A Summer Studio Shed & my new Open Days . . .

There have been busy goings on around here for the last few weeks

and now at last a long held dream of mine has come true. After weeks of hard work by Mr O, middle daughter & her partner & me, cleaning, mending leaky roof and windows, sanding & painting woodwork, mending & making bunting & covers etc we have created a wee magical hideaway place for me to work in. 

I am so excited, so with no further ado I now reveal, my Summer studio shed!

Ta da . . .  Isn't it lovely.  I think I can safely say it was worth every bit of effort

I love that I can have the doors and window wide open to the world.

I can hear the wee stream that runs through the garden and the call of the birds.

 I wanted no distractions, no phone, no computers, now I can work in peace & quiet surrounded by nature.

Just in time too as recently I was rather pleased to be asked to join a lovely collection of  artistic ladies to make up the group "Stewartry Open Studios".  We are opening our studios during the summer months, welcoming the public in to view our work and our workplaces. 

Above are some of the works by the other 5 artists in the group: clockwise from bottom left ~ Pauline Saul, Susan Metcalfe, Jane B Gibson, Sheena McCurrach and Margaret S Milligan.
You can find out more about us as a group here on Facebook  here .

Here is a taster of what greets me every morning as I step over the bridge by the Summer Studio shed, the beautiful bluebell wood with the birds a-singing, and the stream a-babbling. Can you hear the thunder storm gathering at the start!

My own studio will be open the 3rd & 4th Thursday of the month from May to Sept 10am– 4pm.

May 22nd,  June19th & 26th,  July 17th & 24th , 

August 21st & 28th,  September 18th & 25th.

 If you can't make those days you can give me a call on 07841049023

and I will open specially for you if I can.

If you need directions e~mail me on ruthieredden@hotmail.co.uk

So if you are out and about do pop by if you can, you may yet get a glimpse of the bluebells in the wood as well as see my prints, originals & cards, my sculptures & faeries, works in progress, sketchbooks and doodles & my inspiration board & bits & pieces. The kettle is always on and it would be lovely to see you.

You can see more of my "Summer Studio" images here.

Kirkcudbright Art & Craft trail & stories . . .

What a whirlwind of a few days Kirkcudbrights 10th art & craft trail was.

A wonderful weekend filled with perfect weather, the sun shining all the way. 
(me & some of my work at the Tolbooth)

 We loved our space upstairs in the Tolbooth, with its beautiful old stone walls,

plenty of light & the doves that serenaded us daily outside the window.
(Mom ~ Jean Redden & her paintings)

Mom & I spent Thursday setting up, I had 1corner of the room & she the other,

Mom paints wonderful landscapes of the surrounding countryside, flora & fauna.

The doors opened on Friday morning for 4 days of visitors and my did we have plenty of interested folk & interesting conversations.   I am ever fascinated by the stories my work evokes in the people who connect with it.  One lady stopped at my dandelion clock painting and shared a lovely story it reminded her of.  When she was small her Grandad told her  dandelions were called "bus clocks" he would tell her to blow the dandelion to see what time the faerie bus was coming along. How lovely!

(I did manage to persuade my Galloway Faeries to attend!)

 I had some fascinating conversations with children (such imagination) about making art & stories & creating.  One lovely sharing was the wee 4yr old who told me "I'm an artist you know".  When i asked her what she painted she replied "I paint things like this (with huge sweeps of her little arms) and then people have to decide what it looks like" ~ what a sweetie. 

( some of my woodland sculptures & a selkie)

 As we packed away at the end of the 4th day I decided I was happily exhausted in the nicest possible way, felt I could sleep for a week and was grinning from ear to ear from the loveliness of it all.

A huge thank you to each & every one of you who took the time to pop by the exhibition over the 4 days ~ you all helped make it a most amazing event. So many fascinating connections, conversations & new exciting possibilities have come from it.

 Now I have much catching up to do & blog reading & visiting so I'm off for a well earned rest.  Have a lovely rest of the week folks.

my wee studio & an art trail . . .

There has been a hustle and a bustling in my studio lately.

My muse has returned, oh joy! 

 I'm spending happy hours nestled in my creating space.

I  love my studio,  it was a dream I held for many years

to have such a place and now at last i do  . . .

folk who visit say it fascinates them with so much to look at!

 That makes me smile,   I'm usually such a tidy soul, 

yet this space of mine is overflowing and i love it!

It isn't a space i " put" together, rather it has grown about me

like a comfortable blanket, familiar & cosy & comforting.

When i step through the door I enter into another world.

A world where  i dream & plot & paint & sketch,

listen to  endless stories & magical music.

This wee haven fills me with peace & inspiration.

It's almost time for the next Kirkcudbright Art Trail 

A whole year has passes since the last one see here

  A wonderful event held from Friday 3rd to Mon 6th August.

The wee town of Kirkcudbright will be filled with a hum of activity

as local artists & crafts folk show their wares.

You can find lots more info, a brochure & map here on the website.

My dear Mom Jean Redden & I will be there again this year

We will be downstairs in Rhubarb, Castle Street  again 

if you are about do pop in, its always lovely to meet folk.

Above is my piece donated for the a canvas wall, 

a fab idea that allows folk to pick up a piece of art for £10!!

I do hope to see some of you there x x

Kirkcudbright art & Crafts trail . . .

In the nearby town of  Kirkcudbright  from Friday 29th July - Monday1st August
there is to be held the 8th annual Art & Crafts Trail. 

Started by two very dedicated ladies Pauline Saul and Vivien Dania 

 it is an event to show the works of many  local artists & makers.
( My "Carrick Mermaid" was chosen to grace the trails map. ) 

I am exited to say that this time next week both Mom & I

shall be sat amidst our paintings, prints, cards & crafty things

in the lovely space we have been allocated on the trail. . .

in the newly re-furbished, light & airy basement of

"Rhubarb",  run by Daughter & Mum, Carolynne & Brenda 

situated at 1a Castle Street, opposite McLellans castle.

*         *         * 

Do come along, it would be lovely to meet friends old & new alike. 

See here for trail info & here to see a sample of Moms paintings.

and finally, as promised, some of my inspiration from my travels in Turkey 

A glimpse inside my sketchbook, at my fondness for pattern & symmetry 

Above are the final designs, now printed up as cards.

I found so much more information for my work at this amazing site

"Turkish Cultural Foundation", 

Well, really i have far to much to be doing to be sitting here lol

so i shall off until next time, but before i disappear i must just tell you

a couple of weeks ago I took another big step on this my creative journey

I gave up my day job completely & am now a fully fledged, full time, self-employed artist!

the red den studio at last . . .

for hours & days & weeks

my fingers have been a making

picking flowers to dry to make my faerie cards

moulding clay to bring to life figures in my paintings

collecting driftwood to sculpt mobiles & tiny boats

and why have my fingers been so busy. . .

for this our red-den family project,

that got put on hold for a wee while when

fate stepped in & took me off on different paths.

but at last (oh so exciting) this weekend it finally happened

our "Red den Studio" had its opening

* * *

for lots more to see do take a wander over here

or drop by, have a cup of tea & say hello,

it would be lovely to meet you!

* * *

very soon my creations will also be sitting in my wee etsy shop

i shall tell of it here as soon as they are

x x x