heritagelandscapecreativity is a personal blog for Gavin MacGregor. I am interested in the ways in which the past is brought into being by what we do in the present and how that might create different futures.
Its a place for me to share ideas and links to issue relating to how the pastness of landscapes still inspire us.
Some of the things which intrigue me and I want to explore here are:
What are the different living relationships between past, present and future, how do they tangle together in landscapes.
Different ways in which people respond creatively to the past, where are there interesting, innovative and inspiring artistic practices in landscapes.
Dialogue & Collaboration :
gav.macgregor@gmail.com
heritagelandscapecreativity 
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Hi Gavin
Good luck with the site, interesting subject area. Connectivity of landscape-related themes is the focus of my Landscapism blog at http://landscapism.blogspot.co.uk/
Hi Eddie
Thanks for your support. I look forward to reading more of your blogs at Landscapism.
This looks really interesting. am following.
Barb. Thanks for following, I hope you continue to find the posts interesting.
Great that you dropped by our blog: http://www.stonechatchat.wordpress.com – be interested to know how you found it. Love the themes of yours – am following too!
Hi Sandra. Found your blog by following land art tag as a topic, was drawn to striking images. Glad you like the themes of Heritage Landscape Creativity. G
Gavin…thanks for stopping by and liking my post. After seeing your blog I can see why the pictures of the slaves huts intrigued you. I’m looking forward to exploring your blog!
Virginia, thanks yes I was really struck by the image you posted and the harsh realities of how the structures were used in the past. I hope you find something interesting as you explore my blog.
wonderful really interesting and thanks for the info re the seminar on sat in inverness I am an artist and doing a project relating to the High pasture cave on Skye and this is extremely relevant
thanks caroline dear
Hi Caroline. Thanks for the comment and good to hear from you. G
Gavin – yes, similar features show up in different scales of time, geological, archaeological and modern
Hi Michael. Thanks for your comment. Yes its is striking how similarities can be found in the different scales of time. G
Thank you for following my blog — I follow yours as well, I vry much enjoy the combination of disciplines and interests that shape your focus.
Globally, the penny has become extinct: natural selection is at work in the banking sector
(Bizarre! Gavin, I didn’t mean to gate-crash your exchange with Michael Boulter above, but that is what seems to have happened…) This comment really is for Gavin: I keep meaning to ask, what is the location of the rock/mountainscape that you show at the top of this page? It’s a wonderful vista. Also, what do you call the piled-up rock mini sculptures? We use the inuktitut word “inukshuk” but you must have a different word where you are.
Hi Penny (and Michael). Oh well spotted, Yes sorry sequence of conversations has become a bit entangled, may be due to my lack of technical savy…! Sorry both for any confusion. To answer your question however location overlooks Loch Loyne and is on roadside running between Invergarry and Kyle of Lochalsh (the road to the Isle of Skye). Yes I know term ‘inukshuk’ and have built a few myself on beaches and hillsides but they would always have the typical anthropomorphic form. But as for the ones in the image, I must confess I dont know, I suppose I would call them stacks or cairns, but am open to suggestions… Thanks G
Oh, I may just have posted to the wrong e-place. Doesn’t matter! Thank you for identifying this location, it’s stunningly beautiful. You must visit our north some day, you’d feel very at home. Inukshuk certainly has anthropomorphic origins but I think I’m right in saying we now apply the term more broadly to include any free-form rock sculpture, reserving cairn for one meant to mark some definite site/event usually with a commemorative plaque as well. But I’m not sure! Just always intrigued at the human compulsion to stack up rocks, even when we’re not trying to drive a caribou herd down a particular ravine….
Hi Penny. Thanks, I hadn’t appreciated there was a broader use of the term Inukshuk, interesting to see how words evolve in meaning. Yes there certainly seems to be something which draws us to stack stones, I wonder what that might be…? G
Excellent blog, Gavin – full of some great observations. As an archaeological illustrator – and therefore someone who mixes archaeology, visualisation and art together – it’s always interesting to see someone else’s take on heritage, landscape and the tensions – and collaborations! – between past and present use. Questions surrounding the cultural value and impact of “abandoned” places is fascinating. How do you curate such places so as to both preserve the appeal and significance of their “abandoned” state, and yet guarantee access to artists, contemporary explorers, etc.? At what point do places (rather like your “stalled space” in Glasgow) move from becoming eyesores to cultural heritage? Living at the edge of Shropshire, with its cross-section of abandoned, reused, re-purposed, forgotten and living WWII sites, many under threat of development or destruction, this is a constant debate for anyone who appreciates or draws inspiration from such places. Anyway, great blog – and now I definitely have to visit Aisla Craig!
Hi John. Many thanks for your thoughtful and positive comments, greatly appreciated. Yes I think you are right that it is exploring these tensions between the different ways in which we categories and appropriate places which can be most illuminating. Please let me know how you get on when you go to Aisla Craig. G
Thank you Gavin for looking at my blog. I enjoyed yours very much and also find how traces of the past, archaeology and geology determine so much surface appearance.
Hi Elaine Thanks for your comments, yes your art work seemed to explore similar themes. G
Hi Gavin, I enjoy your blog. I’ll be coming (from Australia) to the UK for a few weeks in July/August and wondered if you had any tips for interesting places to visit in England/Wales. Don’t mean to use you as a travel agent, but the sorts of places you write about interest me. I’m an artist who works in site specific installation and more.I think you’ve visited one of my blogs http://floatingland2013.wordpress.com/
Judy Barrass
Hi Judy. Thanks, yes I found your site specific installation very interesting. Will put my thinking cap on about possible interesting places in England / Wales and send any suggestions. G
Now, please look at sciencandartblog.com
Gavin,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’ve enjoyed perusing your site. It’s fascinating both in content and focus.
Mary, Thanks, I am glad you like the blog, I thought your post ‘Bones of the Earth’ was very good, some really striking geography. G
Enjoyed the Mice O’ Mote O’ Mark post. I am exploring some of the same questions about landscape but through poetry. Just beginning to find all of the rich sources of inspiration around. I look forward to more posts.
Hi Lynn Many thanks for your comment, and glad you enjoyed the post. Yes poetry is a rich way of exploring landscapes. G
Thank you for the recent drop-by “liking”. I appreciate it and it has had the wonderful side effect of introducing me to your lovely blog.
Hi Eponaleah My pleasure, I really liked your post on the abandoned cement factory, striking images and rich text, a great combination. G
Thank for your ‘like’- have enjoyed browsing your blog, interesting angle on the landscape, some food for though as I start to explore my chosen landscape. will follow with interest.
Hi Sue My pleasure, glad you got a chance to explore HeritageLandscapeCreativity. G
I just found your blog and the article about Cambusnethan Priory and I agree with what you say. After much thought I have just started a FB page to try to generate interest in the Priory, a building very close to my heart. Would you mind if I posted a link to your blog on the site? Do you think this FB page is useful? I plan to show the interest generated by it to organisations such as Historic Scotland. Any thoughts or photos you have from the Priory would also be greatly appreciated, please post them directly and I will share them.
Hi Christine Glad you found the post about Cambusnethan Prior and happy for you link to it. Really like what you have done with your FB page so far, clearly already a lot of interest. Will email you direct as well. Good luck G
Hello, I posted the link to your article on the page today. Thanks again!
Hi Gavin! How are you? Thanks for following my website via wordpress; I need to tell there has been a change and the new address is http://www.sustainabletourismworld.com/ ( .com instead of .org) .
If you are fancy to keep reading it, please save the new address!
Cheers,
Sara
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