Welcome to our June 2009 newsletter!

The beginning of May saw our Argyll Makers’ day at An Tobar on Mull and you can read John Saich’s feature on the event here. As you will gather from John's report, the event was a great success and enjoyed by all.

We are having a break from our Makers’ Day programme until the autumn but we will be co -hosting a day for craftscotland members at the Ironworks in Inverness on the 17th June 2009. This day is organised by craftscotland primarily to let you know about their plans for the future, to allow you to have your say on their campaigns and to let makers meet up to discuss issues with the craftscotland team and myself.

The day is open to all members of craftscotland so if you are not already a member sign up here. If you are interested in becoming a member but are unsure if it is for you please register for the event but bear in mind that numbers are limited and members will get priority. To find out more and to register see the link at the bottom of this newsletter.

May 2009 also saw Collect at the Saatchi gallery, London and a very strong Scottish presence, not least at the Craftscotland stand where 11of our makers were represented. You can read the blog on my visit here.

When I was in London I also visited Contemporary Applied Arts (CAA) as they are an excellent showcase for British makers and if you are successful in becoming a member their support is invaluable for promoting your work through their prestigious and respected gallery.

The next deadline for application to the CAA is in September 2009, for information on how to become a member and to download the relevant forms please click on the following link: http://www.caa.org.uk/information/joining-caa.html .  If you have any queries about joining please let me know and I will try to advise!

Gilly Langton visited Stroud International Textile Festival under our Go and See programme and reports back on her time there – a wonderful experience! Her report is featured on our 'Go and See Visits' page which is detailed below.

If there are any events that you would like to attend please get in touch and have a look at our Go and See webpage for inspiration and further details. The benefits of going to events and exhibitions can be a real boost for your craft practice – I know it is difficult to take time off especially when you have deadlines and busy lives but try to think of it not as an indulgence but as a necessity for your ongoing professional development!

The North Lands Creative Glass conference in September 2009 has an inspiring programme that will appeal to a wide range of practitioners as well as glass artists. If you would like to apply to attend just get in touch.

Go and See visits are not just for makers as we welcome applications from gallery owners and retailers as well as curators. For example, the Crafts Council are running a series of professional development days for retailers and we would be delighted to offer support to any Highland craft retailers who would like to attend. The next available event is to coincide with Origins in October 2009 and further information can be found on the Craft Council website or by clicking here.

Incidentally, they also have an excellent article on surviving the credit crunch (click here for details) and Cultural and Creative Skills (click here for details) also have a book to download on the same subject.

Here in the Highlands, Business Gateway has now set up and offers a range of services including advice, training and access to finance for small local businesses who wish to grow or for people interested in setting up a new business. Their website will give you further details or if you contact us we can put you in touch with the right office. Visit www.bgateway.com for more details.

On the 23/24th May we had our Photoshop training course for makers at Highland Print Studios and reports back are all very favourable. If you could not attend this course and are interested in future ones please let us know, as we would like to run a further one later in the year. The benefits of having good images, professional websites and publicity are essential and a course like this really helps.

The Cultural Enterprise Office has added a range of factsheets on selling through the web and we have links to them on our Marketing and Business Advice pages within the craft section of the website.

Our Makers of the Month for June are both well established in their field and both have new exhibitions coming up later this year. Argyll based weaver, Louise Oppenheimer will be exhibiting at the Pier Tower Arts Centre in Oklahoma, the British Tapestry Group and Art Map Argyll. Jeweller, Lucy Woodley will be exhibiting at Browns Gallery in her home town of Tain and has her work touring in Precious Cargo.

Both have been fortunate to receive Makers Awards to assist them with different aspects of their career. If you are considering applying for an award from us please note that our criteria has now changed and you will need to demonstrate a commitment of 25% of the total costs of your project to be eligible. Further details here

We have listed our news stories from the past few weeks at the bottom of this page, just in case you missed them – just click on the links below to view! They include Nicola Burn’s prestigious award with Corning Museum of Glass, details of Open Studio events in May and June, a review of the Shetland Open Art show at Bonhoga Gallery as well as other exhibitions in the area.

We have also recently been in touch with Linda Gorn of The Moray Textile Group in Keith. Their centre at present offers Traditional Kiltmaking courses, Dressmaking and Patchwork courses. They recently were also awarded a Heritage Lottery Grant to develop a project to Celebrate 200 years of Textiles/Mills in Keith. This is an exciting project where a community wallhanging a memory book and a fashion show with recycled clothes will be manufactured. The theme of the wallhangings will include Bridges in Banffshire and Moray bridging the past with the future and linking the young with the old.  Linda is going to keep in touch and we will be sure to add details of any future events they are organising on the HI-Arts website.

We look forward to meeting some of you at the craftscotland day and please keep sending us news, views and to contact us if you need any advice on your craft practice.

Remember to follow our progress on Twitter , Facebook and blogs!

Kind regards

Pamela Conacher
Crafts Development Coordinator
pamela@hi-arts.co.uk

Avril Souter
Web Support and Admin
avril@hi-arts.co.uk


Opportunities

Call for New Graduates 

Salon09 open to submissions from creative practitioners 

Design brief for Origin Interventions 2009 

Register now for the 10th Big Draw 

Distance no object for photography competition 

Architectural Heritage Fund 

Traditional Arts Working Group looking for submissions 

Textile Trend Seminar and Library comes to Inverness 

Inspirational Art Project with Young People 

North Lands Glass Beginners Classes & Conference 

Call for Highland Makers 

Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (Deadline 2 June 2009)

Scottish Arts Council Funding 2009/10

Grantsnet - Free grants information site

Distance Lab Conference

Fidelio Charitable Trust


Craftscotland opportunities

Craftscotland job advert - Online Marketing Officer 

Downloads  

craftscotland Members' Meeting 
CAA application
Makers Awards
Craft Marketing and Business Advice pages (which include CEO website factsheets, Nicola Henderson's online marketing presentation and Craft Fair listings)

Business Advice

Business Gateway
Cultural Enterprise Office
HIE advice line

Craft Support

Craftscotland
Crafts Council
Scottish Arts Council


HI-Arts Craft news

Tain based Glass Artist selected for prestigious glass publication

Big Art sale in Cromarty

Knitting in the Scottish Curriculum - A Free Guide for Teachers 

Open Quintet - An Exhibition by the Prize Winners of the Shetland Open Art Exhibition 2008 

Student Art Shows open in Inverness 

Western Isles arts project shows a passion for fashion 

Inverness Museum & Art Gallery announce Craft Workshops for Adults 

Highland Makers Open Studios in May & June 2009
 
New Exhibition at Footprints Gallery, Hopeman 

Paper explores how we measure the value of the arts

Aviemore Trade Show - A recipe for success!