Setting up the exhibition!

I'm busy setting up the exhibition in Caithness Horizons.. ...........

To get you in the mood, watch me being interviewed in Mary-Ann's cottage by Nick Hand.......with a few of your boats!

Click on the photo of Mary-Ann's Cottage to watch!

BBC Alba to film the paper boat exhibition!

BBC Alba travelled north and filmed the launch of the paper boat fundraiser on a cold day outside Mary-Ann's Cottage in January!

BBC Alba are to return...........and will be filming the exhibition in Caithness Horizons during the first week it is open. I'll be adding links so you can watch it online tooooooooo........

Harbour Gates Have now Closed!

Thank you to all the boat makers from around the world!

122 - UK - Elaine Allison

Hi Joanne, here are my boats! Hope they make it!

Elaine.

www.elaineallison.co.uk

Now on the gallery wall!

121 - UK - George and Linda

Two boats from West Lake Orchards in Devon. One is the apple boat - on a Maori flax basket with apple sail. This sybolizes our farm's main business and the other is the bee boat and symbolizes our love of beekeeping and our hives. Linda and George
www.west-lake.co.uk (apple juice & cider)

www.orchardkeeperscottage.co.uk (accommodation)

120 - UK - Jane Bregazzi

Dear Joanne, I have some paper boats for you from lots of different playgroups/artworkshops. The children loved becoming involved in your project and got a lot out of it. Good luck with your fundraising for Mary-Ann’s cottage. Very best wishes Jane Bregazzi.

The boat makers were:
Brora Gaarfields August 2009 3yrs – 13yrs
Golspie Feis July 2009 8yrs – 12 yrs
Golspie Sutherland Easter 2009 Art and Storytelling
Strathpeffer July 2009 5yrs – 11yrs
North Kessock – August 2009
Culbokie July 2009 5yrs – 11yrs
Isle of Barra (Feis) July 2009 3yrs – 13yrs
Invergordon August 2009 5yrs – 11yrs
Dornoch Allsorts Summer 2009 5yrs – 12yrs
Golspie March 2009
The photograh is of boatmakers in Golspie, and was taken by Clive Grewcock for their local newspaper.

119 - Croatia - Tina Zec and friends

Joanne, Good luck and success with your fundraiser and other creative endeavors. With best wishes Tina Zec and friends. Zagreb School of Economics and Management

I had been working on this project for you in March. I made some myself using directions posted and got so excited about all the variations of paper boats possible that I did it as an art workshop for my daughter, Josie's 2nd grade class here in Zagreb. I but luckily my daughter is bilingual so she helped tell her classmates what to do. My son Darian also helped to get ready for his pirate birthday party on March 8. I found your site looking for directions to make for his themed event.

I got my college class involved as a warm up activity and used it to explain the power of an idea (yours).

The boats are made from Croatia: Croata Kravata Tie Company catalogpages decorated with the Croatian horroscope symbols from a localmagazine, a toy catalog, Lider Magazine, FT How to spend it magazine,and construction paper boats which were used for Boys Birthday party decorations.

The boat makers were: Tina Zec and friends from:- primary school(Class 2B at Kuslanova Primary School which included Josephine Zec (age 8) and 19 others.- college class (Customer Relationship Management course members at Zagreb School of Economics and Management including Dora Preloznjak,Valentin Descamps, Sanda Milunovic, Jean Baptiste Lafitte, Ana Paulina Zamudio, Arnaud Mounes, Elena Plavetic, Kata Zovkic, Luka Sepcic, and 10 others).

I am so glad that they finally set sail for your event.

118 - UK - Caithness - Mick O' Donnell

Joanne,

It has been a long journey, while was William Young was on the maiden voyage of the ‘Westland’, we were on the maiden voyage of our new house ‘Burifa’. We are now ship-shape, safely tied up and on firm ground ready for the future.
The ‘Rolling Home’ is made from local sycamore (Thurso Scotland) with an artists brush for the mast. We wish her ‘Bon voyage’ wherever she may sail.

Brough
Thurso
Scotland.

http://www.woodturning.uk.com/Caithness/ncaithness.html
(Still shows the old house!)

Mick

117 - UK - Deirdre Nelson

Paper boats with a postcard printed with knitted fish from Deirdres collaboration with Unst Peerie knitters - an afterschool knitting club in Shetland.

Hi Joanne, My boats at last!
My boat is made from paper printed with fisherman’s gansey patterns.
“ A fisherman’s gansey was once his most distinctive feature. A navy blue jumper, patterned on the top half and part of the sleeves was a proud possession. It was likely to be knitted by a loved one and carried a pattern characteristic of the fishing port of the family.” Project looks great. Deirdre.

http://www.deirdre-nelson.com/

http://dstitch.blogspot.com/

Click here to see lots of photos of Deirdre work.

116 - New Zealand - Beth and Chris Garey

1. Red Boat by Beth Garey (11) Printed from an original design by Beth after a printmaking session with Lynn Taylor. All of the icons have special meanings to Beth.

2. Foil Boat by Beth Garey (11) with seagull.

3. Poety boat (handwritten in pencil on the boat).
Small wooden planks neatly assembled into a tree, into paper, into a boat, a dinghy.
The boat is slow to age and slow to rot .
The weather hammers, the weather beats upon the wooden prow, the curving sides and the slender oars.
The rain lashes it until the oars fall in the water and the boat sinks.
Beneath the silent water there is a peace, there is a calm, from wave to sand, battered wood surfaces on some far off shore like a beached message. And then it rots far up the beach onto the land, and the soil builds up into a tree. Into a boat.

by Beth Garey (11) Broad Bay

4.Memories of My Grandmother by Chrisine Garey Broad Bay, Dunedin, NZ
28th July 2009

For the grandmother you gave me, for the mother you gave me, and for the daughter you gave me - the precious women in my life - I cherish your memory, Greatgrandmother of mine. Safe voyage home to the old country.

Though I never met you, gentle soul, you are much remembered and much loved,

Christine x

Click on text to read.

I'm holding the boats.

115 - Brazil - Barbara Benz

My boat's travel.

Hello Joanne, My boat is made from an ordinary print paper, with the image of ship containers from internet news, and some stamps. A little joke between light paper boat and heavy cargo ship, traveling from Brazil to UK.

I have a blog, I am a beginner. I post my impressions about the piece of world around me, sometimes what I see, I feel, I think; my arts also. Sorry it is only in Portuguese!

Porto Alegre, Rio Grande du Sul, Brazil

www.barbarabenz.blogspot.com

114 - Brazil - Daisy Maciel

Dear Joanne, love your paper boat project. I found it in the FiberArts magazine. Please find enclosed my contribution for your project. My boat is made from phone threads, glass beads. To tie the box, old paper thread. The “sea” is handmade felt. This paper is handmade – I made it. My name is Daisy Maciel. I’m from Porto Alegre, a city in Rio Grande du Sul, Brazil. All the best with wishes with your project fundraiser. Daisy

A love poem
Just to be simple
Don’t need anything more
Don’t ask nothing
No buy things
No need more
But have only one need

Love.

Daisy e-mailed me some more info:

"What a amazing surprise to see your carefully and delicacy, the photos are very beautiful. Thank you very much. I enjoyed your project in many points, one of that is its remind me my own roots. My ancestors came from Portugal and France (by boat of course) in the final of century XVII.They were farmers and cattle-raiser in a field called "IBIROCAY" almost frontier line with Uruguay. The history sheep's and my state send to beginning of colonization. They were originated from the crossing between the sheep brought the Jesuit priests and other imported races since the Portuguese colonization. They are called CREOLE SHEEP and in 2001 were recognized at an economic and social importance function.and creator numbers are growing around the country.
I made the "sea" hand made felt with Creole wool and I'm very involved with wool rescue.To explain better : the box tie is paper used to envolved thread phone antiques."

113 - Finland - Tarja Trygg

This little boat has had quite a journey…….starting in the snow in Helsinki, then a short stop with Roderick Wathen who lives in Mary Ann’s Cottage on the Isle of Skye………thanks Roderick for re-launching Tarja’s boat and sending it to me!!

Tarja Trygg

Licentiate of Art University of Art and Design Helsinki TAIKSchool of Art Education Helsinki.

www.solargraphy.com

112 - USA - Rhona and Sheena MacDonald

Ok some folks will go to great lengths to send me a paper boat from far away……. Sheena and Rhona are from Caithness, but in the USA for a short time…….

Dear Joanne, Here is our attempt at paper boats. Rhona used the cartoon page from the ‘local’ paper ‘The Tri City Herald’ and she has managed to set the ships cat (Garfield) just in the correct place - looks like he is heading for a snooze! Inspiration for the other one came from watching the fast boats race on the river last weekend. What a short journey it would have been it NZ if they had one of those boats! Speak soon. Sheena and Rhona.

111 - UK - Becca Thompson

Dear Joanne, I hope my boat reaches you in time. I grew up in Wick. I knew Mary-Ann wnen she lived at the Seaview nursing home. I helped look after Mary-Ann when she was still a sprightly 90yr old. I now live in Southampton. My boat is made from George Mackay Brown’s poem, ‘The fishermans Bride’ and holds a cargo of fish. Good luck with the projectBecca

110 - UK - Caithness - Emily Millard

Emily Millard

Age 9

Thurso

Caithness

109 - UK - Linda Cracknell

Francis Drake’s ‘Pirate’

‘Pirate’ was a ketch built in Stromness, Orkney in 1888 by G & P Copeland. In the same year she transferred ownership to Robert and Francis Drake who ran the last sailing coasters, delivering coal, slate, etc around the British coasts from Braunton, North Devon. Sadly she foundered off Lavernock Point after a collision with SS Druidstone in 1913 on passage between Cardiff and Bideford, carrying coal.

My mother’s mother was a Drake from Braunton. Every Drake generation had its ‘Francis’, although my great Uncle Frank in Sidmouth, merchant seaman, was last of the line. We like to say that we are descendants from that original ‘Pirate’ of Elizabeth I (although I find it best to keep quiet about this ancestry in some parts of the world).

My boat is made from paper that has on one side a chart of the north coast of Scotland and on the other side a 19th century map of the Braunton area - each end of the journey the Pirate must have taken from Stromness to Braunton.

‘Pirate’ believed to be by J H Harrison, quayside painter, from the book: Braunton – Home of the Last Sailing Coasters by Robert D’Arcy Andrew

Linda Cracknell
Aberfeldy, Perthshire, UK
http://lindacracknell.blogspot.com
http://walkingandwriting.blogspot.com

The Searching Glance, short story collection: http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/smf/9781844714414.htm

A Wilder Vein (editor), non-fiction anthology, November 2009: http://www.tworavenspress.com/HTML%20Pages/Forthcoming%20titles.htm

108 - Australia - Iona Bulford and Mary-Jane Walker

Dear Joanne, I came across your paper boat project in FiberArts magazine and thought it was a wonderful idea, uniting the world by encircling it with paper boats all sailing their way back to you. I hope my late entry makes port in time!

I lived in Scotland in the 1980’s, while doing my PhD in evolutionary genetics at Edinburgh University and have loved it ever since. I met and married my husband there and though we live back in my home country, Australia, we retain a real connection to your beautiful country through visits and family and friends. Two of our four children have Scottish names and I have a strongly Celtic background.

My little boat, in it’s silk organza sheerness, represents the fragility of our Earth. The ecosystem balances precariously on rough seas, the planet apparently thrown overboard. It is made from silk, linen and natural dyes with a bit of paper as well.

Although I trained as a scientist, I now channel my passion for the environment into my work as a textile artist. My boat brings a cargo of hope and all the best wishes for your project to succeed. It is a wonderful thing you have done inspiring people all over the world and it is just what we need in these times. Just as the Westland set sail with courage and high hopes, united we can achieve great things. Good Luck with your voyage.
Kind regards
Mary-Jane Walker.
PS. My daughter, Iona, was also very taken with your project and encloses a ship full of Australian animals for you!!

107 - USA - Duane Beard and Ben Moran

SS Maize
Handmade maize paper tugboat and barge.
As the fishing fleet was integral to the coastal population, the tug and barge were integral to the inland waterways.
Our SS Maize and barge is crafted from handmade paper created from corn husks.

Maize has always been the staple of the America’s and today it is no less important to the livelihood of farmers, boatmen, merchants and everyday people.

May the beauty of the corn bring our best wishes for Mary-Ann’s cottage and the Caithness Heritage Trust.
Duane Beard & Ben Moran.
Monte Alto, Texas, USA surfbunnydesign.blogspot.com

106 - UK - Anne Fitzsimmons - Mary-Anns grandaughter

Dear Joanne,
Here are our paper boats! I enjoy reading your blog spot. Anne

Boat on the left: Anne & Jim Fitzsimmons
(Grandaughter of Mary-Ann)
Boat on the right: Paul Fitzsimmons(Great grandson of Mary-Ann)

Photographed at Mary-Ann's.

105 - Denmark - Jytte Rasmussen

Mary-Ann's front door.
Dear Joanne, Good luck with the exhibition!
Jytte is a member of www.iapma.info
See some of her work here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artandart/2833182092/

Soundslides - By Nick Hand

Nick's soundslides are brilliant - click on the photo to hear my interview and see inside Mary-Ann's cottage!

".............Nick Hand is currently on a bicycle tour around the coast of Great Britain to raise money for Parkinson's Disease Society. As he travels, he is making short documentary films using still photography about local artisans and makers. These are called Soundslides.....

You can find out all about the trip at http://www.slowcoast.co.uk/ "

Nick stayed here earlier this week, a really nice bloke on an amazing journey. Let him catch his breath to edit and upload the latest batch of interviews ............I took him down to Mary-Ann's cottage to check out William Young's Sea-Chest and told him all about the paper boat fundraiser.

That's Nick, arriving at my house.

104 - Denmark - Elisabeth Hansen

Good luck with your project. It is very exciting.

My house sign!

103 - USA - Sandra Hamilton

Sandra’s boat is held by paper hands cut from a map of Arkansas.

Her boat sailed from Little Rock Arkansas.

102 - USA - Kim Bredberg and students at Waterhouse

Summer at last.
The teacher has set her boats a sail. My sister-in-law discovered your blog last fall, forwarded the address right away with this message: “This sounds perfect for Waterhouse”. She was right, of course.

This past winter, twelve students, aged 9 through 14, in my arts based home school cooperative each created a paper boat embellished with pages torn from the dictionary, complete with a tiny “lifeboat of words” and an original poem on a ghost ship of velum. The children lovedthis creative endeavor. Later in the spring, five of my students who participated in a longer, one-day workshop, crafted paper boats inspired by Henri Matisse’s Goldfish. The children are thrilled that their boats are sailing to Scotland.
I wish we could take a field trip to Caithness for the fundraising event, but am grateful for the virtual opportunity.

Many thanks. Kim Bredberg, Director, Waterhouse, California. USA