This amazing pier is where I started my day, having a walk with my dog in the calm, steely Shetland grey skies, this is the pier for catching the ferry to Mousa Broch, but we are out of season now and it is closed. Walking along the beach we saw seals swimming and resting on the rocks. It is like a sculpture, beautifully constructed from laid stone, the clear sea water gently lapping.
Following on from the meeting yesterday I now have an extensive list of people to contact, including retired fishermen, herring gutters, authors, local historians and community members. This morning I spoke to a lovely woman Adelene, an ex herring gutter who also runs the history group in Burra, she began to tell me many interesting stories and she has offered to gather together a group of gutters later in November to tell me their tales.
Then went into Lerwick to do practical stuff like collecting my now fabulously, repaired computer and to order some timber to make the display cases for the traveling FishVan collection.
I love going into Lerwick to wander around the harbour, not only is this the site for the sculpture, it is also a place full of intriguing forms. It struck me how much of Shetland consists of muted greys, greens, peaty colours yet the boats and harbours are full of bright, fluorescent objects and hard industrial materials, it is a stark contrast and lifts the greyness, makes me think about the sculpture, how it will be seen from out at sea as well as from the street and how it can maybe make use of colour.
