Hame Again
For me, Spirit of the Highlands is the invisible thread that binds our past to our present, and our present to our future. It embodies the ingenuity and perseverance of the human spirit in this wild and untamed corner of Scotland we are blessed to call ‘home’.
My wearable pieces were inspired by my ain roots here in Caithness and across the Pentland Firth, by the geology of the area, and by the prehistoric structural remains which pepper the landscape of the Highlands.
They feature tiny representations of brochs and cairns as recorded through the ages. The resources being my own site visit sketches, aerial photography, Victorian archaeological etchings, and on proposed blueprint plans for the construction of a modern day broch by the Caithness Broch Project.
Impressions of local stone were taken to capture the essence of each area, and these were cut then cast along with found objects to create silver ‘relics’. The main piece was then set with two kiln glass seascape cabochons to represent our glorious coastline and sea-faring heritage.
Clava Cairns & Camster Cairns
There’s an outstanding wealth of archaeology on our doorsteps here in the Highlands, from the mighty brochs to the ancient burial grounds and hidden shell middens. With such a dense concentration of sites it was difficult to choose on which to focus my research! Ultimately I chose the mysterious cairns of Camster and Clava, and the brochs of Thrumster and Ousdale, due to their beautiful circular shapes that reflected my theme of the cyclic nature of life.