Reviews.... eek!

So it's a review tomorrow of the progress so far... had a initial set-up of work and well, there's not a lot of physical work! It's not that I haven't done any work it's been a lot of research and scribblings in sketchbooks which is essential in building a foundation on which to build on. Best way I can put it!

Have fired together a statement of the work thus far:
In my work I like to incorporate an almost playful feel to the work as well as capturing and exploring movement.  The main focus of my work is my Orcadian identity and heritage and the natural progression this year has been to focus on Orcadian childhood.

The snorrie-bone which features quite predominately in these development pieces incorporates all of these ideals of movement and a childhood toy. This particular snorrie-bone has a history behind it yes, but also a personal family connection with it being one of the last ones my late Grandfather made.  The research into the history of the snorrie-bone has been fascinating although nothing is completely concrete in accuracy with it being such a trivial item, with knowledge dying out with each generation. The general assumption was it was named due to the sound it would make when used, but this is not necessarily the case. It is perhaps named due to Swedish origins with ‘Snore’ to mean string or even from a Norse background with ‘Snara’ the verb to twist.

This research has lead me to speak to family and friends, emails to archivists and academics, library visits for reading materials and Museum visits: Corrigall, Kirbuster, Kirkwall and Stromness. I discovered ‘new’ games that I had never heard of, such as the oldest know game using stones and shells to create farm animals but also remind me of toys I had simply forgotten about.

With looking into Orcadian childhood it also brings forward the folk tales which have been great fun to read up on and is developing into the natural pairing of papermaking and bookbinding.

Also with researching into Orcadian history a recurring feature kept revealing itself, a spinning wheel. In the interest of developing a wider skill set and really connecting to a small part of Orcadian history, I am currently learning the art of spinning with the help of classes run by For Arts Sake. Which has been enjoyable and quite therapeutic and rhythmical handling soft, natural yarns.