I hope this finds you well and that you have enjoyed the summer - it definitely feels as if we are moving into autumn now.

I am happy to be taking part in North East Open Studios again this year - at the same venue as last year - the Phoenix Centre at Newton Dee in Bieldside, Aberdeen.  There will be nine of us showing a lovely range of work - from furniture to textiles, fused glass to painting, mixed media and printmaking.   We call ourselves Art at the Phoenix for this event.  I am number 302 in the NEOS book.

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to come and visit the Phoenix Centre at Newton Dee during North East Open Studios last month (October already, how did that happen?!).  It is always lovely to catch up with old friends and to meet new folk.  Many interesting conversations were had, and the overwhelmingly positive feedback about my new work was very much appreciated.  It turns out that lots of you are very fond of the colour blue!  

I often find myself listening more than talking, during NEOS, which suits me fine as I am more naturally a listener than a talker.  And so it was that I came away enriched by Shipping Forecast related stories; the lady who had the "Sailing By" tune played at her seafaring father's funeral, the friend who came to hate geography lessons at school, because they were made to transcribe the shipping forecast as it was broadcast, and she could never keep up.  Another visitor who lamented listening to the midnight broadcast, as it meant that, once again, she could not sleep.    

There were other stories too - an older gentleman who had been a cabin boy on a boat which sailed up and down the west coast of Scotland in the 1960's, who recognised the view of the Torridon mountains from Gairloch, in one of my paintings.  He told me what his weekly wages were, and that beer in those days was 6d a pint (not that he was drinking it at 16, of course...).    I love this sparking of memories which my work can produce; that recognition of a place, or a time, or a feeling.   To me, that's one of the best parts of NEOS.  

A word that I heard many time during the week about my Shipping Forecast series of paintings was "atmospheric".   I'll take that, thank you. 

Many thanks again to all who came to visit; your interest and support is greatly appreciated. 
 
In the meantime, if you would like to get hold of my cards or other items, please see my Stockists page for where you can find them.  Some items are also available from my online Shop here on my website.  

This will be my eighth year taking part in NEOS (North East Open Studios). I'm number 269 in the book this year and will be at the Phoenix Centre at Newton Dee in Bieldside in Aberdeen again.  Eleven artists and makers will show their work there; we call ourselves "Art at the Phoenix".  There will be a lovely mix of paintings, mixed media work, textiles, ceramics, fused glass, wooden furniture and more.  Delighted to be part of it again - also thrilled that my daughter, Ailsa (number 268 in the book) is showing her textiles and illustration work at the same venue.  Looking forward to welcoming visitors!  

We will be open daily 10am - 4pm, from Saturday 8th - Sunday 16th September.  

Once again, it's time for North East Open Studios.  This will be my seventh year taking part! For a change, I will not be exhibiting in the cabin in my back garden (apologies to fans!), instead joining forces with five lovely creatives at the Phoenix Community Centre at Newton Dee in Bieldside in Aberdeen.  We are calling ourselves "Art at the Phoenix" and have our own Facebook page.  I will have more space to show my work and it will be great to have company during the event.  Four of us are artists, with a fused glass maker and a potter adding to the mix.   The venue will be open daily from 9th - 17th September, 10am - 4pm.   Look forward to seeing you there!  I am number 263 in the book; directions to the venue are in my listing.

Art at the Phoenix is part of the Lower Deeside Trail (which I was part of in past years). It lays out 11 venues, featuring 19 artists and makers, within 6 miles of each other. See map below (also available from my Pebbles on the Beach FB page, and the NEOS website).

MBC Art Exhibition
I hope this finds you well and that you have had a good summer. It's hard to believe that it's mid-August already - so next weekend is when the Milltimber, Bieldside & Cults (MBC) art exhibition takes place at the Phoenix Centre at Newton Dee in Bieldside.  I will have a few paintings on show, both framed work and mounted and also some of my cards.  There is always a great selection of work by local artists.You are very welcome to come along when it's open (see the opening times above).  The Milltimber Playgroup mums will be providing teas, coffees and homebakes at the weekend!  Hope to see you there.

It's that time of year again.  Artists and makers will be opening their studios, garages, front rooms, shops, galleries and other miscellaneous spaces this weekend, to show the public what they do.  

It's my 6th year taking part - once again I am in The Cabin in my back garden. This year I'm number 227 in the directory.  There may well be baking.  I have been tidying and sorting through my work from the past year, deciding what to put on show.   The Cabin is quite small, as those of you who have visited before will know - I am contemplating having an outside exhibition space, weather permitting (and if I can find where I put the little gazebo...), in order to show a wider range of my work.

There are more artists than ever included in the trail I'm part of - this year called The Lower Deeside Trail (see image below).  I have also posted this on my Facebook page, and paper copies will be available at any of the entries listed on it.   Time to get planning where to go - I have started making my list already!  

I look forward to seeing you and welcoming you to The Cabin!

Once again, the year has flown by and it's time again for North East Open Studios, when artists and makers across northeast Scotland open their doors to the public.  There will be potters, glassmakers, jewellers, painters, photographers, weavers, embroiderers and woodworkers, to name but a few.  There will be exhibitions in village halls, garages, living rooms and sheds, studios and workshops.  

This will be my fifth year taking part.  As usual, I am not as organised as I would like to be.  I will be collecting some last minute orders of greetings cards later on this afternoon.  And stocking up on real coffee and raspberries for making muffins in the morning.   I have not finished hanging my work.  The Cabin is clean and tidy, however, so that is a good start.  I'm looking forward to meeting new folk, welcoming back friends and people who have visited before.  

To help people plan a day out visiting venues which are close together, I am delighted to be part of the North Deeside Road Trail - 13 artists within 15 minutes drive of each other.  I'm venue number 214 this year.  I look forward to seeing you in the next ten days!  Open daily 10am - 5pm, except Tuesday and Thursday (closed). Open late till 8pm on Friday 18th September.  

Here's the map - you can click on it to download a copy.