I find myself sitting in the living room of the most wonderful Bed & Breakfast I have ever stayed in while the gale force wind wraps itself around the house and the rain lashes against the window. It could not be a more perfect setting to begin the journal about the visit to the Isle of Iona famous for the Iona Abby and Nunnery. I took a walk this afternoon after I was settled in and took a few pictures of the Abby from behind it, and snapped a few of the Nunnery, but there will be more to come and information about them as well.
I am working with a jeweler, Maeve Gillies, to create for the book a line of exquisite pieces of jewelry based on the Lords of the Isles. My request was for the designs to incorporate the birlinn (the type of boat unique to these areas and the Lords of the Isles) into the designs. Through Maeve, I was introduced to the work of Euphemia and Alexander Ritchie who crafted jewelry on Iona in the early 1900’s. Alexander created several beautiful pieces depicting the birlinns. The couple opened up a shop on Iona in 1899, Iona Celtic Art. Visitors came to their shop for the next 40 seasons to choose from a huge range of finely crafted items inspired by the interlace and knotwork on Iona’s crossed and graveslabs, by the ornate stone art of the Picts and the illustrated manuscripts of the early monks. The legacy of Iona Celtic Art lives on in the work of silversmiths in the Highlands and Islands who reproduce items from the original Ritchie patterns. One of these artists is Mhairi Killin with whom I will be working. She is a relative of Iain MacCormick who was one of the young apprentices in the Ritchie’s workshop. It was truly exciting to visit the Heritage Center this afternoon and see some of the Ritchie designs that will become the basis for the designs for the line we are creating. Mhairi and I will be meeting on Thursday and I am very excited to talk with her.
