Bird Yarns brings knitters from Mull and across the UK together with textile artist Deirdre Nelson in response to the changing migration patterns of seabirds across Scotland’s islands. Working with local wool from Ardalanish, Mull, and recycled materials, the knitters will create a flock of ‘lost’ arctic terns on Tobermory Pier and provide them with a Mull welcome of local food, music and poetry. Knitting kits will be developed in partnership with local producers to highlight the plight of migratory birds and celebrate local resources and resourcefulness.
Deirdre Nelson is an embroiderer and textile artist based in Glasgow, who has exhibited widely in a variety of gallery and museum contexts nationally and internationally, and has been involved in site specific works in heritage locations such as Gibside Estate Northumbria and Brodsworth Hall Yorkshire. Research and education forms a large part of her practice with extensive experience in school and community contexts. Deirdre is artist-in-residence at An Tobar, Mull, in 2012.