No its not me again.. despite the spherical nature of the stone block. During the NEOS ( North East Open Studios) week, which will also see artwork exhibited in Oldmeldrum Town Hall, the
Scottish Sculpture Workshop (SSW)in Lumsden, is presenting
The Lost Hand : which may be very worth going along to. I am minded of conversations with the masons at FGR which expressed concern for the lack of young blood coming through, and the prospective loss of a whole skills base in the area. While driving to and fro Oldmeldrum from Aberdeen, I heard on the radio that the govt are proposing to insist that any company contracted by the govt to carry out work, have a minimum number of apprenticeship opportunities. This, to me, seems like a good plan, providing it's implemented thoughtfully.
On Sundays 11 and 18 of September 2011, between 12 and 6pm, Scottish Sculpture Workshop will host craftsmen, tradesmen and artists from the Grampian region who will show their exceptional craftsmanship to the public. From kilt making to stone work, from wheel wrighting to wood graining and sign writing, SSW are looking to cover a whole range of crafts and trades while asking you where the future of these skills lies? During the week there will also be plenty of opportunity to get involved, with an art cafe, talks, workshops and potluck dinners.
One of the images emailed to me during from installation. It was very curious watching this from a distance and I regretted not being present at the final stage. The technicians however, as usual, did a great job!
Yesterday Aberdeenshire Council Museums services installed the archaeological display in Meldrum Library. Evelyn Munro went over to the library and sent me some images... it appears that the 12 neolithic stone balls have been arranged appropriately like a clock...particularly poignant today as I wait to hear how the installation of the larger versions goes .. kicking off at 9am this morning. While I regret I am not present - and feel a little anxious- for a number of reasons not least the uncertainty of the installation date - it was too complicated to arrange, and I do have complete confidence in the folk who are installing the work- Fyfe Glenrock technicians supported by Aberdeen Council engineers.
We are now considering what text should accompany the art work and also the possibility of producing a small (very!) publication to accompany the launch to offer a bit of background to the artwork, for the curious. 
No its not me again.. despite the spherical nature of the stone block. During the NEOS ( North East Open Studios) week, which will also see artwork exhibited in Oldmeldrum Town Hall, the Scottish Sculpture Workshop (SSW)in Lumsden, is presenting The Lost Hand : which may be very worth going along to. I am minded of conversations with the masons at FGR which expressed concern for the lack of young blood coming through, and the prospective loss of a whole skills base in the area. While driving to and fro Oldmeldrum from Aberdeen, I heard on the radio that the govt are proposing to insist that any company contracted by the govt to carry out work, have a minimum number of apprenticeship opportunities. This, to me, seems like a good plan, providing it's implemented thoughtfully.
One of the few folk I invited to the yard before leaving; Evelyn Munro tries out the artwork out for size. The spheres are not only meant to delight the eye, but also the sense of touch and thinking of "Bruce's seat" the smaller two can be used as stools or resting points. Evelyn is the first person to sit upon the spheres apart from myself, and rightly so, as she has been a great support to me and font of local knowledge throughout this project.
