Artists all over the county are busy making work to show to visitors during this year’s Open Studios.
As well as the many experienced artists taking part, there is a range of new talent. Five artists have been awarded Emerging Artist Bursaries, which are aimed at those taking their first steps into professional arts practice, returning to the arts after a career break, or taking their creativity in a new direction.
This year’s merging Artist Bursary winners are:
Olivia Parsons’ ceramics are inspired by patterns in nature. She wants people to look at her sculptures but also to touch them, pick them up and move around with them. By making work that is meant to be touched and explored, she hopes to create moments of connection and play.
As well as the ceramics, Olivia has made a huge white rabbit using her grandmother’s vintage electric sewing machine. She wanted to create a sense of playfulness and encourage people to interact.
Olivia is at Venue W2 where she will be showing her work at her home studio in Lifton.
Kate Rattray’s latest work is inspired by the Dartmoor landscape and the emotional experience of walking through it.
Kate gathers materials from the Moor, making paper from dried moorland grasses, drawing with ink made from oak galls and charcoal collected from Yarner Wood.
A poet as well as an artist, Kate sometimes weaves words into her work – some of her handmade paper contains snippets of her poetry, embedded in the fibres.
Kate is exhibiting her work as part of a group of eight Moorland Makers who will be demonstrating, exhibiting and selling their work in a beautiful Dartmoor barn at Ullacombe – Venue T31.
Sharon Loddey is another artist and poet – she finds poetry helps her to clarify the ideas for her visual art. Sharon explores themes of memory, connection, and the weight of personal history.
Sharon loves the therapeutic side of art, and shares that with others. From her studio at Seale Hayne, she runs workshops for young people, emphasising the importance of the process of creating art.
Sharon’s latest series of work, ‘All That We Carry’ employs an abstract approach, integrating collage, and using a limited palette inspired by the Italian artist Giorgio Morandi.
Sharon’s studio is at Seale Hayne, Newton Abbot, Venue T15
With her nature-inspired quilts, Beth Osment aims to create a sense of calm. She uses natural colour palettes and simple contemporary designs to create a feeling of tranquillity in the home. Her daily walks provide inspiration – elements of plants, water, the changing seasons and natural sounds. She loves the idea of people bringing something into their home that has been handmade locally with care using sustainable materials, and which can be loved, kept and passed on.
“I am inspired by landscapes, gardens, plants, and the seasons” said Beth, “and in particular the restorative elements of nature. I make textiles to be used and loved which will be calming and nurturing and adorn your space.”
Beth will be showing her work at her home studio, Venue EX5.
Jenny Toft’s new work, ‘The Flesh That Binds Us’, uses abstract forms and symbolic elements to explore human connection and the subtle complexities of family dynamics. She reflects on how closeness, care, and identity are shaped across generations, navigating the delicate balance between tenderness and tension, capturing the unspoken sentiments that often resonate within families.
Jenny creates in layers, first using pastels, inspired by children’s drawings, paints over them again and again to cover the drawings, and then scrapes back though the layers.
You can see Jenny’s work at Venue TB10 in Paignton.
You can find out more about these artists and all those participating in Devon Open Studios in the printed Guide and online.