Notes
“Every morning I’m up and in the gym early then out to see the pigeons.”
(Mike Tyson in Pigeon Keeping with the FT: Mike Tyson, Financial Times, 2012)
My second weekend is approaching at SSW. I’ve taken the time between my last visit so think, draw and measure sketches for the sculpture as I’ll be focusing this weekend on cutting my wood in preparation for beginning to assemble the piece.
Other research has included listening to a Radio Scotland documentary The Men of Birdiehouse, a half-hour program featuring the pigeon fanciers who live on Birdiehouse Road in Edinburgh (unfortunately no longer available on BBC i-Player).
I’ve also leaned that the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson loves pigeons, pigeon fancying and pigeon racing.
Working titles: Gentler Passion | Undisputed Heavyweight Gentler Passion
SSW Winter Residency
Days 1 and 2
My first few days at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop are at an end and it was a great few days.
There are four artists (including myself) in residence or a variety of time periods and we signal the tentative end to the cold Northeast Scottish winter as we begin to contemplate, discuss and realise our works.
The amazing visiting technician Gavin Smith offered inductions to the woodshop and alongwith Benjamin Burtenshaw SSW’s technical placement, discussed a way to begin to realise my project.
Materials are now on order with more drawing, sawing, hammering, painting, head-scratching and questioning to come.
More to follow…
Me – http://www.kimwalkerart.co.uk
You can see a recent project by Gavin here – http://deergouf.blogspot.co.uk/
Ben Burtenshaw – http://www.benjaminburtenshaw.co.uk/
SSW – http://www.ssw.org.uk/
A dovecote or dovecot (Scots: Doocot) is a building intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free – standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in Western Europe and were kept for their eggs, flesh, and dung. In Scotland the tradition is continued in modern urban areas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dovecote
