12 August 2007

WANDERINGS - THE POLKA DOT HARBOUR



Today I wandered to the Pittenweem Arts Festival - this annual event, now in its 25th year, turns a small fishing village in the East Neuk of Fife into an massive art gallery - houses, churches and the town hall all become art galleries and events and outdoor installations abound. It lasts for a week and today was the last day so I had to head over. My friend Allyson had visited last weekend and told me I had to go and see the knitted dots floating in the harbour and I am so glad that I did.

The artist, Margaret Bathgate, has looked at bringing knitting into the world of fishing, inspired I imagine, by the piles of fishing nets. With enormous needles, 39cm in diameter, she knits large nets and circles. The circles floating on water look like large jellyfish and the nets thrown over a boat could easily be mistaken for a colourful fishing net. Her installation, venue 54, the harbour, was of 25 large knitted dots anchored in the harbour - creating the Polka Dot Harbour.



Another artist Joachim Romer, who uses flotsam and jetsam to construct art installations had created a picture of the harbour (displayed on the harbour) of pieces of rubbish that he had collected from beaches. From a distance, the picture looks like a painting of the harbour but as you approach you start to see that it is made up of thousands of pieces of coloured plastic, including cigarette lighters, buoys, flip-flops etc and you start to lose sight of the picture and focus on the array of plastic making up this giant mosaic.



Art seems to fit seemlessly into the village, one of the most pictureseque and demanding to be photographed villages in Scotland. Once again I am reminded why I love living so close to the sea and all that it means....

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

what a gorgeous post- i love the pictures. that's just how i imagine a seaside village in scotland to look...

Kate said...

Looks like a great arts festival - that huge knitting looks amazing!

Jade said...

Cool place, Di! And that giant plastic mosaic is very eye-catching.

Suse said...

Great photos!

Eva said...

Oh, I can't believe it's that time already, it's always such a great place to go too!!! Very nice pictures and I like the knitted polka dots. Looks like you had the good weather for it too

Tangara said...

I'm so sorry I can't make it to Pittenweem this year! It must've been fab. Still, I got to see hot air balloons by the dozen on Saturday....xx

Tangara said...

I'm so sorry I can't make it to Pittenweem this year! It must've been fab. Still, I got to see hot air balloons by the dozen on Saturday....xx

TopChamp said...

You had sunshine? Where did that come from? I spent Saturday and Sunday travelling between the East and West (Ed & Glasgow) and saw not the slightest hint of sun!

I have never heard of this place.. or this festival but the pictures are very lovely.

Manda said...

Hi Di, thanks for visiting my blog :-) i dream of living by the sea . . in the mean time i will visit your blog :-)

Julia said...

I was over there on the First Saturday and really enjoyed the Joachim Romer landscape too.It's hard to believe that all the plastic debris was collected in just a few weekends...scary!

Ali said...

That looks incredible - thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

You've got some really beautiful photos and craft on your blog Di. I adore the little bowl in the post below so much, it's gorgeous.
Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog,
Melx
(Tasmania, Australia)

montague said...

Hi Di - this town is so beautiful! I absolutely love the last two pictures...
I'd love to visit sometime!

Kri, Cla, Greta e Grace said...

Great photos Di, you make me miss Scotland! Fife was always a lovely day out. We love the blog, it is great fun to wander with you around GB and the world!

Anonymous said...

I didn't get there this year - but it looks better than ever,
J
x

peaknits said...

What gorgeous pictures! I also love the Free Spirit fabrics by Heather Ross - I just got some with little Garden Gnomes on it - I think it will be pillow cases for my new sister-in-law who lives in the city but wants a gnome:)

Anonymous said...

Hi there. Thrilled to see the Polka Dot Harbour in your blog.
I am the artist and am pleased you liked it.
The inspiration came from a study of Japanese fibre art and research into Scottish fishing communities.

All best wishes,
Margaret Bathgate.