Joanne B Kaar - an artists blog: Rashin Coatie for the Horse and Bamboo theatre production 'Angus' weaver of grass.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

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

Joanne B Kaar ~ an artists blog

Bakers ~ Botanists ~ Whalers. About this blog: One area of interest is Robert Dick, Baker & Botanist of Thurso, Caithness (1811-1866). His pressed herbarium is now stored in Caithness Horizons. Dunnet Head was one of his favourite places to walk and collect plants.

One plant of interest is the Magellan Daisy/Ragwort (senecio Smithii DC), it grows near my house. A native flower of Chile & Argentina it is thought to have been brought to Caithness by whalers. This plant might have been introduced to Caithness after Robert Dick had died - I have not found any records of it in his herbarium collection.

Follow me as I research these bakers, botanists and whalers ....... and start to plants growing in my own field........for making string, basket making, papermaking - experimenting .........inspired by history......... My experiments from home grown plants now has a focus as I make 'weavings' inspired by the work of Angus MacPhee weaver of Grass for the Horse & Bamboo Theatre's production 'Angus'.

The Westland

Exhibition Dates
Scotland - Benbecula museum - Western Isles . 5th November 2010 - Early 2011.
Scotland - Stornoway Museum, Stornoway, Western Isles. 23rd June - end October 2010.
Scotland - Morven Gallery, Barvas, Western Isles. 1st May - 19th June 2010.
Scotland - Caithness Horizons, Thurso - Saturday 5th Sept - Thursday 24th Sept 09
New Zealand - The North Otago Museum. 1st November 2009 - 20th April 2010.
New Zealand - Anchorage Gallery, Port Chalmers - Sunday 6th Sept - Sunday 27th Sept 09
"The Westland"
In 1879, the 'Westland' set sail on its maiden voyage from Tail o' the Bank in Scotland, to Port Chalmers in New Zealand. Navigating through the filtered lens of 130 years artists Joanne B Kaar (Scotland) and Lynn Taylor (NewZealand) respond to the way of the Westland in creating parallel 84 day log books, prints and artefacts. Inspiredby the sea-chest of crew member William Young and Jonathan Moscrop's onboard ship diary Kaar and Taylor have become like sailors, spinning sea stories of this passage through their daily log entries of fragmentary discoveries, narratives, weather observations, histories, memories,objects and images. They bring two sides of the story together, Kaar relating to William Young's family croft-house (Mary-Ann's cottage) in Dunnet, Caithness Scotland, where his sea-chest is to be found, and Taylor to Port Chalmers and the Otago Harbour surrounds, New Zealand, where the Westland first docked and the immigrants started their new lives.
Lynn Taylor: You can read more about her work in this article which was published in the January 08 issue of New Zealand House & Garden magazine: http://www.nzhouseandgarden.co.nz/Articles/LynnTaylorsWatermarks.asp
And click here for lots of images of Lynn's work. Joanne B Kaar:
http://www.joannebkaar.com/

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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

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

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