In July 2004 Tom took part in a sculpture symposium at Banja Bashta, Serbia, organised by Ken Mantel of the Narwhal Gallery in London, and the local art organisation, "Tara", direct by Zoran Matic.

The setting was the high plateau beteen Belgrade and the Bosnian border, an area still without electricity, where farming is seasonal, following the centuries-old transhumance practices.

Other participants were Paul Smith, an English ceramicist and sculptor, and two young Serbian sculptors, Bogdan Vukosavljevic and Milos Vasiljevic.  Zoran Matic was participating as well in the "artistic colony".
 

 

"I was asked to do a Solar Disc of the kind that the Mantels had seen in alabaster, but this time in Macedonian marble which Ken obtained.  This marble is perhaps harder than Carrara marble, though not so translucent.  I had less than three weeks to complete the work, which was over two metres high.  It's the first time i've needed a ladder to work on a sculpture.
 

Fortunately the local stone-mason, Nowice Pavolovic, was there to help us erect the finished piece.  He and his assistants did this without any machinery, just using a tree-stump and a plank, and some wedges, like the ancient Egyptians would have done."
 

 

The visit was a marvellous opportunity to have a glimpse of a totally different way of life, meeting and being with the local people who have such a wealth of experience, so unlike ours in some ways.  But there were also many points of contact, and we had lots of things in common too.

The "Regatta" - a Pythonesque flotilla of craft of all sorts floating down the River Drina, for nine hours, covering 40 kilometres, was one high point that we'll never forget.  Especially when our boat, crewed by the Serbian Border patrol, got stuck under an overhanging tree.  But the real climax of the trip was the afternoon of music, dancing, food, and a few speeches, which concluded the colony.  My kilt was a centre of attraction, and actually not unlike the local folk costume.

Other connections are that there is a strong Celtic element in that region - as the name "Tara" suggests.  So the Celtic solar disc I made was quite appropriate.  We also visited the grave of Evelina Haverfield, a Scotswoman who worked with the Serbs during and after the First World War, setting up hospitals and orphanages.  A kind of Florence Nightingale, she is relatively unknown in Scotland, but revered in Serbia, and her life is taught in schools."