VISUAL arts and crafts, open studios, exhibitions, workshops and events, form a nine-day celebration starting on Saturday and based along the Wylye Valley.

More than 170 artists are taking part in the Wylye Valley Art Trail, some from their homes, others from studios or village halls.

For visual artist Sandie Flower, this is her first retrospective since graduating from Winchester School of Art in 2000.

Eight of her works of installation art will be on display at the small chapel adjacent to her home at Hatch Farm near Tisbury, premises normally used as her studio.

It has taken her since graduation to assimilate a body of work in order to put on an exhibition as she explains:

"Visual art is all about representation and I always work to a theme and use memorabilia and personal memories.

"I seem to use text often as well, but I think this is unconscious.

"This sort of art involves a lot of research and cannot be hurried. Jerusalem, for example, uses a line from William Blake's poem.

"I remember singing it as a child and it has very strong memories for me. I have repeated the same line in a pattern and by writing these words in a repetitive way, I am mimicking the contours of the land.

"I have a farming background and it is a strong part of my personal history."

"I am using the art trail as an opportunity to talk to people about my work as installation art is a form that some people find hard to relate to."

In 1990 Pamela Strong turned her back on the bright lights of the stage and took up a new career in painting and her exhibition displays forty plus exhibits.

"Once a star of many West End shows such as Cabaret, Pamela took to painting like a duck to water.

"I didn't know this was in me, although I did go to art college when I first left school before I switched to drama.

"I enrolled on painting classes at Salisbury College in 1990 and that was my starting point.

"I like working with oils and watercolours, working with abstract ideas. I am very dramatic in my work, full of energy and expression.

"As well as abstracts, I paint portraiture, landscapes, still life and nudes.

"I always start with a vague idea of colour, the most important medium I think." Both Sandie and Pamela will be acting as stewards in their respective exhibitions and are happy to talk to anyone who is interested in their work.

The free map and guide for Wylye Valley Art Trail is available from Tourist Information Centres, public libraries and other public outlets.