Orkney Archive Advent Calendar - A Christmas Wish from Wishart

Today's archive is this beautiful print taken from Stromness artist Sylvia Wishart's papers.

Orkney Archive Reference: D134/1/3/3

Sylvia Wishart Papers Now Catalogued!

Orkney Archive reference: D136/1/11
Double exposure - Sylvia and geraniums.

A little over a year ago, we received a donation which pleased us greatly. A small collection of the personal papers of Orcadian artist Sylvia Wishart (1938-2008).


The single box contains many invitations to private views of work, her own and others, some personal photographs, teaching materials, press cuttings, poems by friends and correspondence.


A very modest woman, there are only a couple of examples of writing by Sylvia Wishart herself about her own work process and one of these was written in answer to a letter from a schoolchild:

'...I prefer others to talk about my pictures - feeling that I've had my say!... But whatever method you adopt or develop it is only the vehicle to carry your idea. I would advise you to try all sorts of things with a "let's see what happens" attitude; and if three times out of every ten you surprise yourself, that's a good ratio to be going on with!'

The collection also contains a folder of blue-prints showing the renovation of a Stromness pier property into a flat and studio. That same building now houses the Pier Arts Centre.

The most delightful thing about this collection, however are the lovely pictures:

Orkney Archive Reference: D136/1/3/2 A Christmas print.

Orkney Archive Reference: D136/1/5/3
Melsetter Farm - print made for local business calendar, early 1970s.

Orkney Archive Reference: D136/1/5/3
West Pier, Kirkwall - print made for local business calendar, early 1970s.

Margaret Tait in Living Colour

The delightful image above is taken from the Margaret Tait collection and is a painting of her wonderful eightsome reel figures which feature in the animated film Painted Eightsome which can be seen here.






We also found the fiddled-diddledy figure's genesis in one of her notebooks:

If you like the film then pop along to the Pier Arts Centre before the 7th of June. Their current exhibition Living Colour celebrates the animation work of several artists including Margaret Tait and a number of films shall be screened.

 Supporting material from the Orkney Archive including copies of Margaret Tait's watercolour sketches plus correspondence about her film making are also part of the exhibition.

If you are not in Orkney, or shall not make it to the exhibition, then you can take a look at one of the films being shown here:



Painting: Orkney Archive Reference D97/44/2
Notebook: Orkney Archive Reference D97/28/15

A Multi-Tricked Pony

Stanley Cursiter is well-known for his portraits and Orkney landscapes in oils but he was also a talented designer of book covers. The archive holds a loose-leaved sketch-book full of watercolour designs made for Blackwoods publishers:

Do the art, man

Today is the 23rd anniversary of the first appearance of The Simpsons on the Tracey Ullman Show.

To celebrate, we are posting cartoons drawn by Stromness artist, former art teacher and head of Stromness Academy, Ian MacInnes.