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Newburgh Residency 2007 |
Newsletter 4 |
Jan 2008 |
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We are reaching the end of my residency in Newburgh. Events mentioned in previous newsletters, so positively received have both energised and inspired me.
From the beginning a particularly strong link was established with one of the partner groups, Twist Fibre Crafts Studio. In collaboration with them, three master classes were created, themed around the land of Newburgh.
2nd Masterclass: Felt & Photography |
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The presentation showed Newburgh at its best, and there were murmers of disbelief that the images shown were indeed taken in their town! Please click the top right images on this page to see the collection they were taken from.
Inspired by the shades and hues of Newburgh’s environment, the textures of the tiles and the cobble stones of the historic Town Centre, people began to work. |
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Another of the advanced classes, offered in collaboration with the partner group Twist Fibre Crafts Studio, was designed to explore Newburgh’s environment and architecture.
I had prepared a slide show on Newburgh’s built environment and how I had experienced it since my arrival in March.
As a regular traveller, I knew the importance of first impressions and was aware that familiarity can obscure the magic of a place which I hoped my impressions might rekindle. |
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We learnt how to blend colours, how to make and work with soft felt, and looked at a number of ways of trapping other fibres and fabrics into the felt.
After a very concentrated working day, a new chapter of Newburgh in felt could have been added to the slide show by the following morning. |
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3rd Masterclass: ‘Felt & Poetry’
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Janet Bayne from the History group introduced the Master class participants to the poem: |
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| ‘The Bells o’ The Abbey’ |
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David Lawson
Newburgh 23 October, 1875 |
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‘In yon wilderness ruins, whaur Naebody dwells,
The ringer aince dwelt o’the auld Abbey bells;
A’e day, bein’dorted, he up to the hill,
An’ sat doon to rest him beside the Monks’ well,
An’ waited to gloat owre the sorrow sae sair,
When the bells wadna ring because he wasna there.
When the time that the bells sud be rung cam’around,
How surprised was the ringer to hear them a sound:
He got up astonished an’ hung doon his head,
An’slowly and sadly awa’back he gaed:
An’ then fell the words, we’ve heard, frae his tongue,
How ‘the bells o’the Abbey are aye gotten run’.
We’ve lauch’d at the folly this mony a day,
O’that silly auld carle noo cauld in the clay;
An’often it strikes us there’s money ane yet
Wha folly enough ha’e this fact to forget:
As the auld fade’they’re replaced by the young.
An’ ‘the bells o’the Abbey are aye gotten rung’.
We ance had a doctor,a doctor o’skill
A preacher wha’nobly the pulpit did fill,
Precentors that a’ maist like angels cou’d sing.
An’ a bailie wha ruled us as he’d been a king;
They’ve a’ by fell death in the kirkyard been flung,
But ‘the bells o’the abbey are aye gotten rung.’ |
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With the sound of Janet’s reading still ringing in our ears and an ancient map of Newburgh in our hands, we were transported back to the days of Lindore’s Abbey and Newburgh village life. She spoke about the role of the monks during the thriving times of the Abbey, and looked at various bells from the area and the meanings and traditions connected to them.
The workshop was designed to inspire sculptural felt pieces, using aspects of the poem as a starting point. Most people got hooked on the overall shape of the bell, and by the end of the workshop participants had created a glockenspiel of bells. Every hour we stopped, subconsciously listening to the sound of the Steeple Clock tower.
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Indoor Weaving with Newburgh’s Primary School |
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| Janet Bayne, our local historian came into the school to introduce the project with a story. Janet told us how handlooms were brought to Newburgh, how linen and flax was grown locally, and how each family had to spin and weave fabric enough to clothe themselves and more to make some extra money. Apparently, to make one pair of trousers one had to produce a thread the length of the distance between Newburgh and Edinburgh. |
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Well here was a challenge! |
Janet had also explained that woven jute was the base material for the famous floor cloth today known as linoleum produced, not that long ago in Newburgh. Here a lot of the youngsters were able to add their knowledge about the history of the lino factory through their own family background.
The peg looms were lined up to create an installation the length of the distance between Newburgh and Edinburgh.... well almost! |
Newburgh is historically known for its cottage weaving industry. One can still find names such as Shuttlefield indicating how thriving the place once was in cloth making.
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Primary 3 and 4 set out to weave fabric for one pair of trousers. On peg looms which I produced in my studio the pupils wove carefully selected linen, wool and cotton threads. Now and then a bit of sea grass was worked in to mark the location of Newburgh on the River Tay. |
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A day at the Sensory Centre |
Part of the residency programme included a day of awareness training for members of the Fife Arts Co-op at the Sensory Centre in Kirkaldy. Jeanette followed this with a day of felt making for children & families with hearing impairment in Fife. |
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We made ‘happy’ & ‘grumpy’ faces as well as felt jewellery |
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A visit to the Thursday Group
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below: Newburgh at dawn: the light not yet on the town but warming the reed beds |
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A visit was arranged to the ‘Thursday group’ to meet people, 50 plus, who might be willing to share some of their stories. I introduced myself with a slide talk called ‘A Walk through Newburgh’. Presenting them with my visual journey through the streets they knew so well sparked off yet more stories and revealed their pride and heartfelt feeling for the town.
Newburgh abounds with stories and its people love them. |
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’Newburgh used to be a place to drive through, now it is a place to stop’
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