::PREHISTORIC SITES AROUND GLASGOW::

I studied at Glasgow School of art from 1991- 94. Part of the course was an annual pilgrimage to North Uist in the Outer Hebrides with Zane. my tutor's Navaho Indian friend. There we looked for golden eagles, followed the good spirits and dowsed for Bronze age remains in the dunes. This is what I thought art college should be about and I loved every minute of it. Back in Glasgow my tutor- Mick Manning allowed me to get a job as a shepherd which meant I could sketch in my break and meet characterful people that lived in the hills. As students we were constantly pushed. On foundation we were encouraged to not be precious about our work, it was more quantity than quality so as to loosen ourselves up. On a degree course we had to think more. To start with I came in to the studio with three or four A1 drawings per day or maybe 15 pages in my journals. Ideas weren't hard to find as the real work came out of exploring and looking.

As it seemed that I was just going through the motions, my tutor made me realise that there had to be some purpose in what I was doing. I started by examining detailed ordinance survey maps of the area and rediscovering ancient sites that the present day had forgotten. I traveled around Britain for a year, sleeping in bothies and the cheapest B and B's collecting paintings and stories about these places. I was inspired by the freedom of travel and exploration but I was frustrated that the any one media didn't solve bringing the experience home to everyone else. I experimented with all types of media. I took clay moldings and charcoal rubbings from ancient carvings on the side of standing stones, following in the tradition of the antiquarian. The people that I met became the subjects of low budget super 8 movies and I converted my studio space into a mini cinema for my fellow students to view the films. In retrospect it wasn't the subject matter or medium that was important, it was a philosophy, humanities' connection with the world he lived in . The Spirit of Place.

When stuck for ideas, have a look at a map. Maps take us to places we wouldn't have imagined. And maps map places in different ways. This is an detailed ordnance survey map of hidden sites where ancient history has been discovered around Glasgow, It was the starting point to this sketchbook.