Written by Dr. Tuija Kirkinen - post doctoral researcher with ‘Animals make identities’ at the University of Helsinki
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| Tuija during her visit to Skye Photo Credit: C Dear |
At the end of June I had the pleasure of spending unforgettable days in the Isle of Skye as part of the string / lines project with artist Caroline Dear and archaeologist Karen Hardy. This was my second visit to Scotland, however, I realised that the island with its breathtaking sceneries was a world of its own with its extremely friendly and kind people.
The big issue that pulled us together was the traditional use of plants to make strings, ropes, containers, nets, and textiles. Our time frame covers the multiple uses of plants from the first settlers in Skye, that means, from the Palaeolithic Stone Age. My expertise is in animal hairs, feathers and plant fibres the remains of which I search from soil samples collected from archaeological contexts. In the samples, the findings are usually under one millimeter long, observable only by microscope.
Caroline in turn makes the traditions alive in her artistic work by collecting and preparing plants for string making and, further on, for different kinds of products. It was amazing to see Caroline´s work that was based on the Mesolithic net find from Antrea in the Karelian Isthmus, former Finland. Caroline told me that the knot in the Antrea net is a standard fishing net knot still in use today. I was also able to gather some plant samples for my library of materials.
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| Material Samples Photo: C Dear |
On Wednesday 29th of June I participated a very special occasion, a String Ceilidh, in Kilmuir Hall in the northernmost part of Skye. I had to check the word ceilidh before hand as it was new to me. I found out that “Traditionally, a ceilidh was just another term for a social gathering held in a hall or larger community space, and did not have to involve dancing of any sort. These gatherings would allow participants to tell stories, sing songs and participate in group dances”. At the string ceilidh, we explored the history of string making with local materials and encouraged people to bring their handicrafts with them. Caroline’s idea of a string ceilidh with a pop up art exhibition, story telling and Anne Martin’s amazing singing is an invention, which I want to carry out in Finland, too.