See ‘Farlin’ at the Town Hall, St Andrews – until 27 April

One of the highlights at this year’s StAnza was the fabulous exhibition, ‘Farlin’, at the Town Hall, Queens Gardens, St Andrews. The show is still running ­- until 27 April – so you can catch up with it or pay another visit.

The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between 16 poets and makers in Fife and Shetland and the works on show, ranging from texts to textiles to jewellery are stunning. Farlin is the word for a container used by herring gutters, and the themes which inspired poets and artists included the impact of fishing on the Shetland and Fife communities and relationships with the natural world and Scottish history. Words and objects combine to make objects that are thoughtful and beautiful.

Stephanie Green, our Festival Blogger, gave her response here when she visited Farlin during StAnza. It also caught the eye of Rio, the online crafts magazine and was reviewed enthusiastically by the Tribe

Find out more about the exhibition on the Fife Contemporary Arts & Craft website here

The project is a collaboration between Fife Contemporary Art & Craft and Shetland Arts in partnership with StAnza Poetry Festival 2013 .

 Photographs by Chris Scott

Take a look behind the cover of StAnza’s brochure, now online

Last week saw the launch of the StAnza brochure and launch was an appropriate word, when you consider the choice of cover.  The brochure is now online and you can flick through it virtually here

This beautiful and intriguing image of a boat (chosen to celebrate the theme of The Image) is from a painting by Derek Robertson and is a visual response to lines by Skye poet Rody Gorman. Is it a boat or an island or both? Robertson described his collaboration with Gorman thus: ‘Rody and I met in Skye several years ago and became friends’, says Derek. ‘Rody suggested that we work together on a project, and I produced paintings in response to his poems, and these were exhibited in Skye last year. Subsequently, I have done some paintings developing a few of these poems further, and a small collection of watercolours responding to Rody’s new collection of poems “Beartan Briste”. The Long-lines piece used for the brochure was a response to Rody’s poem of the same name which refers to places in Skye where Rody lives and where I visit. The pieces of landscape refer to fishing nets, boats, drying poles and other aspects of the landscape in that corner of the island.’

The exhibition ‘Ruaridh agus Ruaridh Eile’ will be on display at Fife Contemporary Arts & Crafts, in the Town Hall in St Andrews during StAnza in March. Meanwhile, plan your visit to the festival with a look through the brochure.