This page documents my residency with the Tweedsmuir Community Company from May 2022 until the completion of the Crook Inn artwork in November 2022. The residency brief was to run a variety of events for all members of the community in Tweedsmuir, regardless of their previous artistic experience, intended to allow them to reflect upon the area in which they live in a creative way. The goal was that with the help of the artist in residence the community would design and create an artwork to enclose the community owned Crook Inn pending its renovation.
Above left shows the road elevation. The community decided to base this aspect of the artwork upon the art deco elements of the architecture at the Crook Inn. The writing is taken from the nineteenth century popular ballad ‘Jeannie o’ the Crook’ in which the Kirk minister of Broughton tried to court the landlady of the Crook Inn through verse.
Above right shows the car park elevation. The community decided to create a textual artwork which represents, what, they feel, is important about their community to visitors. Words in blue reference water, which is important to the community and its sense of place, representing the Tweed which runs through the community and the artwork. Text in green refers to place names, whilst writing in orange draws attention to the culture of the area.
Sunday June 5th, Rhubarb Day/ So, you think you know Tweedsmuir? The Crook Inn, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. TWEEDSMUIR QUIZ
1. What year was Talla reservoir completed?
2. What is the name of the largest stone in the Menzion stone circle?
3. In 1604 the Crook Inn became one of the first licensed inns in Scotland, but in what year did it close?
4. Which year was the Crook Inn purchased by the community in Tweedsmuir?
5. Which John Buchan novel describes the plague of 1645, which killed several inhabitants of Menzion?
6. What was the name of the covenanter murdered in Corehead in 1685?
7. In which year did Tweedsmuir school close?
8. How many under 18s live in Tweedsmuir?
9. They say that they don’t build reservoirs in places where it doesn’t rain, but what is the average annual amount of precipitation in Tweedsmuir to the nearest inch?
10. How high is Broad Law in feet?
11. How many turbines are in the Whitelaw Brae wind farm?
12. The Megget Stone may originally have been a boundary marker for the royal Ettrick Forest. It now marks the boundary between which two counties?
13. Who wrote the song ‘Jeannie O’ The Crook’?
14. What is the fastest recorded time to climb the road from Talla linnfoots to the Megget Stane on a bicycle?
15. Whose wife did Robert Burns write about during his visit to the Crook Inn in 1752?
16. Tweedsmuir new kirk was in use from 1648; however, when was the present church building completed?
17. Which two families are associated with Oliver Castle?
18. Which Member of Parliament represents Tweedsmuir?
19. Which 1990s TV series by the playwright Peter Moffat cites Fruid as an inspiration for the series?
20. Where do children from Tweedsmuir attend primary school?
Answers:
1.1905; 2. Giant’s stone; 3. 2006; 4. 2013; 5. Witch Wood; 6. John Hunter; 7. 1978; 8. 20; 9. 68 inches; 10. 2760 feet; 11. 14; 12. Selkirkshire and Peeblesshire; 13. Rev. Hamilton Paul; 14. 5 minutes 15 seconds, Scott Thwaites; 15. Willie Wastle; 16. 1874; 17. Fraser and Tweedie; 18. David Mundell; 19. The Village; 20. Broughton.
This event aims to encourage people to think and talk about Tweedsmuir, with the goal of gaining an idea of what elements people think are important to include in the final artwork. The event will culminate in the Tweedsmuir Quiz at the Crook – how well do you really know Tweedsmuir? Can you ace rounds on Tweedsmuir's places, people, and history? This event will also give participants the opportunity to show artworks created during events 1 and 2! There will also be the chance to participate in a collaborative textual artwork on the hoarding around the Crook
Wednesday 25th May Small Scale Landscapes Walk. Meet 6.p.m at the Village Hall.This outdoors workshop is based around a walk. Its aim is to encourage volunteers, who wish to be involved in the project, to produce as many videos, sketches, photographs, or pieces of writing, as possible during the course of the walk. We will explore different ways of interpreting the landscape. These artworks will form the starting point for our development of the community artwork at the Crook.This event will last roughly two hours. We should be back at the hall around 8 pm. Hopefully we will be blessed with some marvellous evening light! There will be refreshments in the hall afterwards.Materials – All participants should bring a notebook or sketchbook. Participants are encouraged to bring any materials that they are particularly interested in using, for instance, something specialist such as camera. Drawing and painting materials will be provided. Please also come prepared for two hours outdoors. A rucksack could come in handy.
Saturday 28th May, Inspiration! Where to find it! Village Hall, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.Art History and Cultural Heritage – In this event we will cover a large variety of possible sources of inspiration for the community artwork at the crook. A presentation and activities will pose the questions: where can we look for inspiration? Could other artists offer ideas? How about the land itself? What might a finished artwork look like? What influences might be appropriate? What practicalities do we need to consider? We will try out some different materials, colours, and designs and work up some of the quick sketches and clips captured during the evening art-walk into more developed art works.Please remember to bring your artworks from Wednesday or plenty of ideas and memories.
Saturday 11th June Large Scale Landscapes – The final plan, 2 p.m. The Village HallThis is a workshop which will result in the production of the final design for the artwork surrounding the Crook Inn. It will begin with a recap of what ideas we have generated so far. The focus of the day to develop a large collaborative artwork at Tweedsmuir hall incorporating the elements discussed during the previous engagement events. By the end of the day the aim is to transform the collaborative artwork into a scale drawing which can be feasibly transferred to the hoarding surrounding the inn. This event will last three hours, or until the plan is largely complete...The more the merrier! Please bring, sketches, ideas, and a willingness to compromise!