A potter in a 1950s railway carriage and a botanical painter in a flower shop – two of the delightful artists and makers welcoming in the public during this week’s Perthshire Open Studios Festival.
Liz Paterson, who is based in Victoria Bloom Design Florist, Crieff, draws inspiration for her drawings and watercolours from the beautiful blooms that surround her.
Another place to visit is Station Cat Pottery, Logierait, where Fiona Guinan has her studio and exhibition space in a 1950s railway carriage that has been lovingly restored by her husband Peter.
Her work is mostly decorative, but she does create everything from candlesticks and bowls to funky mirrors, and often incorporates all kinds of unusual items, whether it’s bits and pieces from their farm or musicians’ unwanted items.
Fiona, who is learning the cello, said: “Upcycling is very much at the heart of what I do – I love incorporating things into my work that Peter or I have found on the farm, been given or come across elsewhere.
“Scrap metal is turned into horses or other animals, fence wire becomes flower stems, old instrument strings find new life as cats’ whiskers and fiddle tuning pegs make lovely mouse ears.”
In addition to a potter’s wheel and kiln her artists’ kit includes everything from a hammer and anvil to a selection of power tools.
Liz and Fiona are just two of the 120 artists and makers from all across Perth and Kinross – and beyond – taking part in this year’s Perthshire Open Studios Festival from 6-11 September.
They include painters, potters, glassmakers, jewellery designers, textile artists, illustrators, woodworkers, printmakers, photographers and many more.
A substantial number of participants are based in Perth such as artist and illustrator Susan Hutchison and visual artist Sheila Garden who was previously a teacher in places such as Indonesia and Singapore.
Heather Budge-Reid, Chair of POS, said: “There’s an amazing amount to do and see during the festival. It’s one of those rare chances to meet interesting and highly creative people and discover all sorts of interesting corners of Perthshire.
“We hope that people from all over Scotland and beyond will seize the chance to visit the studios and galleries that are opening their doors to the public and join our celebration of Scotland’s contemporary artists and makers.”
There is also the Festival Showcase exhibition in the Barn Gallery at The Bield, Blackruthven, from 2-11 September, where visitors can see examples of work by each of the festival’s participating artists and makers.
If you miss the festival there is now the year-round Perthshire Creative Trail with a searchable website with artists and galleries places to visit.
The trail features 15 galleries and 32 artists’ studios (including 17 in the Perth Creative Exchange) allowing people to meet artists, visit galleries, discover walks and distilleries whatever the season.
-Ends-
Notes for editors
About POS
POS aims to contribute to strengthening the economic, cultural, tourism and heritage environments throughout Perthshire by:
- Supporting Perthshire creatives
- Increasing the number of residents and visitors who get a sense of place through travelling around Perthshire and ‘Seeing the Inspiration.’
- Strengthening artists’ marketing skills
- Increasing cooperation and support between individual artists and Perthshire-focused organisations.
The objectives of POS are to:
- Organise and promote an all-year-round Perthshire Creative Trail.
- Organise and promote an open studios festival in Perthshire that supports economies of scale.
- Develop marketing/promotional skills of POS members and their access to the benefits of membership.
- Endeavour to work in coordination with other organisations with similar goals.
Perthshire Open Studios (POS) has been running for over 13 years. Entirely volunteer run, the open studios festival event across Perthshire attracts visitors and residents, supporting economic and cultural growth as well as cultural benefits. In 2021, 143 venues and 198 solo artists participated in POS. Previous research shows that for every pound spent on organising the festival each year, £15 is spent in Perthshire.
POS is now focusing on three events a year – an all year-round creative trail, a September open studio festival and a summer exhibition. In addition to developing training events for artist looking to spread the word about their art. It was also agreed that it was important to work with other artist organisations in Perthshire.
POS is made possible with the support of Perth and Kinross Council, UNESCO City of Craft (Perth), VisitScotland, Perth Creative Exchange, Growbiz, Perthshire Artisans, and the team at The Quair and is organised by Perthshire Open Studios.
For media information contact Matthew Shelley at SFPR on 07786 704299 or at [email protected].
Perthshire Open Studios CIC. Company number: SC498236. Registered office: Artisanand, 13-15 Bank St, Aberfeldy, PH15 2BB