Cowal Open Studios is a coalition of amazing artists working together creating among other things an open studio event over a weekend at the end of September every year, ending with a bank holiday Monday.

Open Studios means that all people are invited to visit participating artists in their homes/studios/workshops/galleries to see where they work, how they create and at times also join in and try something out for themselves. They are also able to purchase art/jewellery/cards/ceramics and anything else on offer.

I have now done the Open Studios three times since moving to the area. I was very lucky sharing the space with Anthea Gage the first year. She is a brilliant painter with a big following, which made my first experience of the Open Studios very positive 😀 The second year which was last year, covid had invaded our lives and until the last few days before it was due we did not know if it was going to go ahead or not. Luckily it did, but we had to make changes as we were not allowed to invite people to our spaces. Instead we gathered in a few halls around Dunoon, with me and 11 others in Burgh Hall. The public were very happy that it went ahead, and also that they were able to see more artists because we gathered in fewer places that they could get to easier.

This year we were back to having them in our homes/studios and so on. For me it was a little tricky as we have four cats that are indoor cats apart from having a large cat run. Also our house is quite long, and my studio is at one end and the door is at the other end. So, I decided to relocate the cats from their play room as it is perfectly located by the gate to the property, and it has its own entry. The cats were not at all impressed, but it ended up being the perfect location for me.

I had a lovely time and met a lot of lovely people.

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