sat nav sock

silk, wool, shetland wool.glow in dark thread

over the next few days i will be adding the images and information on the artists who have been involved in making for the gman project

jennifer tait,donna smith, emma blain, claire henry,
cecil tait, hilary seatter, suzanne shearer, anne eunson, andrea williamson, shona millar, jono sandilands, mary blance

In preparation for the Gman project installation in the museum tomorrow we have been listening to the beautiful voices of shetland makers speaking of the process of making products for the gman contemporary craft project.

intervewed by mary blance , shetland author , broadcaster and cultural activist 10 artists speak of their process and of who they think the gman is

• a travelling boy?


• a gentleman?


• woman?


• pirate ?


• tax collector ?


• a clothes theif?


• a sailor ?
• a merchant?


• or does it matter who he is ? should we let him lie?

glow in the dark darning

foot of the sock different to the top of the sock ?

heavily mended socks

'one sock has the foot replaced by the leg of another stocking'

'feet of the socks are worn away and have been replaced by another material.. there are holes at the knees, some roughly mended

......no foot to the stocking ...'

lap = (n) a patch , a covering put on for the purpose of mending, as on a shoe or the board of a boat etc

safe socks

socks with toes that glow in the dark

tak dy sock

taking your knitting for a walk in shetland

barter dy sock

socks were a very important bartering item during 17th and 18th c for shetlanders trading with Dutch fishermen who dominated commercial fishing in shetlandwaters from around 1600. crews lived on board their ships and had supplies to last the summer. however they also got fresh food from shetlanders and most important was the bartering of socks. in return dutchmen gave the shetlanders tobacco , gin and cash.

sock = knitting
sockin =(n) stocking

back to socks ....

look at these for a pair of socks

1640 -69 a bit early for gman but interesting all the same

.........buttons printed with maps, socks with colourways designed from flags, jewellery made with ribbon and resin, felt jewellery , hats and purse, woolen threads printed with text.......................more to come on the gman contemporary craft project www.twitter.com/gunnisterman

gman logo created by Jono Sandilands

www.jonosandilands.com