On Exhibition: Douglas McBride Photographer

Theatre poster for Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class

Visitors to the Hall will recently have noticed the walls lined with some striking theatrical photographs, and perhaps may even have spotted Dr Who aka David Tennant. An exhibition is currently running featuring the work of eminent Scottish photographer Douglas McBride, who has been shooting theatre for over 30 years.

Moments of drama from productions staged in nearly every principal Scottish theatre featuring some of the country's foremost actors have been captured by Douglas over the years, ranging from Shakespeare to Stoppard. Shakespearian productions include Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, and  Julius Ceasar; best known contemporary productions include Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off by Liz Lochhead, Curse of the Starving Class by Tom Stoppard and adaptations of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, and Goethe's Faust.

Douglas's work with theatre has been featured over the years in the Edinburgh Festival as well as festivals world-wide, including Toronto, New York, Perth Australia and Hong Kong.

His work first came to prominence during a successful career in advertising which began in the early 1980s. In parallel Douglas has evolved a highly personal style focussing on natural landscape, collecting evocative images from local sources, particularly Glen Dochart, Glen Lochay and Glen Ogle.

In 2009 he was invited to exhibit his landscape photography  in Chaumont, France, where the exhibition Archeology was opened by French Education Minister Luc Chatel, who presented Douglas with a gold medal on behalf of the Haute Marne region.

The distinctive personal style of Douglas McBride closer to home in an observation of an icy Loch Lubhair

Other accolades received by Douglas over the years have included recognition for his work in advertising, being awarded Gold in 1993 by the Art Directors Guild of New York, and Best Use of Photography and Best Design of Publications on several occasions. Recently a project by Douglas on Irish poet and playwright Seamus Heaney was chosen by the Irish Government to be presented to President Barack Obama on his visit to Ireland on 23rd May 2011.

Detail from an atmospheric triptych exhibited in Chaumont, France, part of the Archeology exhibition

A number of books have been published of Douglas's work, including a book of the exhibition Archeology. These can be viewed at Douglas McBride Bookstore; also visit his blog Riabhach where Douglas regularly posts his personal and detailed observations of the landscape. For further information on theatrical works visit Douglas's website:
www.douglasmcbridephotographer.co.uk

O Duo!!! The Joys of Noise

O Duo: Owen and Olly

A quiet and sedate performance given by the percussionists O Duo took place on a peaceful Saturday afternoon, at dreamy Tombreck . . .

Do you believe me? Not!! - if you can imagine the energy of a particle accelerator combined with the sound of a few McLaren F1 engines, you might just start to get a notion of the sheer thrill with which these two musicians kicked the hall into life on Saturday afternoon.

From the moment they leapt into the room and launched straight into the first number the word WOW! could almost be seen written above the audience in the vibrating air. Owen and Olly within the very first second had every person present held utterly spellbound. 'Bongo Fury', composed by the duo, was the first piece of the performance introducing us to their spot-on co-ordination, high energy, creativity, and intelligent interpretation of music. Parts of the instruments that probably haven't been thought of before as particularly musical - as well as the bits more familiar to us - were combined with clacking sticks, cowbells, shaker and punchy vocal shouts to create not only very loud, exciting music but also exquisitely textured sound.

The audience arriving and sitting comfortably . . .

Do not, however, go away with the impression that ballistic bongos were the only thing on the menu this afternoon; these two young men are highly-trained classical musicians, and the range of music they played throughout the performance was staggering. We were next introduced to the marimba, the largest instrument the duo play at about 8 feet long and spanning several octaves, with beautiful rosewood bars. Bach wrote this piece originally for organ; Owen and Olly today both played the marimba together, each of them holding 2 mallets in each hand which allowed for chords to be played - which defied the notion that this was a percussion instrument. Rather, the sound was astonishingly expressive, full and soft - I noticed that children in the audience by this time were utterly transfixed!

An impromptu 'concert' took place after the performance outside the Big shed . . .

With each piece of music we were introduced to the instruments, Olly and Owen explaining how the range of sound from each was produced; the vibraphone came into play next in Cadiz by Spanish composer Albeniz. I was particularly struck by the economy of movement and control of the musicians - they conjured up from apparently nowhere, and seemingly by doing very little, rhythms and sound which at one moment were alluring and soft, and the next seeming to strike from right inside one's own chest, the vibrations strong and lively.

A superb arrangement of Take Five (written by Paul Desmond and brought to fame in the '60's by Dave Brubeck) followed - and you had to blink twice and pinch yourself to realise that this richness of sound was produced using percussion instruments alone.

. . . in the drama of the Loch Tay landscape

At this point, the duo involved volunteers from the audience, and a word now has to be said in praise of those who stepped up and took part in the concert. At different times of the performance a good 12 of the denizens of Loch Tayside, ranging in age from under 7 to over 70, were involved in the music-making - and they were impressive! I had the opportunity to speak to a few of them after the concert; Stephen, who claimed never to have played a musical instrument before and performed like a star, said that Olly and Owen made it very easy for him to feel his way into the music; Ellen - at 79, stepped up to play the glockenspiel and gave a superb rendition, and Trish remarked that the beauty of the instrument made her feel as though it would be impossible to play a wrong note. The youngsters who volunteered I am sure experienced a life-changing moment - they stood totally absorbed, playing beautifully, faces lit - perhaps a career is born at such a moment. (Britain certainly has got talent, and it's not always on TV).

The vibraphone as you have never heard it before was played . . .

Also featured was Marimba Spiritual, which began with a bewitchingly serene cymbal. But there was a pixie look of merriment in Olly's eye - which little prepared the audience for the burst of sheer joy of sound which burst forth in the crazy, tight rythms and shouts which ensued as the musicians dodged and wove around one another, leaping from one end of the marimba to the other in their own possessed dance as they played. O Duo next renamed Chopin's One Minute Waltz to the accurately-named One Minute and Twenty-seven Second Waltz as they departed to the sound of the crowd stamping their feet and shouting for them to come back . . .

. . . and attracted a different audience!

My favourite piece? Mad Rush composed by Philip Glass, originally written to honour the  Dalai Lama's first visit to the United States in 1979. Written for the organ, it has been brilliantly arranged by Owen and Olly to be played on marimba and vibraphone. The result: serene, intricate, stately, cascading and cold as a rippling stream. It is the music of the mountains, so appropriate for the location of the day.
Visit O Duo's website here: oduo.co.uk

After the Concert

Go on, throw me the stick, throw me the stick . . .

Olly and Owen took the vibraphone outside and relaxed with the audience who didn't make it into the hall . . .

. . . and gave another performance in the wilds. Thank you, guys!

Easter Craft Fair

The Easter Craft Fair took place in the Hall yesterday . . .

Clockwise from top left: crochet, Marie Connell of Purpleshed; wooden horse hangings, Claire Donnelly; glass tiles, Bonnie Maggio; felt pots, Anna Kinross; wooden bowls, Neil Turtle; photographic prints, Dave Hunt of Wildgrass Studio; Perthshire Preserves; glass brooches, Bonnie Maggio; Ecological Architecture's eco insulation. Nest of eggs, top: felt bowl by Anna Kinross of Tombreck.

The day was set fair for weather, enabling Neil Turtle of Windblown Woodwork to hold his stall outside the entrance to the Big Shed, where visitors were greeted by the warmth of  fragrant wood. Neil's range of hand-made tools, turned wooden bowls and bedknobs and broomsticks (well, stool-legs and broomsicks to be exact) made a fascinating display. Neil's collects up wood which has been blown down in storms, and puts it to good use making everything from tiny bowls to log cabins.

Today he was at the fair not only selling and advertising his skills, but also explaining about the wood itself - how it is possible to cleave a large log using a wooden chisel, why the ubiquitous Sitka makes excellent cabins, what can be done with willow trimmings, and showing how he will single out an interesting piece of twisted bough and feel his way into what this piece will become.

A step inside and there was a welcome of teas, coffee and home-baking in the reception area (see post below) and then into the Hall, which once again showcased some of the remarkable talents and skills which the Loch Tayside community contains tucked away in all its numerous twisty tracks and coves. It becomes clear that there must be something creative in the very air of this district, as an astonishing variety of genuinely talented, extremely skilled industry unfolds before the eyes . . .

Anna Kinross, maker of these small, soft, colourful felt pots told me that there is something really compulsive about making these in the hands. They are so tactile and really lovely to touch - I have no idea how they are made, they just look as though they have appeared by magic - but I notice that Anna holds classes . . .

Dave Hunt, pictured above, at the stand for Wildgrass Studio which is run by Dave and his wife Gill, both professional photographers working in different genres. Gill specialises in wildlife photography and is making a name for herself with her intense close-ups of plant-life; she was recently shortlisted for International Garden Photographer of the year. Dave has also had great success already this year, being runner-up for the BIPP Fine Art Photography award. Their stand carried a large range of hand-made cards, prints, framed works, and examples of Dave's latest work pioneering new techniques in digital photography. (See the Dates for your Diary section for details of Dave's workshops at the Big Shed).

You may be forgiven for mistaking the colourful slabs above for bars of exquisite hand-made soap - but in fact, this is Ecological Architecture's stand - who are of course the architects of the Big Shed building (amongst many others - I was assured there is life outside the Big Shed!), and in characteristic style Sue and Mary were manning the stand bearing samples of building materials for the home. No ordinary materials here; these are the new must-haves for the modern eco-house made from recyled plastics. Shredded wellies are transformed into gorgeous marbled tough rubber which actually looks and feels good enough to eat (but don't try this!) while plastic bottles, yogurt pots and electrical conduit are made into worktops and splash-backs for the new generation of ecologically-aware bathrooms and kitchens. On display were also some of the raw materials used in the construction of the walls of the Big Shed - pictured below, some unctuous clay plaster next to mixed wool from 300 kilo bales, which when teased out and packed into the cavities became the insulation material.

Recycling and a green approach was a thread that ran through many of the stalls. Pictured here, below left, are some exquisite little brooches made by Claire Donnelly from plastic insects - carefully primed and painted with gold, adorned with sequins, glitter and enamel they become real jewels.

Claire is an upholsterer, often working with the props department for Sottish Opera; nothing goes to waste, and the clutch-bag pictured above right is a classic example: the brown leather of the body was cut from a handbag which had been discarded because of a large wine stain; the maroon leather band was recylcled from Falstaff's costume from the opera; and the blue strip which edges the zipper is from a couch which starred in Prokoviev's opera Betrothal in a Monastery. Now that is a bag with history! Pictured next to the bag and below are some examples of the beautiful crochet-work by Marie Connell, who is a cellist with Scottish Opera.

There was so much more to be seen today - I could probably go on writing all night and still not have covered everything - there were also on sale beautiful greetings cards, jewellery of many different types of stones and glass, pink grapefruit & ginger marmalade, spicy butternut squash chutney, honey and fruit conserves; and every craftsperson with an interesting story connected to their work.

But finally here is a reminder of the beautiful surroundings of the Big Shed in this view of Loch Tay and the hills beyond, seen through the doors of the Hall at the fair.

Feaster Fare

It seems that not a function takes place without a feast provided by the amazing Ladies of the Shed, not to mention the chaps who are as talented in the kitchen as in other areas - and it's honestly so good it can't pass without a mention - so here are some mouth-watering pictures of the food baked up specially for the Easter Fair.

Delicious Tombreck duck-egg mayo in home-baked brown rolls, beautiful little butterfly cakes as light as their name, and wholesome fruit cake were only a part of the spread. So in case you weren't there, here's what you missed!

 A snapshot of the reception area as seen from the hall showing the gathering around the food table - the goodies disappear quite fast, so you have to be quick!