And yes, it will be at Lyth Art Centre in Caithness!!

At The Boo - the home of Horse and Bamboo Theatre in Lancashire. March 2012

On a temporary set - Mark wearing the swallowtail coat - I fuss with the hat, Bob frames it as Alison makes a few suggestions.

 We got their in the end - Angus - string at the ready.

 Green room.

Store

 Sewing room

 The workshop.

 Alison carving a small puppet  - Angus.

Bob and Jonny - any suggestions for captions??!

Joyce Laing and Joe Kaar help unpack boxes of Angus MacPhees grass work for me to take a closer look. Pittenweem Fife. March 2012

My replica's hang on the walls next to the originals.....I think they look ok:

Joyce Laing meets 'Angus' wearing his new swallowtail coat. March 2012

Preparing for a road trip.

We're heading south soon - firstly to visit  Joyce Laing at her gallery 'Art Extraordinary' in the harbour village of Pittenweem Fife. To see formyself how my replicas compare to the original grass weavings by Angus MacPhee, and also to take a much closer look at more of his work - to think about making more replicas.  Then it's further south to visit the Horse and Bamboo theatre HQ in Lancashire - I have a grass swallowtail coat and 'sunburst' hat to deliver - and the wee rashin coatie!!

In the mean-time, I've made a start as one of the artists-in-residence for Strathnaver museum. http://www.strathnaver.blogspot.com/

Rashin Coatie for the Horse and Bamboo theatre production 'Angus' weaver of grass.

Combed soft-rush looped in the same way Angus Macphee made his grass garments.

Time + grass + montbretia leaves + blue iris leaves + red-hot-poker leaves

I've been working on details -added an edging of red-hot-poker twine, collar has an in-fill of fine plaits made from leave of the blue iris and the fasten detial is montbreita twine.  Angus is looking smart.  I think he needs a white hankerchief (there are mentions of ones he made from sheeps wool). The hat could do with a few more twisty sticky-out bits and looks quite wild - I have been looking at artificial wild flowers to add for the sunburst look with a bit of colour in the hat -  I'll will live with it like it is for a while as I quite like it.