In October of 2014 I voyaged again to Norway, calling at several places with whale and whaling related collections in particular Bergen, Honningsvag and Tromso, As often happens it is the unexpected things that often inspire me the most. The seal skulls at Tromso (sealing was an important part of arctic whaling) and the rock carvings at Alta of ships …
The whaling collection at Hull is mentioned in Moby Dick and is, therefore, a very special place. The whaling gallery at Hull Maritime Museum is one of my most inspiring places and I visit it as often as I can. The skeleton of a right whale and models and paintings of ships have all influenced my work. In addition to …
I visited the Arbuthnot Museum in Peterhead in September 2014. Peterhead was one of the most important whaling ports in Scotland and the displays in the museum amply illustrate this heritage. In addition to the displays I was fortunate enough to be invited to visit the collections store where I discussed Peterhead’s whaling heritage with some of the staff and …
Whaling carried on in Dundee later than any other Port in Britain because of the use of whale oil in the local jute processing industry. One of the great benefits to me of this is that Dundee has a fantastic collection of whaling photographs, of ships, whaling and the arctic locations. This is also one of the reasons that the …
In July 2014 I was fortunate enough to go on a trip to Iceland and Greenland. Sailing from Liverpool (appropriately an old whaling port) we visited Reykjavik where I saw orca, as well as a wide range of traditional tools and implements made from stranded whales at the National Museum and Skogar Museum. The Icelandic term for whale bone washed …
In 2013 on my month long voyage around various Arctic Seas I saw five different species of whale and visited several whale centres, heritage whaling sites and museums with skeletons of whales on display. A series of quilted textile pieces evolved from sketches and photographs of the skeletons, maps both current and historic of the locations where I saw the …
Quilted textile with digital print and freehand machine embroidery (35 x 40 cm)
Quilted textile with digital print and freehand machine embroidery (25 x 35 cm)
Quilted textile with digital print and freehand machine embroidery (20 x 30 cm)
Quilted textile with digital print and freehand machine embroidery (55 x 30 cm)