The May bank holiday long weekend is when the Art Festival takes place. It's an annual celebration of art on the island. There's such a variety of art and a range of styles. My joints haven't allowed me to see or do much, but today we saw some of the sights in the south.
The picture above is a "5 minute portrait" of Ava. It's a lovely little cartoon portrait of a lovely dog. It was painted by an artist who has recently moved to the island, Kim Gee. It was wonderful watching her paint Ava from a photograph on a phone. She is a talented woman.
Across the road, in another venue, was a woman who was making a Loaghtan sheep from willow and corkscrew hazel wands. The willow was fresh, but the hazel dry. When the sculpture has been finished, she will plant climbers to grow through it. The hazel will only last about two years, but it will provide enough support for the climbers to become established. These will then hold the sheep together, and give it a fine, green coat.
The Beloved was chatting with Graham Hall, a wood turner. Graham is thinking about offering courses; he Beloved's eyes lit up. Graham's neighbour is Nicola Dixon. Nicola's passion is painting the sea, coast and the animals to be found there. We have a few of her paintings (prints unfortunately). She has recently branched out into printing on fabric. On sale were legging, cushions, aprons, little cowls and a dress. It's all in the early stages, but I know I want to buy a couple of metres of in a cotton.
The bi-annual quilting exhibition was part of the art festival this year. It was fascinating looking at the designs of others. One block of a quilt caught my eye, a very stylised tree. I'm now imagining a similar tree, but with the names of all of the members of our family written on leaves.
