The Thistle

– A journey to Scotland –

To my favorite flower, the thistle.
To my favorite town, Inverness.
To my family’s memorials in Portsoy.
To the ever-welcoming Keith.
To Jacob the wanderer.
To Alistair’s carnivorous plant.

This series was born from my travels to Scotland in 2019, a journey to uncover the graves of my ancestors—the Watsons and McIntyres of Portsoy. It took two trips to finally find the right place, guided by my aunt Eilean, who supported me from her home in Sydney, Australia.

The journey began in London, where I salvaged wooden lids from Argentine wine boxes in a restaurant basement, received my first gouges from my friend, the artist Piero Perini, and was gifted inks and brushes by my aunt Montse.

I set off with a weekend in Dundee, contemplating thistles and wandering through ancient castles along the shore. Backpacking my way to Aberdeen, I took a day to hike through Cairns, where I crossed paths with Jacob, a young traveler from the U.S. who was also tracing his lineage. In Inverness, I stumbled upon a poetry reading in a small blue café, where I met Keith. He and his wife, Mary—a Gaelic poet—would later host me on my second visit.

After a pause in Glasgow and a brief return to London, I made my way back to Mary and Keith’s home. On my first walk along the shore, I was drawn to the textures of fallen bark, gathering beautiful pieces that I carried back to the bothy’s shed. That night, I carved The Barking Flower—a flower made of bark that, quite fittingly, also seemed to be barking. By morning, Keith and Mary had planted it alongside their roses, and over the following days, we watched it slowly return to the soil.

The journey continued under Keith’s thoughtful guidance—throughout the Highlands, across the Isle of Skye, listening to the whispers of rivers and fairies in the woods, spending evenings with whisky and fiddle music in the local pub. He also introduced me to an artist who captures fleeting rays of sunlight as they break through the ever-elusive skies of Inverness.

As I bid farewell to this beloved land, I unexpectedly fell in love—with a man whose carnivorous plant blossomed for me on the morning I finally said goodbye.

—Mx Watson