The Spring Ouseburn Open Studios Weekend

Introduction

I got a Facebook invite to an open studio event in Shieldfield Newcastle by Mick Smith, I think. Various friends were going so I decided to see what was happening I was there last year for an exhibition by Mick and Micelle Goulder which you can find later in this article.

This is the Facebook page for the event.

When I first ventured into the building yesterday I thought I would check out the lower level and this is what I saw, scarily grim:

So I returned upstairs and found some open studios. I will share links where you can find more about the artists' work but will also share some pictures that I took as well.

Note these people are talented artists while I am very slapdash in my approach but I will try and give you a taste of what I found. Also, these are just a few of the artists that you can find in this building, and there are probably very many treasures that I have missed.

I have chosen "Picture Book" by The Kinks because this is about visual art.

Janet E. Davis

Janet was the first artist I spoke to, and we spent some time chatting. I told her about my work and she showed me hers. She shares a space with Claire Hakin, who wasn't there but also is an impressive creator.

As well her art Janet also does bookbinding and creates notebooks and may other lovely pieces, examples of which you can see here.

This is Janet's website so you can see more of her work.

She is a mover behind this event and is looking to do more in the coming year and get more exposure for artists here.

Between here and Claire, there are so many beautiful art pieces for you to admire and maybe buy, and Janet is wonderful to chat to about her creations.

Anne Dodds

The next person I dropped in on was Anne Dodds, who again was very welcoming and easy to talk to. Her website is here:

Although she had a lot of work on the wall I did like this ceramic "ARTY" with some of her wonderful work.

Bernie Wisniewski

I dropped into Bernie in Studio 28 and the pieces that really caught my eye were the jazz player ones. Bernie is a music fan but not a jazz fan, but was treating this as just another working day, so was painting but still had time to talk and show me his work.

His website is here if you want to see more of his work. Alternatively, you can get yourself down to Studio 28.

Laura Mary

The next artist I found was Laura Mary. She is a wildlife artist and has produced some beautiful animal artwork, including a calendar. She offered me chocolate biscuits but we chatted so much that I left with sampling her chocolate biscuits.

This is her website where you can go to explore more of her wonderful work.

Mick Smith

Mick's work focuses on industrial mechanics and machines where you might not be quite sure what they actually do, but they will. at the very least, fascinate you.

I covered his previous exhibition here:

We chatted and Micjk said he was thinking of putting together a new exhibition, possibly a collaboration, later in the year.

In his workspace, there are many cogs, chains and unspecified tools which make you wonder what they are actually for. It's a bit like ending up in your old uncle's tool shed.

This is Mick's Facebook Page if you want to find out more about his work.

Conclusion

Thank yu so much for reading I hope this has tempted you to vist the pages of these artists and find out more about them.