Meet visual artists and makers in their own homes and the studios which inspire their wonderful work
It’s not just the art that makes Spring Fling special – it’s also the chance to see fantastic studios in amazing places.
This year they include the chance to see former churches, a 16th-century tower house, an historic grain warehouse, plus an array of farms, cottages and converted barns or stables.
And in each of the 94 studios taking part in Scotland’s premier open studios contemporary visual art and craft event there will be the chance to meet artists and makers of may kinds – with astonishing skills and fascinating personal stories.
Laura Hudson Mackay is a photographer with a love of the other-worldly – so 18 months ago she moved from Glasgow, with her husband Scott and Knick Knack their dog, to Abbot’s Tower in rural Dumfries and Galloway.
She said: “It’s a dream home for me because I love the ethereal and the otherworldly and this is a fairy tale Scottish castle with pepper pot turrets and set in the most beautiful imaginable countryside.”
On display in her studio, which is in the outbuildings, are a variety of intriguing photos by Laura, which have a sense of mystery, as if you could easily step across a threshold into another realm.
Some have been taken during Laura and Scott’s epic campervan treks through Europe and North Africa, to Marrakesh and into the Sahara.
The tower itself once belonged to the Brouns, hereditary abbots of the nearby Sweetheart Abbey, where the 13th century Lady Dervogilla of Galloway was buried clutching a casket containing the heart of her beloved husband John Balliol.
Also close to the abbey is Guild Hall, the charming former Woman’s Guild Hall, which jeweller Michael Pell has recently refurbished and which is now his home and workshop.
Michael, originally from Sydney in Australia, is an expert jewellery designer and goldsmith who was part of the Glasgow School of Art team which created the medals for last year’s Commonwealth Games.
Among the other delightful studio locations is the former church which painter Julie Dumbarton has just renovated and transformed.
Julie says: “I was lucky enough to stumble across an old, unused church in my hometown of Langholm that was for sale. Although I wasn’t looking for a new studio I was intrigued by the opportunity to at least look at such a wonderful building, and so made a viewing appointment.
“As we entered the church we saw the huge windows on three sides of the building, the beautiful stained glass windows on the fourth wall and immediately lost the cool, hard-faced persona we’d tried to hard to put on! We made an offer to the agent on the spot.”
It has proved to be an inspired move, with the stained glass and the sense of space offering a perfect setting for Julie’s paintings which are fabulously colourful and full of joy.
Leah Black, Spring Fling Director, said: “Spring Fling is all about unusual places, fascinating people and superb visual art and craft. It’s a chance to see inside the studios and homes where some amazingly talented people live and work.
“The locations are often as diverse and interesting as the art and the artists themselves. We have everything from large rambling farmhouses, to neat country cottages and commercial galleries – spread all across the towns, villages and countryside of one of Scotland’s loveliest regions.”
The Grainstore in Stranraer will hold an exhibition by Laurie Campbell, a Northern Irish photographer invited to take part in Spring Fling as part of its Neighbours scheme.
This listed building dates from 1850 and is a superb piece of the town’s architectural heritage, recalling the days when it was an important port. It is currently the focus of a regeneration project which is turning it into a centre for performance and the arts.
For details of the studio locations and suggested routes for touring Spring Fling, which takes place from 23-25 May, see the website at www.spring-fling.co.uk.
