It does not seem as if local craftspeople get the majority of the benefit from the galleries program. In fact, the exercise seems to be an example of activity that is today labeled by the (rather awful) label “cultural appropriation“.
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Beautiful work. I love stuff created from stuff that most people don't see any value in (driftwood and straw) to make something eminently beautiful and useful, which is gentle on the environment. I wish I could apprentice there.
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Learn to make something beautiful with your hands,
something that will be there tomorrow and in seventy years,
and you just may find that the world opens up in a beautiful way.
Thank you, NYT, for the photography,
the appropriate honoring of craft,
and the insertion of some decent and
welcome news into this troubled world.
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If you are interested in the Orkney Islands, be sure and read the outstanding fiction series by Ann Cleeves set in Shetland.
First book is Raven Black which won the CWA Gold Dagger award for best crime novel....
There are eight novels in the series, all are excellent.
Ann Cleeves and her husband, an ornithologist, lived on a small island (they were the only two people on it) for several years, where she began her writing career.
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@RLiss
Thank you. I went straight to my library reservation site.
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How wonderful to wake up to this nicely written, well researched and spirited article!
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I love how traditional methods are celebrated by changing them. If one brings a "modern sensibility" to an ancient craft what is it? Maybe some things can't be improved.
That said, I'd love to have a set of those chairs. What do they do with the wool from those seaweed sheep? Is wool still acceptable? I say it's better than petrochemical fabrics like "fleece."
8
I was on the Orkneys this summer. The Orkney chair is really incredibly comfortable. Many tour guides mentioned the hooded version was for men (to give them a barrier between the warmth of the fire and the chaos of the house) while the non-hooded version was for women (so they could tend the fire/stove and still monitor the chaos of the house, aka the kids).
Sadly, wasn't willing to pay to have one shipped back to the states - the oversized luggage fee would have bankrupted me...
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Thank you for including the link to the £3000 chair as I sit reading this article in Kirkwall. It saved me from bothering to read any further.
6
@LA Pete: are you an artist? ANY idea how much time it takes to create this furniture? The years of skills to be able to create it?
So you don't want to know about fine art that people pay millions for. No use for a Van Gogh or Renoir cos hey, you can't afford it. Neither can you appreciate a story about handcrafted, thoughtful art.
You can't appreciate a fine piece of art, a comfy chair, something unique and inspiring. Fine, but you gotta be snarky about it?
Any thought or problem with the folks making millions in hedge funds, raiding savings of regular folks. I could go on and on, but gee, a society which disses artists is a sad and sick society. Whatever.
I'm just glad I'm an artist who realizes the kind of work involved, appreciates the artistry, and most of all, applauds the time and thought put into these creations.
Maybe someday you can find something good about art. If not, well, many get it. Can't please everyone, right?
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Why don't trees grow there ?
Too Windy ?
Soil too Thin ?
Sheep nibble away at the seedlings ?
7
And not a dram to be seen.
3
A good place to work patiently indoors, as the sea is cold and the wind roars. The Brodgar chair is likely named for the Ring of Brodgar, a neolithic circle north of the main town, Stromness. It's no Stonehenge, but you can feel the millennia, and there are no crowds.
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