Kirkintilloch, Canal Capital of Scotland

Many of James Watt's painting show puffers on the Clyde. Referring to a specific moment when he walked past The Lady Bute, moored in Greenock, he says,

""I knew I had found my catalyst, my icon, the thing that could pull my work together."

The harbours he often painted were full of puffermen and shipbuilders, and today I was in Kirkintillloch, Canal Capital of Scotland, to discuss ideas which staff have to involve S3 pupils from Kirkintilloch High School.

Shipbuilding yards at Kirkintilloch specialised in Clyde puffers, which had to be no more than 20m long to fit in the canal locks. Puffers transported goods along the canals and rivers and out to the islands. At one time they were a very visual Clyde motif.

Kirkintilloch shipyards, like those on the Clyde, have, for the most part are long gone. Pupils will be exploring their heritage through the artist's images, a social history of the significance of the wee boats and what happened to them after they left the Kirkintilloch yards. They'll be linking sight with sounds from those yards, and in an interdisciplinary approach, staff are exploring ideas which could involve both art & design and drama, and explore light and colour leading the eyes of audiences and visitors to the exhibition.

We talked about the mural blipped last week and about a possible Kirkintilloch shipyard mural.

Lots of ideas.

The photo is of Kirkintilloch High School itself. I did go down to the Marina and take a shot of a puffer there, but this shot of the exterior of the school's conference room seems a better image. Today, it reminded me of a bow of a ship powering forward, cutting though the waves, a bit like the staff and pupils inside - a good image of Kirkintilloch. Looking forward to seeing their work as it develops.