But I’ve been fascinated by the rise of craft in the past few years, and sites like Etsy which are testament to it. More and more women I know have been picking up crochet hooks and knitting needles, and diving into book and print crafts. Shortly before coming to Glasgow I even saw a young man on the subway in NYC – knitting! Again -ON THE SUBWAY – I won’t even begin to address the risks involved in that. But props to him for having the guts. I love that knitting is beginning to cross its much stayed gender boundaries, and that all ‘craft’ – that once dirty word – is on the rise again.

Here in Glasgow I recently learned of the Burrell Collection’s tapestry project which is underway. The collection is one of the largest, and they will document the entire lot of over 200 medieval tapestries, producing the first ever exhaustive catalog. It runs concurrent with the growing interest in craft, and even weaving’s recent ascension into the, er, high(er?) art world as artists such as Grayson Perry (a recent Turner Prize recipient) take on the medium. Here’s a detail of his recently exhibited  Walthamstow Tapestry  (just came down at Victoria Miro Gallery in London).

Grayson Perry, The Walthamstow Tapestry, 2009 3 metres x 15 metres

Perry uses craft in much of his work, from ceramics to this tapestry. But I wonder if he wove it himself, or if he had the help of craftsmen from a studio. There’s that word again, ‘craftsmen’. An automatic announcement of a hierarchy. But if an artist operates as a ‘deskilled’ ideasman, then how does that affect the use of craft in the artwork? And I’m also fascinated by this quote from Perry in a Guardian review:

“In the end I will always err on the side of making something pretty and not worry about something’s being a stage set for an idea.”

I’m not sure I can take that comment at face value. If you read the materials which surround his objects, they are marketed for their ideas. They aren’t selling for hundreds of thousands of pounds at Victoria Miro for their fine craft. Here, craft seems to be used to support a larger idea, and only fractionally concerned with the skillful, decorative elements they bring.

But nonetheless, craft is making a big comeback (and a welcomed one if you ask me) even in the elitist circles of the art galleries. And here in Scotland, the Scottish Arts Council just launched a new campaign called The C Word to raise interest and dialogue about craft in Scotland.

But will the new found interest and enthusiasm last? Hard to say, but I’ll leave you with two works by a young artist who graduated from Goldsmiths just last year, Hannah Hull.

Doilies doing what they’ve always done (making whatever they cover underneath even more useless) on a grand scale.

Untitled (skip net) 2008 by Hannah Hull

and sand bags made out of pure silk woven by hand on a loom.

Sand bags 2009 by Hannah Hull; pure silk hand woven

photo courtesy of flickr user snre

Its 3:40 PM and its a dark and drizzly grey world outside. It’s not even 4 o’clock, but the sun has pretty much exited for the day. A few days ago, I felt as if I was practically swimming home, the rain pushing, pulling and soaking me from diagonal angles that only rubber hip waders paired with a whaler’s rain slicker would have withstood. These dark days of rain and wind I must admit, is one aspect I think I could do without.

But apparently, as weather fares in Scotland, Glasgow has been on the lucky side. This November record highs in rainfall have been met for several parts of Scotland, resulting in disastrous flooding throughout the region. And it would seem it’s not going to get better anytime soon. This blog entry in the guardian talks a bit about the rain and the histories of the rain, and points to climate change as the cause of the wetter weather patterns continually slipping further south.

And the dreary, persistent drizzle takes its mental toll too. As if getting out of bed wasn’t hard enough, residents in the UK and Ireland (and anywhere at a high latitude for that matter) have high percentages of Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. So for any of y’all planning to come this way, make sure to bring your favorite hip waders along.

Take a look at their site and I think you’ll be terrified. The premise is simple enough – there are millions of internet viewers at any given moment looking at millions of webcams and video footage. There are simultaneously millions of private CCTVs operating, with only a fraction of them being monitored at any given time. So why not link them up? That’s exactly what internet eyes has done, but just in a very enterprising way… they make money from both ends. If you own a CCTV camera, you pay a subscription to have folks like you and me ‘moniter’ your cam. If you are a viewer, you pay to send alerts of antisocial behavior to the cameras owner. They do provide you with 3 free alerts, but if you register, they will ask you for your paypal account information…. all under the pretense of winning a prize.

But what I can’t figure out is why isn’t this making more of a stir in the media? The guardian did write an article on it (see here), and a few of the civil liberties orgs have spoken about it, but outside of that, no one seems to have heard about it here. The idea of my image being captured on a CCTV cam here in Glasgow, and monitored by someone, say in NYC is very creepy. They say that the cam the viewers monitor is selected randomly, and you never get the same one twice – but still, this seems rather noncompliant with the Data Protection laws.

The other thing that I discovered (by accident) was that Internet Eyes was not the first to develope such an idea. The artist, Heath Bunting, was ahead of them; by about ten years. Here’s an interview with him from 1997 where he talks in detail about his project. It is at least, in part, still operational, and online here at the organization he helped to found called irational . He set up the exact same process, only he hacked (I gather) into CCTV cams, and then had folks like you and me watch and in the comments box you could send a fax straight to the police headquarters. A really well done statement I think on having the public policing the public, albiet in an illegal way.

He’s now doing a really interesting project where he illegally crosses borders all throughout the world with no passport. The crossings are documented through photographs, writings, and even text message correspondences and posted to a website, which in effect also mirrors the border crossing ethos – you have to apply to gain access to it. The Tate provides a good synopsis of the ongoing project.

But back to the Internet Eyes project. I wonder if Bunting could file for a copyright infringement? He did the project as an artwork, and as I understand it, that makes him the author and sole copyright holder, no need to have filed any paperwork. Any lawyers out there up for a challenge? I guess it’s just one more example of art leading the way of commerce…. for better or worse.

Here’s a big thank you to the City Council of Glasgow. Good to see that all the money from council tax levied on things like TVs goes towards more liquid assets like water slides.

But glass house felt familiar too – it reminded me of the artwork Mark Dion did in the Seattle Art Museum – “Neukon Vivarium”. Dion removed a fallen hemlock tree from a watershed area in the Seattle region, and literally preserved the ecosystem that had begun to develop in and on it by building a huge glass house / green house around it.There’s interesting interview on the project here.

There seems to be such a trend these days for artists working with plants, plant life, ecosystems, hot houses, organics etc. I guess both the global food crisis and climate change make the issues absolutely imperative and at the forefront of all of our minds. We need more artists to address issues of sustainable practices concerning food and the environment in their work. Also of interest are some folks right here in Glasgow Justin Carter, and Olga Schulz . I could list projects for hours, but don’t want to go overboard here. Any other local artists or just interesting projects you can share?

This amazing spot is also close to home – just 3 blocks or so away. The food was spectacular, and the coffee even better. I got a very delicious chorizo, pesto & cheese panini for about 4 GBP. My partner got the best scrambled eggs he’d ever tasted and toast for 3 GBP. I hear they do dinner too now…. but for prices between 4 – 6 GBP for a sandwich, how could you go wrong? The girl and father sitting next to us were enjoying The Game of Life (remember that board game – the one with the wheel that makes the very specific ticking noise when you spin the wheel?) which is just one of many of the board games the cafe has floating around in the dining room. And the benches you sit on – true to the trans europe theme – seem to be authentic, decomissioned train seats.

But what was also great about this place was the feel. Its cozy, and nothing feels contrived. Being new to the town, in the past 2 months I’ve had too many unfortunate meals at generic places that, while not too heavy on the pocket book, leave you feeling like you just made a deal with the corporate devils of the world, and subsequently owe all independent restaurantiers a karmic debt. Glasgow’s chains are tricky devils too. Pubs owned by the same company often have different names. Take for example J D Wetherspoon or Social Animal establishments. They all have different names, so at street level, you might think you’ve found an authentic pub or unique bar/restaurant in a beautiful old classical building.  But then you’ll start to notice small things – like the uniformity of their adverts, or their menus that seem all to familiar. And then, gosh darn it, you’ve just sat down to a meal at AppleBee’s clad in Scottish plaid.

So, thank you Trans Europe Cafe for doing it right. I’ll definitely be coming back for seconds.

When I left, I ran into Bob outside of Babbity Bowster. I was taking a photograph to go along with the bit I was thinking of posting on it. Bob is a Glaswegian, and a fairly, er, well lubricated one tonight, though manning the helm just fine as it were. But Bob told me and my companion all about where we ought and ought not drink. We ought not drink at Babbity – its for tourists apparently. We ought to drink at Strathduie and Black Bull. When we asked why, he said because they are aligned with the protestant clientele. He said there was also McChuill’s, but that “we don’t really like that place so much” as it turns out it is a catholic establishment. I was curious though: as someone who is green to Glasgow, how would one know what was catholic, and what protestant (assuming you care)? He said its all in the name – “Mc / Mac anything stay away from”.

The whole protestant / catholic division here is nuts to me. I don’t get it. Maybe I was just unaware of it in the states, but seems to me the rivalry goes under the blankets so to say. Its there sure, but you have to really be looking for it. Here, its in your face, and everyone elses.

But back to Babbity – The Babbity Bowster is a bar, restaurant, Inn, and beer garden all in one. In the short time I’ve been here, its become a favorite, and I am pretty certain my affection is not going to fade, regardless if it is more pricey then Black Bull or Strathduie. First off, its 1.5 blocks away from my home – a fact hard to forget. But everything I’ve experienced about it so far is just right. It has that comfortable feeling of a local pub, but without the dreariness, or religious segregation, that other establishments might carry. The crowd it pulls is not pretentious, and not formal. Its the kind of place that you can go and meet an all black badmitton team from Manchester and rub elbows with true Glaswegians at the same time. Interesting thing about the design of the place is its painted all white. I always have felt that my favorites are more dimly lit and a little more sultry, or darkened interiors. Babbity feels like its given the care your mom gives the living room, mixed with some very expertly chosen design elements. Food and drink is quality, though I guess as Bob points out it will cost you a little more then some other places. But where I think its a real find is for the accommodation.

For 45GBP (single) or 60 GBP (double) you can stay at the Babbity Bowster. I haven’t seen inside the rooms (yet), but those prices seem decent if the rooms upstairs have just half the character and spirit of downstairs. I think you can rent out the top dining room too for special events too. It doesn’t seem to have an official website, but you can call 0141-552-5055 for bookings. So Bob, I’m sorry – while I’ve enjoyed a pint or two at Black Bull and Strathduie, I’m still a Babbity Bowster tourist and I don’t care.

This is Glasgow as a Southern girl turned Brooklynite-New-Yorker-art-rainbow-chaser sees it. This is life in Glasgow for the very first time. This is Glasgow … greenly.