Friday 2 July 2010

Stones and Ink


This is one of the houses at Skara Brae, a Neolithic village and part of Orkney's World Heritage Site (this was done on A4 with Staedler o.3 and 0.7). It is meant to be part of a series of designs for some t-shirts; part of a business idea Sue and I have whilst the wolf is banging and scraping at the door! Unfortunately the tourist season is nearly half over and the "pressure" of producing enough designs at short notice isn't helping any either! So what do you think - it would have a small company logo/motif at the bottom right hand corner along with the name "Skara Brae, Orkney" ??? white on black, red on green, red on blue, etc.



The Village was first uncovered in the late 1800's when storms exposed it under the sand dunes that had covered it for a very very long time. Its was excavated between 1925 and 1930 and is now known to date from , at its earliest, 3,200 BC. All the houses have the same 'template' with 'side board' facing the low entrance, fire place in the centre, bed stalls to left and right. Archaeological investigation also showed that 'industrial' activity was always confined to the same set areas. The passage ways through the village also appear to heavily proscribed as to use and route. All in all a very structured life with lots of taboo or organisation. A plan is below..





Below is also another design, for the interior of Maes Howe, a Neolithic Chambered Cairn (or Tomb) from about 2,700 BC. Also part of the World Heritage Site.


So living dangerously -"Wada ya think???"

14 comments:

  1. Love them both designs! I really like the consistency of the negative space..the white lines, it's amazing!

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  2. I love all these...and it really makes me remember my desire to go to the Orkneys, so it must work as hoped!

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  3. I think they're lovely! Ian did a run of about 30 t shirts ago for our local Amnesty group, the price wasn't horrific and the turn around about a week or so. Would you consider doing a small trial run - get 'em in quick before the end of the season so to speak. As for the images themselves - brilliant, easily recognisable, yet slightly stylised to be a little bit arty, so should appeal to a wide range of tastes. Where are you planning to sell them and what competition do you have up there?

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  4. Enjoyed reading your blog. I would suggest that you add some text, at least to identify what/where these places are. you might add a little card or page that gives more information. Being from Texas, I didn't know any of this that you explained.
    And, besides just selling them to tourists, you might put them online. I wondered about a site like Etsy. And maybe on your own website. You might expand them to posters or prints, as well as t-shirts.
    Good luck! I applaud your efforts and wish you success!

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  5. Your writings on your adoptive home are both interesting and informative. Your professional archaeological knowledge gives an extra dimension and your artwork is the perfect illustration.
    I like the black and white images here, which have depth. I think it would be a marvellous way to use your artistic talents to make a bit of cash. I think Cecelia has the right idea, get your own website. Don't just rely on the visiting tourists.
    Perhaps you could, if not already, ask your daughter to get involved. She may have ideas for images that would be perfect for younger people and children. Today, children are often the driving force behind getting parents to dig deep and spend. It's a splendid idea. Go for it!

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  6. I put myself in the place of someone visiting the islands and I would definately be interested in the second design. I'm not a t.shirt person so if I was looking for something to take home I would choose a print, a card or even a bookmark maybe with information about the artist, just to make it personal.

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  7. I vote for the second design. Guess that I could understand it easier. Good luck! Any of the color choices are fine. I suppose that white is the most popular, but I don't wear white.

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  8. I like both these, but I also think they need some descriptive text -- could you do it in a font that compliments the design? Rune-ish, maybe?
    I'm a person with far too many T-shirts already. Might you consider printing these also on a heavy square of cloth and touting them as DIY pillow covers? Wouldn't THOSE be gorgeous on a couch?

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  9. These will be great, especially if you live in the area and have lots of tourists!

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  10. Very good for t-shirt designs -- and I second the opinion that notecards or some other application would be an excellent marketing strategy.

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  11. Great designs, but I can't see myself buying any of them. Then again, I'm not the t-shirt buying type either. If I had to choose I'd vote for the second one, since it's cleaner in a way and easier to recognise. Better for a tshirt in my opinion.

    Good luck with your business, I'm sure you will do something great with these designs. And they will most certainly look great in color too.

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  12. Sorry bloglines isn't feeding correctly and I've only just seen this.

    My vote- I like both, but prefer the lower one.

    Good luck with the braying wolves.

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  13. Very pretty work..I am amazed how lovely each brick/stone looks in each of the sketches...wonderful...!!

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  14. Just seen this post. These drawings are fantastic. They could almost be engravings or woodcuts. Have you ever tried those techniques? For this reason especially, I think they would work very well printed onto fabric or cards. My favourite is the second one - it's so bold.

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