Deirdre Nelson Residency

The Spring Fling residency at Wigtown Book Festival is drawing to it's close this weekend. If you want to catch up on how Deirdre is getting on visit her blog or read her Tweets just follow the links.

Pots and Paintings by Andy Priestman

The Wigtown Book Festival this year is a very busy time. If you are in the area for the festival then do make the trip out to Minniwick at Glentrool to visit the workshop and studio of Spring Fling member Andy Priestman.

This is a real gem of a place to visit and well worth the effort. Andy is a potter and abstract painter and both these strands of his work will be on display. You will also be able to see the stunning three chambered wood fired kiln that he recently rebuilt in which his pots are fired. The exhibition is on from September 25th to October 3rd.

Pots stacked in the wood fired kiln before the firing.

Deirdre Nelson in Residence at Wigtown Book Festival

Deirdre Nelson will be in residence during the Wigtown Book Festival as another collaboration between the Book Festival and Spring Fling. The festival this year runs from 24 September to 3 October 2010 http://www.wigtownbookfestival.com/ and will be showing the results of the residency in Wigtown during Spring Fling 2011 (28 to 30 May).
Selected for the Jerwood Contemporary Makers prize in 2008 Deirdre has completed residencies at Cove Park, IASKA International Artists Residency in Western Australia and St Sirius Arts Centre in Cork, Ireland.

Deirdre says that "Hand work and craftsmanship provide both direction and context in her work which is often inspired by social history, texts and place. Her textile work employs a variety of techniques and materials fusing traditional textile skills and contemporary reinterpretation through photography and digital manipulation."

The studio will be at Glaisnock Guest House, North Main Street, Wigtown and a Meet The Artist event happens at 7pm on September 25th. Hope to see you there.

Spring Fling News

Firstly watch out for the newly redesigned and revamped website for the Spring Fling, this should be live within the next week, more about that when it arrives with us.

Secondly applications for Spring Fling 2011, May 28th, 29th and 30th, will be opening shortly, this will be on the website and we are encouraging on-line applications wherever possible to help conserve funds and cut down on administration work.

Finally the residency with Wigtown Book Town and Spring Fling will this year has been awarded to textile artist Deirdre Nelson. Deirdre will be in residence during the festival in Wigtown which runs from September 24th to October 3rd. Call in and see what she is working on when you visit the Book Festival this year.

Residency Project With Wigtown Book Town

Applications are invited from artists for a Spring Fling residency project in Dumfries & Galloway, inspired by Wigtown Book Festival (24 September to 3 October 2010). The residency will run for 12 days in the run-up to and during the festival, with the successful artist returning to Wigtown to show work produced during the residency at Spring Fling 2011 (28 to 30 May). The successful applicant will receive a fee of £2,500, to include materials and travel costs. Accommodation and studio space will be provided free of charge. The artist will also be given a free pass to Wigtown Book Festival events. For more information, or to request a copy of the brief, contact Colin Tennant, visual arts officer for Dumfries & Galloway (01387 262084 colin.tennant@dumgal.gov.uk)

Deadline for applications is 9am on Wednesday June 30th 2010.

Spring Fling Residency Launch

Photograph copyright Angus Bremner

Sarah Jackets and Chris Helson launched their residency at Wigtown Booktown last friday night and it runs until Sunday October 4th.
For the launch the festival’s artists in residence invite you to join them in The Hut where they are showing two extraordinary video works. Helson and Jacket’s Wigtown residency begins with Mordechai Vanunu’s banned performance of “I Am Your Spy”, mailed out of Israel hidden in a hollowed-out copy of Hunter S Thompson’s Kingdom of Fear. Then we get to The Heart of the Matter as Graham Greene’s assistant spy answers a theological question.

Photograph copyright Angus Bremner

Call into Wigtown to visit the rest of the fabulous festival and call in on the first Wigtown Book Festival Spring Fling Artists in residence.

Spring Fling Artists at Wigtown Book Town

Spring Fling Artists in Residence.

Chris Helson and Sarah Jackets are at The Hut at Reading Lasses.

This year Wigtown Book Festival are delighted to welcome their first artists in residence, a collaboration with Scotland 's premier art and craft open studio event, Spring Fling. During the festival multimedia artists Chris Helson and Sarah Jackets will be creating work to be shown during the final three days. They plan an intriguing residency and invite you to the Hut to explore ideas and enter "The Exchange Library of Significant Books". Launch Saturday 26 September 7pm; Exchange Library or Significant Books, 2-5pm daily. Installation 2-4 October 11am-6pm.