PICTURES: An ‘inspiring and diverse’ exhibition of arts and crafts at Thurso show
Artisans North artists came together for the first time at Thurso Art Gallery to celebrate the ‘Natural World Natural Caithness’ exhibition.
The organiser says that the “natural world is all around us, all of the time” but sometimes we forget this because of the human intervention across the world with roads, bridges, and houses which make it “man’s concrete jungle”.
The exhibition was the brain-child of artist Elaine Rapson-Grant, who says: “I regularly organise craft fairs for the benefit of the community every month in Thurso for crafters and artists hosting under the name of Artisans North, but I wanted to push the boundaries even further and organise an art exhibition too.
“I’m so very grateful to High Life Highland for their support in this venture and for allowing us, as artists, this fantastic opportunity so my idea could come to fruition.”
The Artisans North gallery artists’ exhibition strips all this intervention away and the artists, coming from both Caithness and Sutherland, are then focused and free to create pieces drawing inspiration from the natural world of beauty including, the flora and fauna, the variety of wildlife, the oceans, rivers and skies, either here in Caithness or from across the world.
Elaine continued: “I like to push the boundaries of ‘what is art?’. Personally, I believe it’s a creative self-expression – in any form – of our emotions, or indeed of what we see or do during our life.
“So, in this exhibition, there is a merging of arts and crafts. I hope visitors coming to the exhibition will find the works displayed inspiring and diverse.
“Within the exhibition, you will see layered photographic artwork, oils, acrylics, pastels, oshibana, graphite, watercolours, upcycled material animal heads, copper wire jewellery, light-boxes, resin coffee tables, large driftwood sculptures, felting, sea glass creations as well as textile work.”
There are nine artists taking part, some of whom are new to the art scene – Scott Livingstone, Debasis Biswas, Tom Scorer, Carey Jones, Carole Scorer, Di Isaacs, Caroline Swan, Jean Alexander and Elaine Rapson-Grant.
The exhibition runs until August 31 and is open to the public during normal Thurso Library opening hours. Admission is free and all are welcome.
