Artists put finest work on display

THE REGION’S creative and visual talents have been celebrated across the county with the return of Warwickshire Open Studios.

Over 400 artists and makers filled out more than 121 venues from cafes to churches and studios to sitting rooms.

The Makers’ Space at Longbarn Village, Alcester played host to 23 talented artists exhibiting in a variety of mediums including photography, textiles, glasswork, and prints.

This included self-confessed dendrophile Sandy Holt, from Stratford who works to infuse the magic of trees and woodlands into everyday household items such as place mats and coasters, mugs, clocks and cards.

She said: “The event is always a great opportunity to share my work with interested visitors and as there was such a variety of different skills and styles. For me the highlight was talking about my favourite trees with several of the people who visited.

“It was also great to be able to meet other creatives, learn about their work and inspiration. As an artist who focuses on trees and the natural environment it was the perfect setting, as I was able to escape across the fields after the event and soak up some of nature’s beauty.”

Since its inception in 2000 the scheme regularly attracted over 30,000 visits a year to the registered artists who open up their homes, studios and pop-up exhibitions to the public.

Charlie Budd, from The Makers’ Space added: “Having 600 people visit a rural location over three days to enjoy art, creativity is a wonderful demonstration of the flourishing interest in art and culture in Warwickshire.

See themakersspace.co.uk for more information.