Collaborations

Hearth

Mairearad Green, renowned musician, composer, artist and long-time collaborator of mine, is about to release a series of limited edition vinyl records under the collective title of Hearth. They record and celebrate Mairearad’s forebears, the women of Coigach who have walked the same land she walks today.

Most of the lyrics were written by me in collaboration with Mairearad, or by me alone, so I am particularly excited to see this project come to fruition. Of course, the music is all Mairearad’s own, as are the sumptuously expressive paintings she has created for the vinyl sleeves.

Each record is individually numbered and is accompanied by a free booklet of lyrics and images. They are available to buy individually, or as a collection. Visually, the covers are rich and highly evocative of the Coigach landscape and the sound of each recording is ethereal and many-layered. What a privilege it has been for me to be involved, in a small way, in the making of such an immersive piece of art. To find out more, or to buy, please visit the shop page of Mairearad’s website.

Sounds of the Summer Isles

Mairearad Green, the talented and award-winning musician and composer, is bringing out a new album called "Summer Isles".  I am thrilled to tell you that she has used three of my poems, all written during annual retreats on Tanera, as lyrics.  The album is mesmerising: each track, in turn, conjours up the history, the wildlife and the spirit of the place.  The Summer Isles provided the physical backdrop to Mairearad's childhood on the nearby mainland peninsula of Achiltibuie,  and this album displays both the lightness of touch and depth of knowledge only to be found in the work of someone with such a strong sense of place.

If you would like to order a copy of the album, please go to Mairearad's own website.

Oak Tree Poem

I have spent some time over this winter making this large textile panel of an ancient oak tree, in response to a poem by Mandy Haggith.

oaks

eggcups propping up the pastry sky

now you're gone

there's nothing

to prevent

the clouds caving in

nothing to stop the fields flapping

This work is a bit of a departure for me, in that I used only recycled wool blankets, which had been bound up with leaves, boiled up in a huge pot over the bonfire and then overstitched.  I enhanced the dye marks on the tree surface by using a soldering iron.

This mighty oak panel stands at 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres and will be on display, along with work by other artists using a wide range of mediums, at Inverewe Gardens in the spring, and then at Dundee Botanics in the summer.  For more information, go to the Inverewe Gallery website page.

February 6th 2022