ARTIST Alison Bowyer is gearing up for the reopening of Marlborough Open Studios in the coming weeks.
“We want the whole thing to come across as professional”, she said as the studio looks to open for the first 4 weekends of July.
The art caters to varying tastes and several mediums are explored in the studio, which has been going for 25 years.
“It started off as a group of artists trying to get out there a bit” said Alison.
"The aim is to promote artists and art generally in the area and it is very good at doing that."
They offer a bursary so a new artist can exhibit for free and “if it’s appropriate they get mentoring”, she said.
Burbage milliner Abigail Holgate is a new exhibitor in this year’s open studios.
She described the feeling of being selected as “lovely” and looks forward to promoting her hat-hire business.
“This is the season for it” Holgate says, due to summer events like Ascot, Henley, and the Trooping of the Colour attracting clients.
Holgate’s materials include banana leaf, leather, tulle, and feathers. Her typical price of £80 for hat hire is a more reasonable price than getting a hat made bespoke, she says, which can cost up to £1000.
“I think everyone at Open Studios would say you it’s time”, Holgate says, “It’s time, it’s an appreciation of how you’ve educated yourself, and your design ethic”.
Some artists like Kate Wade and Jacqui Melhuish combine their art displays in one studio. Wade specialises in watercolour, and Melhuish in ceramics. Both are part of the ‘Wagon Yard Artists’.
They explained how Marlborough Open Studios helps them “massively” to promote their work, Wade explaining “it’s a fixed event throughout the year, it’s something to aim for to get your work done”.
Wade says that her large-scale watercolours only take her just over a day if she is focused. These are her most expensive pieces which “are around the £600 mark”. “I do commissions as well; they can go a bit higher than that” she adds.
Melhuish explained a benefit of sharing a space during the Marlborough open studios: “a gallery would take 50-60% + VAT of every artist’s work”, “we haven’t got that so we can be really reasonable”.
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