111 studios to take part in Spring Fling
A PROP designer who has worked on Outlander and a former nurse whose paintings are portals into other world — just two of the unusual artists and makers taking part in this weekend’s Spring Fling.
Hannah Thomson, in Portpatrick, and Cathy Van Hoppe, in Eskdalemuir, are among the 111 participants from every part of Dumfries and Galloway opening their studios between May 23-25.
Hannah, above, who also teaches art and design at Stranraer Academy, is one of the many exhibitors with a background every bit as interesting as her art.
Indeed, anyone who watches the Outlander prequel series Blood of my Blood, will see a china tea set she was asked to create for the show.
Speaking about her ceramics, Hannah said: “As a prop maker I might have been asked to make seaweed for sea-soaked castle dungeon or adornments for a Cherokee warrior’s horse — like I did for Outlander — and that means you have to be inventive and test the behaviour of materials and see how they work together.
“When people come to my studio they will see I have a playful approach where I have combined natural materials with newly made ceramics.”
Hannah has been part of the teams on a multitude of TV shows and movies, including Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, Maleficent and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Hers is one of 19 studios on the Blue Route which covers the far west of Dumfries and Galloway – Spring Fling has six colour-coded routes.
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Meanwhile, Cathy is one of 14 artists in the far east.
Her beautiful and detailed illustrations conjure worlds, characters and creatures you would expect to find in classic fairy tales.
Originally from Australia, she spent a great deal of time in the Isle of Wight playing make-believe in the walled garden of grandparents’ home.
She said: “I have always loved the places and characters you find in stories. In my art I love to create the landscape of fairytales. They are portals to another world that anyone can enter.”
The walled garden at Barwhillanty Estate, near Castle Douglas will be the venue for the Flock art project led by ceramicist Frances Ross, which has seen more than 1000 pupils from 45 schools locally each create a pottery bird - from finches and robins to fantastical ones, such as a phoenix.
Frances, from Sorbie, will also be showing her own work at the estate, while the two other Flock ceramicists are also taking part: they are Clare Dawdry in Kirkpatrick Durham, and Ruth Jones in Moniaive.
Further afield, there will be the chance to see the work of the award-winning Daniel Lacey, in Langholm. He specialises in handcrafted, bespoke commissions made from locally and ethically harvested timber.
He will be exhibiting at the Buccleuch Miles along with Miles-Moore Ceramics, who describe their work as an exploration of the meaning, role and place of the vessel in everyday and ceremonial life.
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