walking through stars in northern skies and northern Scotland

In Spring 2007 I was part of a tour of schools for the Highland Constellation Project . On our journey, we collected seven stars. Their pattern has become a new constellation - the Jumping Fish or Iasg a’ Leum (below) designed by Ullapool pupil, Alexander Stewart, in celebration of Highland Year of Culture 2007. Our journey involved star-gazing and stravaiging, describing pathways between beacons on two maps, and exploring time and history as represented above by Gill Russell. I wrote the story of those two constellations - one celestial, one terrestrial - setting within my text some of the jewels of writing that the children had produced in our workshops. Now this story, Walking through stars in northern skies and northern Scotland, together with visual pieces that artist Gill Russell catalysed, has been beautifully bound by Laura West into a rocket-shaped book. It is currently on display in the Scottish Parliament in 'Cridhe na Gaidhealtachd – Craft in the Highlands’ and later in 2008 will be touring around various Highland locations.