kristiedegaris

kristiedegaris, 11 months ago to random

In the last 16 hours on Mastodon I've seen a person who is an expert in cave insects, someone else who posts about moss/slime molds, and a STEM educator who takes a planetarium around remote towns in the US.

To reference Rihanna, 'This is what I came for'.

kristiedegaris, 11 months ago to Women

Bees (that are not our bees) took over the shed. My daughter (a beekeeper) had to remove them. As she was working, a small child passing on a trike looked terrified and shouted 'Bee Men!'.

Bee women too, my little Dude. Bee women too.

#BeeKeeping #Bees #Women #Portrait

kristiedegaris, 9 months ago to random

The finished garden feature. No mortar, every stone placed carefully by hand, unbeatable sustainability credentials, and guaranteed to last hundreds of years. What's not to like?

The niche is also a very unusual design. I've never seen a niche with a vertical stone backing and wanted to try to make one. It worked a treat, and our clients have something really unique.

I also love how the colours of the stone really come through after the rain.

#drystone #stone #traditionalart #scotland

kristiedegaris, 9 months ago to random

As a woman within the incredibly male dominated world of drystone walling, I have unfortunately experienced a lot of negative things that have really affected my mental health.

After taking a lot of time out, this week was a turning point. Working in beautiful rural Scotland & building this garden feature, I've been so enjoying drystone again. Working away happily in the sun, I realised that I can love and be involved in the craft without loving and being involved in the community.

kristiedegaris, 11 months ago to random

One of my great loves is drystone, and I'm one of very few female drystone wallers in Scotland/the world.

Here's something we built recently. A 'planticrub' inspired structure.

Planticrubs were small, circular, drystone enclosures traditonally used in Shetland/outer Hebrides for growing kale plants.

kristiedegaris, 11 months ago to BelieveInFilm

This photograph was taken on one of the best days of my life.

Now, that might sound grand, and it was, but not in the way you might think.

Alone, in the sun, I walked the back roads near our home in rural Scotland. Two years on, I still have the most vivid memories, not just of the views but of how I felt. I suspect it will stay with me for life.

I am grateful that I can experience such joy and quietude from simple things. I haven't always been able to.

#BelieveInFilm #photography

kristiedegaris, 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago) to photography

Wild
Medium Format Film

#MediumFormat #Kodak #photography #FilmPhotography #FilmIsNotDead

kristiedegaris, 9 months ago to random

It's been a long time since I spent five days stacking stone and I can tell you, my lower back is very glad that it's the weekend.

Great progress this week, and we'll be back on Monday to finish building. Excited to add a wee feature to this structure too.

This wall has lots of shims, snecks and is built in a 'random' style.

kristiedegaris, 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago) to random

I recently learned about Normalcy Bias, and I think it's important that everyone understands what this is.

Normalcy bias is a tendency to underestimate the likelihood or impact of a negative event. Around 80% of people show normalcy bias in crisis situations.

This means normalcy bias can be incredibly dangerous and, therefore, important to understand. In my opinion, the (ongoing) pandemic is a good example of normalcy bias in action.

#NormalcyBias #COVID19 #CovidIsNotOver

kristiedegaris, 11 months ago to BelieveInFilm

Morning All. Happy Friday!

Here is an image of a local Bluebell Wood. Although Bluebells are naturalised in other parts of the world, they are actually native to Western Europe, and over half of the world's population are found in the UK.

Bluebells are a common indicator species for ancient woodlands, so bluebell woods can date back at least 1600 years.

Image is on Medium Format film - Ektar 100

#MediumFormat #BelieveInFilm #FilmPhotography #Film #BloomScrolling #Scotland #FilmIsNotDead

kristiedegaris, 10 months ago to Scotland

This is The Witches' Bridge.

It's a small bridge with a 'twist'. The date stone says 1778, but date stones can be misleading & will often refer to repairs.

Legend says that witches would not make a crossing over water if they could not see to the other side, so the 'twist' is to exclude witches & evil spirits from crossing either way.

The 'twist' feature in the bridge and its purpose suggest that the bridge is perhaps older than 1778.

#Scotland #History #Witch #History

A colour photograph of a stone bridge rising up towards a black metal gate. The bridge isn't straight, but instead has a kink in it meaning you can't see all the way over to the other side. The bridge is set among fields and trees and the sky is blue with white clouds.
A colour photograph of a stone bridge rising up towards a black metal gate. The bridge is set among fields and trees.
A colour photograph of a stone bridge. The bridge isn't straight and you can't see all the way across. There is a black gate at the apex of the bridge and the bridge is set among fields and trees.

kristiedegaris, 9 months ago to random

Really enjoyed building this niche (with vertical stones in the back). Felt like doing something a bit different and I like how, visually, the vertical lines really make the niche its own wee space.

A lot of drystone that may seem complicated from the outside is really just about taking a step back, not getting ahead of yourself, and being meticulous. Having some really great feature stones helps, too, of course. This niche is 20cm wide, 30cm high, and is a lovely addition to this structure.

kristiedegaris, 9 months ago to random

The letter yogh was used in Older Scots, representing 'y'. It looked like this Ȝ ȝ, so when printing took off, printers often used 'z' when yogh was not available in their fonts.

A famous example is the name 'Menzies' which is pronounced like 'Ming-is'. Based on that, please enjoy 2 different ways to read this rhyme.

'There once was a lassie named Menzies,
Who askit her aunt whit this thenzies.
Said her aunt wi a gasp,
"Dear Me, it's a wasp",
An you're haudin the end whaur the stenzies!'

kristiedegaris, 3 months ago to random

Some recent drystone work. A complete strip out and rebuild of this garden retaining wall which failed after only 30 years due to traced stone. All stone reused and we brought in some local fieldstone too.

Super sustainable, beautiful, lasts for generations. What's not to like?

#DrystoneWaller #Sustainable #DeepAdaptation

A drystone wall with lots of differently shaped and sized stones that all fit together like a jigsaw.
A run down drystone wall in front of a house, there are stones lying on the ground around it and a red bucket full of stone too.
A close up shot of a ruined drystone wall. Some stones are missing and others and falling out of the wall.

kristiedegaris, 11 months ago to random

An abandoned, & heavily ruined, Scottish hunting lodge built in the 1100s with updates made in the 1500s. There really are castle ruins all over Scotland, but this one had the most incredible vaulted ceilling I've ever seen. Also, an intact staircase, many arrow loops, & some obvious cannonball damage to one of the walls.

These structures are often remote, so upkeep would be expensive and difficult, but it is such a shame to see these buildings, full of incredible stone work, be left to ruin.

A black and white photograph of a vaulted castle ceilling. Built from tightly packed, slivers of stone there is a section that has fallen and the sky is visible through it.
A colour photograph of a ruined castle exterior. The sky is blue behind the building and the structure is built from light coloured tightly packed stone. A door and arrow loops are visible and golden grass grows around it.
A black and white photograph of a ruined castle interior. A set of stone steps lead up to a window with tightly packed stone walls all around it.

kristiedegaris, 11 months ago to photography

A while ago, suffering from PND, I started a project to try and coax myself out of what was utter isolation.

I asked women to pose for portraits without the makeup they would normally wear. It was interesting, some women turned up with no makeup, but some attended still with mascara, or their eyebrows done etc.

I called it 'As Others See Us' which is from the Scottish Poet Robert Burns...

“O, wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!'

#Photography #Portrait #Women

A photograph of a woman who is looking directly at the camera. Her blonde hair is around her face and through her gaze we see a certain strength. Her eyes are blue and slightly narrowed and she is smiling slightly.
A photograph of a woman who is looking directly at the camera. Her hair is red and is in soft waves around her face. She looks a little unhappy but her face is relaxed.
A photograph of a woman who is looking directly at the camera. Her blonde hair is streaked with grey and pushed away from her face. Athough she looks tired, she also looks strong.

kristiedegaris, 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago) to random

I've always loved the Hidden Scotland social media accounts, so I was thrilled when they contacted us and asked if they could interview us with regards to our work in drystone.

I thought I'd share the interview here as it gives a really good insight into drystone and our approach to the craft. So, if you would like to learn more about any of that, click on the link below.

https://shorturl.at/bqEU1

#HiddenScotland #Drystone #DrystoneWaller #TraditionalCraft

kristiedegaris, 5 months ago to photography

Wild

#35mmFilm #FilmPhotography #FilmIsNotDead #Fuji #Photography #BloomScrolling #FlowersOfMastodon

kristiedegaris, 3 months ago to photography

Trying not to engage with the world too much (I'm sure I don't have to explain why). The weather has shifted here in Scotland, and I felt my mood shift with it. Looking forward to warmer days and drystone and continuing to lead a carefully curated life.

Here's some beautiful dappled light in an ancient Pine forest.

#Photography #Forest #Scotland

kristiedegaris, 11 months ago to BelieveInFilm

How lucky am I to live here?

Little Glenshee, Perthshire, Scotland.

Medium Format Film
Kodak Ektar 100

#BelieveInFilm #FilmPhotography #MediumFormat #landscape #Scotland

kristiedegaris, 5 months ago to photography

'Traveller, there are no paths. Paths are made by walking

#Photography #Scotland #Perthshire

kristiedegaris, 2 months ago to stonecarving

This was my first foray into stone carving. It evolved spontaneously as I was working, but he has the look of Pan about him?

I just got a lovely block of stone as a birthday gift and I'm very excited to do more carving this summer.

I used Faulds stone carving chisels, and a (too soft) sandstone.

#StoneCarving #stone

kristiedegaris, 2 months ago to random

As part of the Covid memorial I am creating, my poem will be translated into seven languages. One of those is Urdu.

memory, stronger than stone

قوتِ سنگ سے جو قوی ہے یاد

Urdu was the language of my grandfather & I know there will be something profoundly affecting about seeing it carved into stone.

My family faced unimaginable racism, it tore us apart, and I can't quite put into words how much it will mean to see Urdu as an enduring part of Scotland's landscapes.

I get to place that stone.

kristiedegaris, 29 days ago to Scotland

Last night in Perthshire, Scotland.

#auroraborealis #scotland

A colour photograph of an aurora directly overhead. The pillars of light are visible and the colours are blue, purple and pink.
A colour photograph of an aurora. Like a close up on a rainbow, yellow on the right of the frame to bright purple and deep blue on the left.
A colour photograph of an aurora. Silhouettes of trees border the image like lace, and the sky is on fire with a glowing rainbow of colour.

kristiedegaris, 23 days ago to Artist

I rarely do, but I'm selling some prints. Five of each image below (for now).

First image as a 12 x 12 (inches) and second as A4. Fine art giclée prints on Hahnemühle Bamboo. Both the images were shot on film.

(Sorry about the international postal charges, shipping costs have gotten pretty out of control).

https://kristiedegaris.com/print-shop

#Artist #Photographer #ArtPrints #Art #Scotland #FilmIsNotDead #FilmPhotography