A Brush with the Creative Process

ANNIE COOMBER sets the scene for a reprise of last year’s inaugural Skye and Lochalsh Open Studio Trail in May.

SKYE AND LOCHALSH is a remote, dramatic and rugged environment that has attracted artists and craftspeople for generations. A strong, and richly diverse creative community has grown over time, as local artists have been joined by others from all over Britain, and the world.

To celebrate this diversity, a group of artists and makers met in January 2003 to set up an organisation to run an annual, month-long Open Studio Trail. Last May saw the very first Skye and Lochalsh Open Studio Trail, enabling visitors an opportunity to see artists at work, some for the first time. As a result of many nominations from the public, the event was awarded one of the region’s top tourist awards, the ‘Talisker Quality Award for Overall Excellence’ in November last year.

In May 2004, 30 artists and craft-makers will open their doors to the public for the whole month. The Skye and Lochalsh area has been divided into 4 trails, each one a comfortable drive. Location map, descriptions, and opening times are all detailed in the Trail leaflet, with it’s distinctive ‘pebble-swirl’ cover. Leaflets will be widely available in the area and studios easily located by new ‘pebble-swirl’ signs.

All the artists and makers share a strong commitment to high-quality work and are greatly influenced and inspired by the surrounding landscape and culture. A wide range of media is represented, traditional and contemporary, including book-binding, glass, ceramics, watercolours, woodcuts, glass, photography and papier-mâché.

It is an ideal opportunity to buy or commission directly from the artists, and visitors are positively encouraged to view work in progress and discover more about the skills and techniques involved. Many of the visitors last year commented on how they enjoyed visiting such working environments and experiencing a little of the creative process.

To further encourage involvement, there is a Prize Draw this May. Visitors have the chance of winning one of the beautiful works of art and craft donated by many of the participating studios. Passports are available from all studios, and the visitor just has to collect stamps from 6 studios to submit a valid entry into the Draw. Prizes can be viewed at four venues around the area: An Tuireann Arts Centre, Three Chimneys Restaurant and House-over-By at Dunvegan, Armadale Castle and Plockton Hotel.

An exhibition to showcase the work of many Trail studios is being held at An Tuireann Arts Centre, Portree from 1 May to 12 June 2004. Each artist has been asked to respond to ‘Calum’s Road’, a true tale of one man’s determination and ingenuity against the odds. Calum MacLeod, a Raasay man, spent 10 years constructing a road to his house in the north of the island.
 
The Trail organisation has attracted advice and financial assistance from Highland Council, Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise and An Tuireann Arts Centre, thus enabling it to purchase good signs and undertake more publicity and advertising this year. Sponsorship from Armadale Castle and Plockton Hotel is helping to forge useful links with the local tourist industry.

 More information on the event and individual artists and craft people is available from An Tuireann Arts Centre or the Open Studio Trail website.

© Annie Coomber, 2004