Thousands of visitors are expected to head for Dumfries and Galloway today for a weekend of superb art and craft in some highly unusual studios.
A total of 94 studios, in every part of the region, will be welcoming people from all over the UK and overseas, for Scotland’s premier open studios contemporary visual art and craft event.
Among them is landscape painter Diana de Gruyther who settled in a delightful 18th century jointed crook frame cottage at Harlehawhill, near Canonbie, after living all over the world from New Mexico to the Seychelles.
Diana and her woodworker partner, Mick Read, have spent years renovating the property which has a host of delightful features including a walkway built from recycled oak which runs above the kitchen and links two bedrooms.
The couple also have a vintage caravan which they allow visiting musicians to use for free in exchange for performing small concerts for the local community.
Diana said: “We are really looking forward to welcoming visitors to see the studio and house. It’s wonderful to meet people and chat about art.
“Spring Fling is such a great event, it gives people the chance to get the whole picture – the artists, the places they live and work and everything that inspires them.”
Diana’s paintings are mostly landscapes, many of them depicting the countryside of southern Scotland and Cumbria.
Leah Black, Spring Fling Director, said: “It’s shaping up to be a fantastic weekend with a huge amount to do and see.
“Visitors love the chance to meet and talk to so many different artists and makers, and also to see some incredibly unusual studios. This year they can see everything from beautiful country cottages to converted churches and even a 16th century tower house.”
Each year Spring Fling now attracts over 13,000 visitors over the event weekend and in 2014 brought over £1,400,000 to the local economy including spend in artists’ studios.
