It is always refreshing to witness an artist in their own working environment and is perhaps one of the reasons why the East Neuk Open Studios events that take place twice a year are so popular. Now in it its fifth year, once again more than 30 professional artists in the East Neuk area are inviting members of the public to visit them in their studios over two summer weekends – 21/22 June and 28/29 June.
All the artists will be in their studios, happy to discuss their work and their techniques and work will of course be for sale so this is your opportunity to grab some original works of art minus the gallery fee.
All the studios are within a short distance of the beaches of the beautiful East Neuk area – beaches that give the artists continual inspiration, so you can combine sight seeing with art viewing.
Works include paintings, textiles, prints, ceramics, etchings, illustrations, jewellery, weaving, textile art and more.
If you can’t quite wait that long, The Byre Theatre in St Andrews will be hosting an exhibition of members’ work from 5-29 June. Each artist will be showing an example of their art making for a very diverse exhibition. It will also be a sneak preview of what you can expect when you visit their individual studios.
The exhibition will be opening by Director General of the National Galleries of Scotland, John Leighton.
If you want to see more work of the artists, a brochure is available from The Byre or various Fife Tourist Information Centres including maps of how to find each studio. You can also find out more by visiting www.eastneukopenstudios.org
More open studios
The North of Fife does not want to be outdone when it comes to artists in their studios and this event is now in its third year. Why not start the summer season off with a visit to the Open Studios event in North Fife on 3-4 May.
An exciting range of work will be there for the viewing from paint and textiles, to glass, mixed media, metal, ceramics and photography as well as jewellery, furniture and sculpture. You can meet the artists and buy or commission work directly from them.
The tour takes in Auchtermuchty, Dunshelt, Falkland, Newburgh and Leslie and as with the ENOS event you can take in the local sights while visiting the artists. Find out more at www.openstudiosfife.co.uk
A taste of the artists
East Neuk Open Studios
David Mackin is a jewellery designer and maker based in Pittenweem. His company Camac Jewellery focuses on good quality stones set in imaginative ways in leading edge designs. The jewellery is all hand made and set with a wide range of stones including tanzanite, amber, amethyst, opal, Iolite and many more.
Jo Whitney
Jo is the driving force behind the ENOS. Trained at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford, she lived and painted in Cornwall for over 20 years before moving to Scotland. Her work, including portraiture, is in a number of private collections at home and abroad. She paints mainly in oils.
Open Studios North Fife
Mhairi Lafferty is a landscape artist who gains her inspiration from the Scottish landscape and coastline, especially in Fife. She enjoys using pastels and acrylics to capture the ever changing mood and effect of light on the landscape.
Alison Strachan
Alison has been experimenting in acrylic paint and ink exploring abstracted 3d shapes in 2d form on large scale canvases, but also produces individually designed hardwood mirrors.
