Tofaidh-Bo

By Davy Maclennan

Davy is from the village of Gress on the Isle of Lewis. He graduated in Celtic Studies from Aberdeen University. He is a traditional singer, musician, and a sculptor working under the name Tofaidh-Bo. Here he explains why.

What is Tofaidh-Bo ?

It literally means 'cow toffee'. It is the Gaelic slang for a brand of toffee bar that used to have a Highland cow on the wrapper. It was a visual pun on the manufacturer's name, which was MacCowan. It was common throughout Scotland and was known as 'coo candy' in areas where Gaelic wasn't spoken. It could loosen your teeth and make your jaws ache, but it was well priced and you could make it last for ages. A bargain in fact.

Why use Tofaidh-Bo for your sculptures?

Why not? I thought the name was fun, easy to remember, and would strike a chord with those in the know. Most of my creations are made from bits of junk metal that I have welded together, so if my torch ever breaks then I can weld with the toffee instead. Here are three examples of what Tofaidh-Bo is all about. More to come whenever you want them.

Water Horse

This was originally just a working title for the piece, but the name has stuck (rather like the toffee). It was inspired by a gospel page in the Book of Kells and was intended to look great in a moorland stream or under a waterfall. However, it turned out equally well on a shingle beach. The head of the beast is made from a few parts from an old tweed loom. The eye is a bearing, the exact source of which I can't recall. The mane is composed of several arms from a gear puller. Very few components have actually gone into this, but I am pleased that the effect is so deep and complex.

20 Thousand Leagues Under The Sea

Alice once said that fossils would be a good source of inspiration for my sculptures. The idea germinated and this piece is the result. A nautical beast if ever there was one. The tentacles are the prongs of an old graip, which is a good Scottish word meaning the long handled fork used either to pitch bales or to yank out the turfs when digging ditches. On the middle tentacle I added a device for unblocking drains, which I found somewhere. The head is another gear from the trusty old tweed loom. I think the creature looks suitably antique... as if it came from the deepest parts of the ocean.

Quo Vadis? ... The Northern Frontier.

The story of the Ninth Legion, overwhelmed somewhere north of the border, was my inspiration. An old motorcycle headlamp shell provided the facial expression, and the helmet is an alloy float from a fishing boat. Scrap metal from old power line poles did the rest. The addition of Alice's Dunadd wrap made a nice finishing touch. Just the thing for the northern frontier.