Weaving Loch Lomond

I grew up in the hills around Loch Lomond. The local area is dominated by the great mountain of Ben Lomond, which translates from the Gaelic to Beacon Mountain.

Our predominate weather system is rains which sweeps in from the west - North Atlantic, often skirting Ireland, then on through to the West coast of Scotland where the hills and mountains react with great rainclouds, making the west a very wet place. What’s impressive with this predominate weather is that there are days when the mountain completely dissapears, draped in the skirts of the Cailleach, the great crone of these lands.

The Inspiration for Weaving

Weaving Loch Lomond are art pieces created on a circular loom, an embroidery hoop. The inspiration os from Loch Lomond but also the surrounding land, west to the River Clyde and the river shore, north to the mountains and red deer antlers, stretching over on occasions to the Hebrides, the islands in the west. South from Loch Lomond where I live - where the waters of the the Loch race fast through the River Leven to meet the mighty River Clyde at Dumbarton Rock, a great volcanic plug of a now ancient volcanos, which was active approximately 330–340 million years ago during the Early Carboniferous period.

My inspiration to begin weaving came from a walk down by the River Clyde, as well as on the shores of Loch Lomond. The river shore offers seaweed and rocks covered with wonderful mustard lichen, while the loch offers little pieces of driftwood and sticks.

Dùthchas

Each weaving holds a place in the cycle of the seasons, perhaps the blue green hues of the water, the black and grey diffuse light on a misty winter morning, which speak to the evocative spirit of the place. Some weavings might wander a little further for their inspiration, to a standing stone circle or ancient shrine (the Shrine of the Cailleach is only 30 miles away as the crow flies).

The act of weaving connects to an ancient linage of those who wove - its a wonderfully meditative process which I began in lockdown of 2020. It’s an art and craft which embodies growth, change, and renewal. Through my weaving, I share not only what I see but what I feel about this landscape.

The Gaelic word Dùthchas is a weaving of connection of people and place, it also speaks to the relationship between people and animals, the forestss, lochs and sea, hills and mountains. It’s also about a responsibility ot he land, such as protesting the monstrosity of Flamingo Land which was an amusement park proposed for the Banks of Loch Lomond.

Crofter and world-renowned knitwear designer Alice Starmore from Lewis described dùthchas:

“a feeling of belonging, of where everything is linked, completely linked. Where you belong to the land, and the land belongs to you – there is no distinction. It’s like a hand in a glove. Everything fits in, and your culture is part of that as well, and everything you know that’s around you; every part of life that’s around you is all interlinked and interdependent, and it’s all about ancestry, knowing where you’ve come from and that you are a continuation of all that.” - —

Click here to read more on the concept of Dùthchas at the The Shieling Project

Memorial Art pieces

Weaving Loch Lomond art pieces are also ways of honouring those who have died, or places you love as well as holding a story. Below are two testimonials of pieces I made for two wonderful dogs, each pieces holds a little fur as well as part of their story.

Met was found wandering around out in the country and ended up at a friends house. My friend called me and asked if I would take him since they knew that I had been doing animal rescue for quite a while. I agreed and thought I would foster him for a while then get him adopted. He was about 3 years old then, he sat when you walked up to him, walked well on a leash, was house trained and had been taught not to walk on the hard floors. I knew someone had loved him and trained him so we made a huge effort to find his family which we never did. I ended up falling in love with him and decided that he needed to join my family. He was my constant companion and was a good boy his whole life. After his passing I missed him terribly.