THE HORN CARVER OF LAWERS


but the cow’s horn needs very different treat- ment and has to be boiled and roasted with a blowlamp, then cut open before being put in a special horn press to flatten. Some of the horns came from the Hailes Owen Horn Company, or from various abattoirs and farms. Every horn is unique and has a wealth of hues that add to the charm of the creations. Egg spoons were highly popular, with little thistles carved on their tops. Eggcups, mustard pots, shoehorns, buckles and buttons, and a vast menagerie of birds and animals, many of


them highly complex, all


emerged from his immaculate workshop. Some- times he would even create something for a passing tourist while they waited and chatted to him. Many of the hazel sticks used for tup’s horn


crooks were gathered by Cameron from the hazel woods around Loch Tay. He was asked to


make a religious crook for the Bishop of Sudan, and one Australian prime minister has a crook made by the ‘Horn Carver of Lawers’. But his carving has not been all from horn and


antler. He has made 21 immaculate fiddles, each with a totally different sound, and all with intri- cate fine detail and inlay using various different types of wood. When I ask him about his fiddles he takes one off the wall in his sitting room, dusts it down, and after a few minutes strikes up a tune that brings a lump to the throat, despite his excuses that the playing is rusty. Though Cameron Thomson has now retired


and only makes things for his own pleasure, his work is revered and has great heritage value. He, however, is more modest about his achieve- ments.


‘I will always be making things. You


start carving away and soon things just take shape.’


WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 65


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164