Auutumn 2019 The Maclaurin Gallery Magazine...Ma c laurin Published by Friends of the Maclaurin The Maclaurin Gallery Magazine Entry to the gallery is free The Auutumn 2019 Maclaurin

Maclaurin

Published by Friends of the Maclaurin

Entry to the gallery is freeThe Maclaurin Gallery Magazine

Auutumn 2019The

Maclaurin Mag Auutumn 2019.qxp 28/08/2019 22:14 Page 1

eDiToR’s noTe

who’s who at maclaurin

Patron

Peter Howson OBE

Patron Emeritus Helen M Turner

Trustees

John Walker Chair The Maclaurin Trust

Nicholas Kilpatrick

Helen M Turner

Michael Clark

Celia Stevenson

Curators

Celia Stevenson Vice Chair Maclaurin Trust

Michael Clark Permanent Collection

Dianne Gardner Chair Programming

Alan Moir Chair ‘Friends’

Caroline Lorimer Vice Chair ‘Friends’

Fiona Robertson Events Co-ordinator

Friends of the Maclaurin Committee

Alan Moir Chair

Caroline Lorimer Vice Chair

Douglas Gulland Treasurer

David Reader Membership Secretary

Celia Stevenson Editor Maclaurin Magazine

Fiona Robertson Events Co-ordinator

Dorothy Fisher

Gail McAulay

Jennifer Dudney

Sheila McLean Minutes Secretary

South Ayrshire Council at The Maclaurin Art Gallery

Laura Kerr – Coordinator, Cultural People Directorate

Cultural Portfolio – Cllr Brian McGinlay

The Maclaurin Art Gallery is a Scottish Charity SCO 12798

Front Cover “New Arrangement” by Ian McNicolMagazine design by John MacDonald

eVenTsIt’s hard to believe it is autumn already as it seems no time since I was talking about the summer exhibitions coming up and now we are looking forward to all the exciting things on offer from now until Christmas. But before we do. The Scouller Exhibition, Drawn Together proved a real favourite with visitors resulting in good sales. The Volunteers really came into their own helped by the briefing session from Glen and Carol. Visitors always like to hear stories and anecdotes relat-ing to exhibitions, so these walk and talk sessions with the artists prove invaluable. There is still a chance to see The Making of a Gallery, the exhibition so ably researched and curated by Dianne Gardner that tells the story of James Henry Maclaurin in whose memory the gallery was established. There are some fascinating old photographs of the stables and the yard as it was before the architects did their award-winning transformation to create the gallery and the courtyard. Well worth a look. And now looking ahead. It’s at this time of year we are delighted to welcome Save the Children with its annual exhibition and sale. It’s one hundred years since the charity was established, so this is a very special event indeed. Save the Children is always a popular place with visitors wanting to buy artwork, with the added benefit of supporting a worthwhile charity. This year the School’s exhibition will feature the senior students studying art in South Ayrshire. This also involves competition for the Kilgour Award, in memory of Jack Kilgour a leading light in the early days of the Maclaurin. This is a competition fiercely con-tested, ultimately judged by well- known local artists. The winning entry is traditionally added to the Maclaurin Collection. Our featured artist in this issue is Ian McNicol, who is well known at the gallery, and in Ayr and Ayrshire, as he and his wife Leona Stewart are stalwarts of the local arts scene. Ian is a Master Printer working at the renowned Glasgow Print Studio and his story is an interesting one as you will discover. We feature the second in our series Artists in the Kitchen. This time Michael Clark entices us with a delicious dessert. And for some-thing completely different we have a wee competition for those of you who like a challenge. There are two exciting events to tell you about. Tom Rennie, who really needs no introduction to readers of this magazine is going to give a demonstration of portrait painting in October and by popu-

lar demand we are hosting another Bistro Supper in November, with very special entertainment! Full details under Events. Oh! this magazine reaches the parts other publications don’t get near! Enjoy.

Editor

2 www.themaclaurin.org.uk

Tom Rennie – PoRTRaiT Demo

Thursday 24th October - 7.00pm

Well known Dunure artist Tom Rennie (his weekly art classes are an ever-popular feature) will give a demonstration of the important points of por-trait painting. Further details from the Membership Secre-tary nearer the time.

BisTRo nighT wiTh PoeTRy

Thursday 28th November 7.00pm at the Maclaurin Gallery

A jolly supper among friends with that special added ingredient, performed poetry! Watch out for further information as above.


DaViD REID

RiVeRsiDe STUDIOS

a PiRaTes liFe FOR ME

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ConTenTssaVe THE CHILDREN

15

The trust was founded as a bequest from the late Mrs Mary Ellen Maclaurin, who, in her will, provided that curators appointed within the Will should, within five years of her death, build an art gallery and/or museum in Ayr to be called The Maclaurin Art Gallery in memory of her husband.

Monday to Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 12 noon - 5pm

The Maclaurin Art Gallery Rozelle Estate, Monument Road, Ayr, KA7 4NQ t: 01292 443708

maClaURin hisToRyoPen all yeaR RoUnD

ConTaCT Us

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3www.themaclaurin.org.uk

11The GRAIN EXCHANGE

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The DalRymPle Ukelele oRChesTRa

On Sunday 25th August the Dalrymple Ukelele Orchestra gave a packed audience a joyous singalong concert followed by drinks in the courtyard in one of this Summer’s few fabulous sunny days.

www.themaclaurin.org.uk4

At the same time an exhibition of work entitled ‘FOR THE LOVE OF THE CLYDE’, all done this year by Richard Demarco OBE, drew similar good crowds and sales especially after a fascinating afternoon talk with the artist.

The irrepressible Richard bounced around the Patron’s Gallery talking about his paintings and life as we went! The Friends of the Maclaurin presented him with a birthday cake to mark his 89th birthday, which fell just after the exhibition ended.

ReCenT haPPenings

The Scouller exhibition in the summer ‘DRAWN TOGETHER’ featuring work from all four family artists proved a great success, with lots of visitors and good sales.

DRawn TogeTheR

FoR The loVe oF The ClyDe


www.themaclaurin.org.uk 5

‘ARTISTS IN THE KITCHEN’ In the second of the serieswe welcome this delicious sounding recipe from Michael Clark.

Mandarin Créme Caramel (after Raymond Blanc) Serves 4 Make the sauce Make a sauce with a small pot of Earl Grey tea and 2 tbs of sugar, reduce the liquid by half then add 12 Agen prunes and half a glass of Armagnac, simmer for 4 minutes. Allow to cool. Cooking the caramel Place 2 tbs of water and 80g of caster sugar in a saucepan, cook until you have a dark caramel. Pour into 4 metal ramekins. Make the cream Cut a vanilla pod in half, scrape out seeds, put both pod and seeds in a saucepan with 400ml Jersey milk and grated zest of 2 mandarins, simmer for 5 mins. In a separate bowl whisk 6 egg yolks and 80g caster sugar. Pour in milk while whisking the egg yolks and sugar. Strain into a jug and divide between the ramekins. Place ramekins in a bain-marie in a roasting tin with hot water, about two-thirds up the sides of the ramekins, cover with tin foil, bake for 35 mins at 180c. Allow to cool running a blade round the edge of the ramekins. Turn out onto bowls. Pour the sauce around the ramekins with the prunes.

The Little Art School Trust SCIO Team were delighted to raise just under £12,000 at their Ladies Day at Turnberry hosted by Newsnight Presenter, Kirsty Wark. Funds raised at the event will enable the Ayrshire based charity to continue delivering free art lessons to people living with dementia and to vulnerable children in our community

Ian McKinnell is an abstract photographer who makes amazing abstract pictures. I encountered him at the Grain Exchange in Ayr one Saturday afternoon and was fascinated by his work. For those of you who have not yet discovered this recently opened public space in the High Street, I recommend it to you. Almost every Saturday there is an art event and sale of some sort. Ian, takes all his photographs on his mobile phone and describes his work as “digital art on the run”, manipulating his images into pleasing abstract forms.

So here is a wee competition. Look at this photo-graph and guess what it is. I thought I saw a roofs-cape, someone else thought it looked like WWI trenches. Look at it and make up your own mind. Send your answer to :- [email protected] The person who guesses correctly, or if not, the most imaginative guess will receive a full-size mounted print of the photograph.

…? abstract image by ian mckinnell

now FoR someThing a BiT DiFFeRenT…


DUnURe aRT ClassThe Dunure Art Class, run by artist and teacher Tom Rennie, is now enrolling for the new season and has a number of places still available. The classes take place every Wednesday, in the Kennedy Hall, right by the beach, in the beautiful South Ayrshire village of Dunure. There is a morning class and an afternoon class. Come to either, or come for the day. The ancient Castle of Dunure and the 17th century harbour are right outside the door and with views over the sea towards Arran, the Mull of Kintyre and Ireland, the class takes advantage of an amazing location.

Whether you are an experienced artist or are just starting out, you’ll be very welcome and have the opportunity to practise and improve your Draw-ing and Painting skills in a friendly and inspiring environment. Tom will also be running a series of Art Workshops over the next few months, so look out for those. You can call Tom on 07833 516 049 or email – [email protected]

2019 is the Centenary year of Save the Children. An amazing 100years since our founder, Eglantine Jebb began her mission to fight for the rights, well-being and aspirations of the world's children. Around 150 artists, professional and amateur will be exhibiting. Mairi Aitken, Erni Upton, Aine Divine, Claire Harrigan and many other outstanding artists have supported this event for many years. Two new artists to look out for are Fiona Scott-Brown and Mary Davidson. The raffle prize is a beautiful oil painting “Yachts Away”, by Douglas Lennox, winner of The Willa Revie award last year. The title of this year’s competition is "Favourite Places" The artist whose painting gets the most votes from visitors to the exhibition will be awarded The Grant People's Prize Plaque. A pen and watercolour work by Peter Howson, "Blessing" has been donated by the artist. The exhibition will be held for 6 weeks Invitation only Preview Saturday 5th October 2019 Open to public Sunday 6th October 12noon - 5pm.

saVe The ChilDRen ayRshiRe aRT exhiBiTion Sunday 6th October – Sunday 17th November 2018


The raffle prize “Yachts Away” by Douglas Lennox

“Blessing” by Peter Howson “Summer Hillside” by Jim Wylie “Toward Lighthouse” by Peter Foyle


Do you know about South Ayrshire’s Museum Store? I didn’t until speaking to Keir Murray, at Rozelle House one day. I knew he had responsibilities at the John Pollock Centre on Mainholm Road, Ayr but apart from that I knew very little, but was curious to learn more as I knew the Maclaurin Art collection was stored there. Keir who is Museums & Galleries Officer, of-fered to show me around. The John Pollock Centre, previously Mainholm Academy, is home to many council departments. Keir’s office and store is tucked away at the back of the building. I soon became aware as he showed me around, that his responsibility for indexing and caring for this extensive collection was daunting, and re-quired huge patience and expertise. The large store room was previously a school hall with fold away seating, still stored against the wall. Keir selected items to show me and to explain, a diffi-cult task from the thousands of items categorised. What to choose from - Fine Art (drawings, prints, paintings & sculpture), Social History, Archaeology, Photographs, Books, Natural History, Recordings, Dec-orative Arts, Ethnography, Botany, Geology? As well as the council social history, geological/paleontologi-cal and fine art collections, there are about 540 items which belonged to the Tam o’Shanter Museum that used to be in the High Street. Much of the social his-tory collection came from the Burgh of Ayr (Carnegie

Library) collections and has since been considerably added to. The paintings are from the various Burgh collections, from Ayr, Prestwick and Girvan. Items are recorded and are stored in a particular man-ner to preserve them. Specialised paper, tissue paper, foam, and treated cardboard, is used to avoid dam-age. Cleaning is carried out in ways suited to the item. All this takes time and immense patience. This all takes a long time, particularly as there are with so few staff involved. A comment from a visiting ‘Friend of the Maclaurin’ reflects what is required. “They two staff seemed to have a genuine love in researching and putting the history together of the different items and passing on their discoveries to us visitors.” So fascinating did I find my visit that it prompted me to arrange two group visits for Friends of the Maclau-rin. These took place earlier in this summer. Feedback has been remarkable. “I had absolutely no idea of the wealth of unusual and interesting pieces the collec-tion contained”. “This was a worthwhile visit to expand our knowledge of this valuable asset in the South Ayrshire.” “Keir was able to provide a clear insight into what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ at the museum store. Chris Delaney, his assistant was very enthusiastic and it was clear how passionate they both are.” I suspect further visits will be arranged due to the in-terest shown by many.

alaDDin’s CaVe in soUTh ayRshiRe - David Reader reports

Friends of the Maclaurin – Membership Subscriptions from Douglas Gulland Treasurer to the Friends of the Maclaurin Annual membership subscriptions to The Friends are now due, but please note the new rates: £20 for Individual and £30 for joint or family membership. If you pay by Standing Order (which we recom-mend) please ensure that this has been updated to show the new rate and is payable annually on 1st July. Standing Orders should also include your post code as reference. Cheques must be payable to ‘The Friends of the Maclaurin’; unfortunately, any other payee address is not acceptable to the bank. Cheques should be posted to David Reader Membership Secretary 12 Carrick Road, Ayr, KA7 2RB with a note of your name and address, including post code. If you have paid at the old rate, any supplemen-tary payments (£5 in every case) can be paid ei-ther by cheque to ‘The Friends of the Maclaurin’ and sent to David Reader as above, or by bank transfer in favour of ‘The Friends of the Maclau-rin’ to TSB sort code 87-37-67. a/c no. 77726468, and again please add your post code as reference (so that we know which Clark, Wilson, Smith ….. is making the payment). Thank you for your help – we promise we won’t be changing the subscription rates for some time! You may wish to note that we have updated The Friends ‘support notice’ in the Gallery. Over the years The Friends have now provided more than £40,000 in funds to support Gallery projects, such as the new sound system, walking aids, display cases, in fact a whole number of things to benefit the gallery. So your subscriptions and fund raising contributions all go to make the Maclaurin Gallery experience more accessible and memorable for all our visitors.

www.themaclaurin.org.uk 7Kier Murray explaining about the collection



Rozelle hoUse mUseUm & galleRies

south ayrshire Council art Treasures

Saturday 22nd June – Sunday 8th September

We are proud to exhibit twenty two paintings and sculptures from the South Ayrshire Council collections, featuring some of the biggest names in Scottish, British and European Art.

ayrshire College Visual arts hnD

Saturday 6th July – Sunday 8th September

A selection of work from this year’s HND graduates from Ayrshire College, all of whom are going on to complete their degree at UWS, Dundee or Glasgow School of Art.

a Pirate’s life for me

Saturday 2nd November – Sunday 26th April 2020

A new exhibition created by the V&A Museum of Childhood, offering a jaunt through the world of both real life and fictional pirates, playfully presented and including both interactives and work created in partnership with children. Using museum objects and engaging learning to create an experience families can enjoy together, Rozelle House will be transformed, into a seaside tavern and a tropical paradise island, all centred around an almost-full-sized pirate ship - cue dressing up, stories, much ringing of the ship’s bell, and peering through a telescope.

Alexander Nasmyth ‘Bay of Naples’ South Ayrshire Council

‘Inside his Mind ‘by Rhiannon Winslow



The making oF The maClaURin 1919-2019

Sunday 22nd July – Sunday 22nd September

James Henry Maclaurin died in Los Angeles in 1919. In 1971 His wife, Mary Ellen Maclaurin, made a bequest to found a Gallery in Ayr to honour the memory of her husband. It was to be called ‘The Maclaurin Gallery’. This exhibition tells their story and describes the way in which the Gallery and the important Permanent Collection has developed, providing a unique and well established cultural amenity for the benefit of the people of Ayr and visitors from all over the world.

The maClaURin galleRy

Jankel AdlerR.B.Kitaj

Bridget RileyRob

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Bryde

Rob

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Ivon Hitchens

Ken Currie

P TER HO

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Ala

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John Taylor

WILHEMENA BARNES-GRAHAM

Sir Robin PhillipsonSir Terry Frost

JACK KNOX

Barb

ara

Ra

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Benno SchotzRoyden RabinowitchJoan

Eard

ley

David DonaldsonDa

vid

Bo

mb

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Mic

hae

l Cla

rk

He

nry

Mo

ore

Lind

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Victor Passmore

PATRICK H E R O N

Jac

ki P

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GEORGE WYLIEJohn Houston

John BellanyHa

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ah

Fran

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Byrne

Helen Turner

Philip Reeves

Joe Hargaan

Rog

er Hilton

Wil l iam McCance

RONALD

RAE

The original building before work commenced.

Mike Bailey at the P.V. of the Collection Exhibition in 1983

“Man in a Blue Cloak” by R B Kitaj


open art Saturday 22nd June – Saturday 21st September The 36th Annual Open Art Exhibition, featuring work from artists living and working in Girvan and the surrounding area.

marching on Saturday 29th September to 14th December 2019

South Ayrshire concludes the WW1 Centenary period, presenting an exhibition created in partnership with the Girvan and District Great War Project and the National Library of Scotland, to share the stories of local people and families, and to consider how Scots men and women attempted to forge ‘a better world’.

The mCkeChnie insTiTUTe

“Goat Fell” by Nancye Cameron

Alexander Donald, image used with kind permission of Karen Murray


soUTh ayRshiRe seConDaRy sChools Saturday 29th November – January 2020 Celebrating the diversity of art and design work created by senior pupils and presenting the Jack Kilgour Award to support the creative talents of pupils, and to recognise the work and dedication of the art departments in South Ayrshire Schools.

The 26th Annual Ayrshire Art Exhibition, in aid of

saVe The ChilDRen Sunday 6th October to Sunday 17th November A particularly special year for this annual exhibition, as it is also the Centenary of Save the Children which was set up by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton to help children who were suffering from extreme poverty after the First World War. The charity is still essential as there is still great child poverty throughout the world. The Art Exhibition has pictures with a huge variety of subjects, covering many genres and using many different mediums. The artists, who can each submit two pictures, are both amateur and professional and the prices reflect this.

“Poppies” by Dianne Gardner “Still Life” by Fiona Hughes

“River Affric” by Margaret MacDonald


New for 2019

Dumfries House Ceilidh Saturday 2nd November 2019

New for 2019, join fellow dancers for an evening

of Scottish music, Ceilidh dancing and traditional fare.

Robert Lovie, Deputy Executive Director, The Prince’s Foundation will host the evening,

with music provided by the lively JimJam Ceilidh Band.

A Ceilidh Caller will offer instruction and encouragement throughout the evening to any

hesitant novice dancers, all welcome! A two course Scottish supper will provide

fuel for the spirited evening.

Tickets £32 Per person

For further information about how to book Please contact Tania Bechelli on

01290 429913


John MacDonald painting demonstration at the Grain Exchange

Hand made dolls by Maree Hughes

Leona Stewart Glass Designer

Wall Canvas by Astrid Weigel

The gRain exChange

If you had been wondering over the last couple of years what was going on in the old Clydesdale Bank on Ayr High Street, then you must be delighted to see the appearance of The Grain Exchange. This is an initiative by South Ayrshire Council to provide space for people involved in arts and crafting to display and sell their work. And very popular it is proving to be with weekly Saturday markets. The building which can be accessed from all four sides is an airy and well -lit space and since the addition of an upright piano, on which one is invited to play, it’s often filled with music.



ian mCniCol masTeR PRinTmakeR

talking to Celia Stevenson Ian McNicol is well- known at the Maclaurin Gallery, having held many well attended print demonstrations over the years as well as taking printmaking classes in the tiny print room in Rozelle House. Ian was born in Elderslie one of four brothers. He attended four primary schools and two high schools, quite a number of changes for a youngster, but his father was a bank manager in the days when such posts necessitated several branch moves. At secondary school, he told his careers master that he would like to go to art school, a suggestion that was met with disdain and the advice to ‘go and get himself a proper job.’

So, at seventeen Ian joined an architectural practice in Glasgow to train as an apprentice architect while also studying at the Glasgow School of Art on a part time basis. He loved his time at the GSA although he ad-mits he spent quite a lot of time looking over the shoulders of the fine art students to see what they were doing. He was fascinated by artists, their creativity and their ways of working. His duties back at the office meant that with his technical drawing skill, he was involved with the presentations for the practice when they were competing for business. But three years of working in the drawing office and attending classes at the art school took their toll and Ian admits the strain caused complete burnout. He took three months off to consider and recover. It was suggested to him by his employers that he enrol in the Glasgow College of Building and Printing to continue on the Architectural Technicians course but instead Ian chose to study Technical Graphics and Illustration. Here he was fortunate to be taught by Harry Magee a tutor with an engineering background who instilled in Ian a love for the complex side of technical graphics.

It was with Harry Magee’s encouragement that Ian visited the Glasgow Print Studio and in no time was taking classes in screenprinting, etching and lithography. He absolutely loved etching. Ian explained to me that it was the technical processes and the almost limitless range of effects that can be achieved with etching that entranced him. Gradually Ian, under the expert guidance of the studio manager, qualified as a master printer and was soon teaching etching classes as well as evolving into a col-laborating artist, supporting and working on the fine art publication programme with the growing roster of contemporary artists.

“Hooses”‘

“White Triangle”


The Print Studio in Glasgow is an open access facility for artists and at the present has around three hun-dred artist who regularly use it. It employs four mas-ter printers, four senior technicians and a number of adminstrative and other staff to run the extremely busy studio. Many famous Scottish artists and quite a few well-known English ones use the Print Studio. Barbara Rae is particularly keen on working with Ian and for her exhibition at the Edinburgh Festival last year she created a suite of prints specially for the show. The list of people Ian works with is impressive. Not only Rae, but Peter Howson, Ken Currie, John Byrne and London artists Eileen Cooper and Tom Hammick, all have beaten a path to the Print Studio door and although she is no longer active Elizabeth Blackadder spent a lot of time there.

In 2011, Ian with another colleague from the Print Studio was chosen to go on a three -month exchange visit to India, to the prestigious JJ School of Art in Mumbai to teach MFA (Masters of Fine Art) students. The programme was supported by Pheroza Godrej, Gallery Owner, Arts Historian, Writer, Environmentalist and wife of one of the richest Industrialists in India Ian describes Mumbai as a culture shock. The poverty of so many of the inhabitants appalled him. It was in Mumbai with exposure to its vibrant culture and collaboration with the MFA students that Ian found his love of colour, and the vibrancy of the colour made a big impression on him. It was while working at the print Studio that Ian met Leona Stewart who also worked there.


“Scottish Loch”

“Treeline”

“Interlocking Fields”

“Glasgow Grid”



Seventeen years ago the pair moved together to Carrick Road in Ayr and now are both well-known on the local arts scene. Determined to have more time to pursue his own work, Ian now works only three days a week in Glasgow – well, as he says that is the theory! It seldom works out that way. This year Ian submitted two works to the Royal Academy in London for its hugely popular summer ex-hibition. The submission process is quite lengthy. First you submit digital images of the pieces for the first adjudication, plus £35 per item. If they pass, you are asked to frame and send them to the RA. The final hurdle is when all the artwork is laid out prior to the hang, there are always more pieces than spaces. But if you get hung you have a very good chance of also getting sold. Ian got both etchings into the exhibition and both of them sold. And to follow that success Ian has been picked, along with four other printmakers who featured in the RA Summer Exhibition, to be part of The Original Print Show, curated by artist Norman Ackroyd CBE,RA at the Zillah Bell Gallery, London from 7th – 28th September. If you have been to one of Ian’s print demos at the Maclaurin you will know how popular they are. His print room in Rozelle House has his Littlejohn Etching Press, working tables and a special print rack, but it is bursting at the seams. The good news is that Ian has been told the Garden Room in Rozelle House can shortly be his to expand the demonstrations and classes. As there will be fees involved for these this will be a win/win for both Ian and the Council. So, you can expect to learn much more about print-making and many processes that go into producing this fine artwork in the months to come.

ian mCniCol masTeR PRinTmakeR

“Moonlight”‘

“Green Hill”‘

“Scottish Loch No4”‘


15www.themaclaurin.org.uk 15

Wigtown Book Festival by Operational Director Anne Barclay The 21st annual Wigtown Book Festival will be a rich mix of more than 275 events for adults and children, including debates music, film, visual arts, theatre and food. I was a Girl Guide in the town when the first one took place. It seemed like something special was happening back then but we had no idea how it would grow in scope and scale in the years (now decades) ahead. And this year’s line-up of guests will be a remarkable mix of leading writers, journalists, broadcasters and others to Scotland’s National Book Town. Among them will be Kirsty Wark, bestselling author and one of the most trusted names in British news, talking about The House by the Loch, inspired by her childhood memories and set in rural Galloway.

Legendary barrister Geoffrey Robertson QC will talk about his highly entertaining memoir Rather His Own Man, which recalls battles on behalf of everyone from George Harrison and the Sex Pistols to Salman Rushdie and Julian Assange.

Melanie Reid, who was paralysed from her chest down after falling from a horse, will talk about The World I Fell Out Of, a powerful account of how she rebuilt her life. Wigtown also welcomes Matthew Parris and his forth-coming work Fractured, which draws on his Radio 4 se-ries Great Lives to consider the theory that genius comes from the wreckage of a fractured childhood – considering eminent figures from Freddie Mercury to Marie Curie. Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir will discuss a re-markable international sporting career and his more re-cent work campaigning for motor neurone disease research. Now a 10-day event, from 27 September to 6 October, the festival likes to pick themes to explore and in 2019 they will include the epics of the Atlantic seaboard and Nordic regions. We will also have a series of events under the banner of Lost Province, which will dig deep into Galloway’s ancient past. With 2019 being the UN’s International Year of Indige-nous Languages, the festival will celebrate the coun-try’s three native languages – English, Gaelic and Scots. Another furrow we will be ploughing is “This Farming Life” – well suited to a Scottish region famed for its beef and dairy. Perhaps not unrelated there will also be the Wigtown Feasts, in association with A Year of Conversation,

where a series of simultaneous suppers will be held in houses across the town to bring together residents, fes-tival visitors and authors to chat and dine. As all of this shows we feel it is very important to show-case the region as well as to bring in wonderful guests from the rest of the UK and beyond. And we have been a bit of a trailblazer in that respect, with other events and festivals growing up across Dum-fries and Galloway that each offer their own perspec-tive on Scotland’s rural and beautiful south west. In fact, we are now one of six major autumn events which include the OVO Energy Tour of Britain cycle race, the Harvest Food Festival in the Food Town of Castle Douglas, the rapidly growing Stranraer Oyster Festival, The Galloway Hills Rally, and Kirkcudbright Festival of Light “Illuminaire” in the region’s Artists’ Town. Illuminaire is of especial interest to anyone with a love of the visual arts as its designed to be a great opportu-nity to enjoy the fabulous quality of light that attracted so many generations of artists to this pretty town – which now boasts the fabulous £3.2m Kirkcudbright Galleries. The Wigtown Book Festival will also be continuing its long-standing collaboration with Spring Fling in order to bring a visual arts element to our own event. These days we have also enormously expanded what we offer for younger people and have the Big Wig pro-gramme which for the youngest festival goers – start-ing off with a Caterpillar Party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We have now renamed our young people’s festival, call-ing it WigWAM, and transformed it so it is programmed and run by a dedicated team of volunteers aged 13-25. For the first time this year, you will find WigWAM events in our main listings. And they are open to all ages – but free for those under 26. So,whether it’s books, food, celebrities or visual art we very much hope there’s something that will appeal to you and your family. For full details of Wigtown Book Festival go to wigtownbookfestival.com.

The teams behind all six autumn events and festivals in Dumfries and Galloway got together with background Belties (Belted Galloway cattle) on a farm near Castle Douglas to highlight all the cultural activities that visi-tors can enjoy.

Phot

ogra

ph H

eath

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tes

Kirsty Wark

Melanie Reid

DUmFRies anD galloway FesTiVals Team

Wigtown Book Festival 27th September - 6th October



new PhoTogRaPhy exhiBiTion oPens a winDow onTo heyDay on The RiVeR ClyDe

Window on the Clyde Family Photos of the River’s Golden Age until Sunday 3 November A fascinating photography exhibition showcasing the golden era of the River Clyde has opened at the Scottish Maritime Museum on Irvine Harbourside. ‘Window on the Clyde: Family Photos of the River’s Golden Age’ brings together photographs taken by three genera-tions of the Paterson family of Dunoon between the late 1800s up to the end of World War II. Together, the family’s photographs tell the Clyde’s story through the unique per-spective of one Scottish family. They showcase the plea-sure, innovation and tragedy of the ships of the Clyde, from the paddle steamers going ‘doon the water’ to the Glasgow shipyards.

Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, amateur photographer Robert Beatty Paterson was the last generation to capture the maritime scenes he saw through the window of his fam-ily’s Dunoon home. The exhibition also tells the story of his near fatal experience aboard a torpedoed Merchant Navy boat during WW2.

Also on show are sketches Robert Beatty Paterson drew of paddles teamers and yachts as a hobby, additional family photos on loan to the exhibition and a 1940 Merchant Navy uniform, plus historic objects from the heyday of the pleasure steamer from the Museum’s own collection.

Born in Glasgow in 1917, Robert Beatty Paterson moved to the family home, Beach House in Dunoon’s West Bay, as a small child and there began his life-long personal and professional maritime connection. When a commission to join the Royal Navy in 1941 was rescinded due to discovery of his acute colour blindness,

Robert Beatty Paterson became a radio officer in the Merchant Navy. When his vessel, SS 'Chumleigh', was tor-pedoed on 5 November 1942 whilst serving on a Russian convoy, Robert Beatty Paterson found himself navigating his lifeboat towards the Arctic island of Spitsbergen. After weeks in an open boat in Arctic conditions, the ex-hausted and injured crew took refuge in a trapper's hut. Over coming days, shipmates passed away and the health of the survivors weakened, until, they were finally discov-ered by the Norwegian Resistance. Robert, who weighed only 4.5 stones, recovered and provided a communications network for the Resistance Movement on the island. After the war, he joined the Sandbank yacht -building firm of Morris & Lorimer Limited becoming managing director. In 1989 Robert Beatty Paterson loaned 60,000 images to the Scottish Maritime Museum. Here they were curated into the Paterson Photography Collection. ‘Window on the Clyde: Family Photos of the River’s Golden Age’ is the first public exhibition of photographs from the Paterson Photography Collection shown by the Scottish Maritime Museum. Entry to the exhibition is included in general Museum admission. For more information, visit www.scottishmaritimemuseum.org

Harbour Road, Irvine, North Ayrshire KA12 8BT www.scottishmaritimemuseum.org Telephone 01274 278283 Email [email protected] Entrance to the exhibition is included in the Museum admission.

PS Gael berthing at Dunoon c 1900

PS Glen Rosa c 1900



Elmbank Avenue, Kilmarnock, KA1 3BU Tel: 01563 554343 Library 01563 554300 Opening Times: Tues & Wed: 10am – 6pm. Thurs: 1am – 8pm Fri & Sat : 10am – 4pm Closed public holidays The Dick Institute is a fully accessible venue with limited allocated parking to the rear, 4 star venue. Free entry.

eastayrshireleisure.com

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COMICS: EXPLORE AND CREATE COMIC ART WITH SEVEN STORIES 28 Sep - 18 Jan 2020 £2 entry (Under 2s free) This colourful and interactive exhibition from Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books pre-sents an eclectic mix of original, iconic comic art alongside recent work by current children’s comic cre-ators that will delight and inspire the whole family! Young people and comic book fans of all ages will be immersed in the stimulating and imaginative world of children’s comics before creating their very own set-tings, characters and stories using playful props and costumes. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to see influential British comic icons such as Desperate Dan and Dennis the Menace as they were drawn in the 1940s and 50s, along with old friends Oor Wullie, Minnie the Minx and Roy of the Rovers. Other famous characters featured include Captain America, Wonder Woman, Superman and Hulk as drawn by Ian Churchill, the British artist and producer of comics for America’s two largest comic corporations – Marvel and DC comics. Current British comic creators includ-ing Kate Brown, Jamie Smart and Laura Ellen Anderson provide a unique insight into the creative process behind comic book making, featuring storyboards, sketches and 3D models. Just some of the fun, hands-on activities around the gallery include a random word generator, character creator, and a host of props, objects and special devices to inspire and create comic ideas.

DEAN CASTLE COLLECTIONS AT THE DICK INSTITUTE NORTH MUSEUM GALLERY Dean Castle is undergoing major repair and refurbish-ment works. As a result, the Castle’s fabulous and im-portant collections of early musical instruments, arms and armour, tapestries and more have been brought to the Dick Institute for safe-keeping, and for a period of around 2 years these collections will be displayed and stored in the North Museum. A series of events, workshops, recitals and displays will take place to let visitors get an in-depth look at these collections. SCOTTISH WEAPONS Thu 19 Sep · 6.00pm Dr. David Caldwell, archaeologist, historian, former Scottish Weapons Curator at the National Museums of Scotland, will present an illustrated survey of the weapons used by our ancestors from medieval times onwards to bolster their reputation as warriors. Many of them are not just basic tools but considerable works of design and beautifully decorated. Included are notable contributions to the development of tech-nology THE ROLE OF THE TWO-HANDED SWORD IN EUROPEAN WARFARE Thu 24 Oct · 6:00pm Neil Melville has been fascinated by arms and armour all his life and has written articles on aspects of them for various magazines and journals before and during writing his magnum opus. A retired teacher with degrees in Latin, ancient Greek and Italian, Neil has practised fencing since university, travelled widely in Europe and has been tour manager for a number of coach tours to Italy since retirement. This talk is based on research over many years into the development and use of the two-handed sword. Orig-inal swords from the arms and armour collection and replica swords made locally will feature.

CLARE HUNTER - THREADS OF LIFE Thu 21 Nov · 2pm-4pm “For the past thirty years, I have been involved with textiles as a community artist, exhibition curator and banner maker. In 1986, I set up ‘Needleworks’ in Glas-gow working with people of all ages and cultures, using sewing to celebrate local history, document community experiences and share personal concerns through the creation of wall hangings and banners. I undertake textile commissions and organise sewing projects throughout Scotland. The most recent project has been Community Matters where ten people stitched small wall hangings to capture the stories of textiles that were precious to them. On my website you can read about the project and explore some of the themes of my book ‘Threads of Life’. I hope you enjoy the discovery”. Clare Hunter. These talks are free but booking is essential. Bookings online at eastayrshireleisure.com TEXTILE & MEMORY Coming soon – check eastayrshireleisure.com for details Loom Room Over the past year Dean Castle Textile Team and a member of East Ayrshire Leisure's curatorial staff have worked closely with two lecturers from Middlesex University - Kathleen Mullaniff and Emma Dick. Alongside Pauline Mullaniff, textile artist, they have collaborated to create an exhibition of work that team members made at important or special periods in their lives – stitched in memory. Textile and Memory includes items and artworks in a variety of techniques, including minute crochet, art pieces, embroidery, weaving, dressmaking and gold work. Previous projects and images from the thirteen-year history of the team will feature, as well as a fabu-lous new baby robe made by Pauline (influenced by ‘foundling’ babies and Ayrshire Needlework), and art-works and a catalogue produced by Kathleen and Emma. Set in the surroundings of the Dick Institute’s Loom Room and displays of the area’s textile heritage, this exhibition is a must for anyone with an interest in the subject.



ONE GIANT LEAP - Visual Art Competition and Exhibition Win family tickets to Illuminight with Lidl 2019 3 awards per age group: 7-11yrs | 12-15yrs | 16-25yrs CALLING ALL SPACE RANGERS! In conjunction with Illuminight with Lidl 2019, we want your out-of-this-world adventure artworks in-spired by the 50th Anniversary of the first moon land-ing. Whether your cosmic canvas is a lunar landscape, an asteroid abstract or a planetary portrait, create your own imagery of Apollo 11’s journey to the final frontier for your chance to win tickets to Illuminight with Lidl. Art works should be two dimensional and A3 in size. Any process can be used – paint, digital print, collage, pencil or ink. Judging will take place on Tuesday 1st October and prize-winners (Gold, Silver and Bronze in each age category) will win a family ticket to Illuminight with Lidl worth £40 each! Prize-winners will be announced online, week commencing 14 October. Shortlisted entries will be showcased in an exhibition in the Young People’s Gallery from Sat 12 October 2019 – Sat 15 February 2020. T&Cs: The competition opens on Tue 10 September and closes at 4pm on Friday 27 September 2019. En-tries should be submitted to the Young People’s Li-brary at the Dick Institute. Please ensure the artist’s name; age and a contact email address are affixed to the back of the art work. Good luck!

IMPRINT BOOK FESTIVAL Oct 2019

Imprint, East Ayrshire Leisure’s annual book festival, returns for its 12th year with another fantastic line up of award winning authors. East Ayrshire Leisure is also delighted to welcome performance poet, Hollie McNish, Scottish noir writer Alan Parks, who will be discussing his latest novel and Donald S Murray who will talk about his deeply moving novel As the Women Lay Dreaming. There are writing workshops, poetry evenings and much more besides. Visit east-ayrshireleisure.com for the full line up and details on how to get tickets Image – Imprint letter press Book Week Scotland DENISE MINA: CONVICTION Thu 14 Nov · 7pm · £5 16yrs+ We are delighted to welcome back author Denise Mina to discuss her latest critically acclaimed publication, Conviction. Conviction starring a strong female protagonist who is obsessed by true-crime podcasts and decides, one day, to investigate one of the unsolved crimes herself. Come along and hear Denise weave the storytelling magic behind her latest compelling and unique new thriller. "A twisting, darkly comic, thrill-a-minute ride across Europe. If you loved Killing Eve, you'll devour Conviction" Erin Kelly WORDS & MUSIC: THE SOUND OF YOUNG SCOTLAND Thu 21 Nov · 7pm · £7/£5 16yrs+ An evening full of some of the finest young Scottish talent in Chris McQueer, author of Hings and HWFG; Julie Rea, author and scriptwriter of the David Bowie inspired play John, I’m Only Dancing and Stephen Watt, the current Makar for the Federation of Writers (Scotland). Hosted by David Ross and Alistair Braidwood with a final segment from local band Los-ing Ground, this will be a fast-paced, jam-packed evening of readings, poetry, music and laughter.

FILM CLUB NEW FOR Autumn 2019 Come along to our brand -new film club in the Dick Institute’s large screen EventSpace Tickets are £12 and the price includes popcorn and a drink (beer, wine, soft drink) Tickets are available from the Dick Institute or online at eastayrshireleisure.com Thurs 31 Oct, 7.30pm THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW Thurs 14 Nov, 7.30pm DEADPOOL Thurs 5 Dec, 7.30pm WHITE CHRISTMAS KILLIE COMIC CON Sat 16 Nov A day of retro games, themed quizzes, graffiti art workshops with Ejek, acting masterclasses with Outlander’s Scott Kyle, caricature drawing workshops and more!

Elmbank Avenue, Kilmarnock, KA1 3BU Tel: 01563 554343 Library 01563 554300 Opening Times: Tues & Wed: 10am – 6pm. Thurs: 1am – 8pm Fri & Sat : 10am – 4pm Closed public holidays The Dick Institute is a fully accessible venue with limited allocated parking to the rear, 4 star venue. Free entry.


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DISCOVERING ANCIENT EGYPT Sat 14 Sep –Sat 14 Dec Discovering Ancient Egypt is a touring exhibition ex-amining Scotland’s contribution to Egyptology through the lives of three remarkable people. Bringing together fascinating objects and hidden stories from the collection of the National Museums of Scotland along with the collections of East Ayrshire Council, this exhibition uncovers how Ancient Egypt captivated Scotland over the past 200 years as it still does today. Through the intriguing stories of an archaeologist, astronomer and an artist, Discovering Ancient Egypt brings to life the contribution Scotland has made to Egyptology Discovering Ancient Egypt is a National Museums Scotland touring exhibition DISCOVERING ANCIENT EGYPT FAMILY FUN DAY Sat 28 Sep · 1-3pm An afternoon of fun creative activity inspired by the National Museums of Scotland exhibition Discovering Ancient Egypt. Our family fun days are suitable for all ages with an opportunity for our younger visitors to go on a guided journey of discovery through the museum.

CURATOR TALKS Ancient Egypt Across Scotland with Dr Dan Potter, Curator of Discovering Ancient Egypt Thu 10 Oct · 6.30-7.30pm · Free Ancient Egyptian objects can be found in museums across Scotland; from the Scottish Borders to Orkney and everywhere in between. These amazing objects hold both the stories of the Egyptians who made and used them, as well as the Scottish travellers, archaeologists, scientists and artists who collected them. Many of the people who brought these objects back to Scotland were not experts; but their enthusiasm, skill and dedication allows us to learn about this fascinating ancient culture. Come and hear about the Discovering Ancient Egypt exhibition from its curator Dr Dan Potter and learn about Scotland’s part in early Egyptology. DOON THE NILE WITH CLAIRE GILMOUR, Collections Care Assistant Sat 23 Nov · 2pm-3pm · Free This exhibition focuses on three pioneering Scottish figures who had a major impact on archaeology and Egyptology. Come along and hear how Alexander Henry Rhind, Annie Abernethie Pirie Quibell, and Charles Piazzi Smyth made a difference to our under-standing of life in Ancient Egypt.

Dean Castle's £5.2M restoration and modernisation project to allow essential stonework restoration alongside internal modernisation and redisplay began in early 2019. The Castle's will reopen in 2021 and its collections will be on display at the Dick Institute until the end of the project. The Country Park remains open and is a fun day out or all the family. You can find out more about the redevelopment project at the Visitor Centre as well as how to get involved in the project. You can explore the grounds where you can discover more about the history of the castle and the estate. Let the kids expend some energy in the improved playpark and find out more about wildlife, biodiversity and sustainability in the Rural Life Centre. Record the plant life and animals that you’ve seen in the visitor centre and sample the delicious menu in the bright and airy Pinecones café. There’s an annual calendar of events and festivals throughout the year too. ILLUMINIGHT WITH LIDL 2019 Wed 23 Oct - Sun 17 Nov Illuminight with Lidl 2019 will be out-of-this world! Illuminight returns this autumn with a spectacular new ‘SPACE’ show, which will take audiences on an intergalactic journey. In only 2 years Illuminight with Lidl has welcomed over 80,000 visitors to one of the UK’s most spectacular illumination events. Come join us in 2019! Make a night of it and enjoy the food and drink village, toasted marshmallow stations and vintage funfair, with lots to enjoy throughout the evening. Buy your tickets now at: illuminight.co.uk During the 19th century, Ayrshire was at the forefront of Scotland’s industrial revolution. The key to the region’s industrial development lay below the ground where valuable minerals had been deposited over three hundred million years ago. Coal and ironstone were mined along with fireclay – a material whose heat resistance made it suitable for lining the furnaces in which iron was smelted. But this clay was versatile and was used by Ayrshire manufacturers to create a variety of products ranging from building materials to garden ornaments. A source of clay which had been laid down in more re-cent times, gave rise to the manufacture of the well-known local product – Cumnock Ware. Along with Cumnock Ware, this exhibition features other ex-amples of Ayrshire’s ceramic industry while taking a look at examples of the potter’s art from other cultures around the world and over the centuries.

The BaiRD insTiTUTe 3 Lugar St, Cumnock, KA18 1AD T: 01290 427084 eastayrshireleisure.com Thu 12.30-4.40pm & 5pm-8pm Fri & Sat: 10am-4pm Closed public holidays The Baird Institute is a fully accessible venue. 4 star venue. Free entry

Dean CasTle Dean Castle & Country Park, Dean Rd, Kilmarnock KA3 1XB T: 01563 554734 eastayrshireleisure.com 4 star attraction. Free entry Park and grounds open all year round. Visitor Centre open 7 days - 10am-4pm Pinecones Café open 11am-3pm Mon, Thurs, Fri and from 10am-4pm Sat-Sun




Classes anD woRkshoPs

Sunday 8 September Maree Hughes Watercolour Workshops: Hot Air Balloons Harbour Arts Centre 10.30am – 1.30pm £25

Aimed at all abilities these workshops provide a re-laxed atmosphere to experiment with various water-colour techniques exploring a variety of themes. Some materials are provided. To book please email [email protected] Friday 4 October Ayrshire Crafts: Easy Canvas Art Harbour Arts Centre 10am – 1pm £30 Come along and paint a stunning canvas for your home! The great thing is you don’t need to have any artistic talent, so anyone can create a masterpiece. We will be using acrylic paint on a large canvas to cre-ate a colourful stylised flower head. All materials will be provided. Pre-booking is essential so please email: [email protected] Saturday 5 October Artist Talk: The Positive in the Negative by Margaret Carslaw Harbour Arts Centre 11am Free No black paint on your palette? THINK AGAIN! Come along to a talk and demo about the power and strength of black in your work.

Sunday 6 October Artist Talk: Sketchbooks by Claire Munro Harbour Arts Centre 11am – 11.45am £2 As part of the Courtyard Studios Open Weekend, artist Claire Munro is offering an informal talk discussing the role and use of sketchbooks in taking a project from initial ideas through to completion, whether it be in a formal way in an educational setting, or a per-sonal collection of thoughts, ideas and inspiration, you will look at how different artists have used sketchbooks and also look at some of Claire’s own. Suggestions of how to begin and develop your per-sonal sketchbook will be shared. Sunday 13 October and Sunday 27 October Maree Hughes Watercolour Workshops: Nature Harbour Arts Centre 10.30am – 1.30pm £25 Aimed at all abilities these workshops provide a re-laxed atmosphere to experiment with various water-colour techniques exploring a variety of themes. Some materials provided. To book please email [email protected] Sunday 10 November and Sunday 24 November Maree Hughes Watercolour Workshops: Festive Theme Harbour Arts Centre 10.30am – 1.30pm £25 Aimed at all abilities these workshops provide a re-laxed atmosphere to experiment with various water-colour techniques exploring a variety of themes. Some materials provided. To book please email [email protected] Sunday 17 November Mixed Media and Mark Making Harbour Arts Centre 10am – 12.30pm £30 (£15 deposit required to secure place) Come and experience the therapeutic joy of expres-sive mark-making with a variety of materials and tools. We’ll start by experimenting with different tools, papers and paints, inks, crayons etc, working quite quickly to keep things lively, (old clothes might be advisable, it could get messy!). Once you have a few sheets done, you can then decide to revisit and work further into your pieces to depict something specific, or you may want to make interesting, layered abstracts, or even cut or tear them up and make a col-lage – the rules are that there are no rules, so come along and have some fun! Please email [email protected] to book.

Saturday 30 November Paint and Prosecco Harbour Arts Centre 6pm – 8.30pm £35 (£15 deposit required to secure place) Fancy a girl’s (or boy’s) night out with a difference? Why not join me for a bit of fun and fizz! I will demonstrate and help you to produce your own acrylic painting on a 23 x 30cm canvas to take away with you, ready to frame or hang, just as it is. Price in-cludes a lovely chilled glass of Prosecco per person or fruit juice for any drivers, (NB - the train station is only a 10-minute walk away) If you’d like the fizz to continue to flow, refills can be purchased from Dun-can’s Bistro just down the corridor. Please email [email protected] to book. Sunday 8 December Ayrshire Crafts: Screen Printed Christmas Stockings Harbour Arts Centre 10am – 1pm £35 In this special Christmas workshop, you will learn how to screen print a lovely Christmas stocking to hang at your fireplace! These custom printed stock-ings look very cute and crafty, so come along and get in the Christmas spirit. All materials will be provided. Pre-booking is essential so please email: [email protected] Sunday 8 December Ayrshire Crafts: Hand-Marbled Christmas Baubles & Candles Harbour Arts Centre 2.30pm – 4pm £25

In our second Christmas workshop we will be using marbling inks to decorate a beautiful set of Christmas baubles and a pillar candle. The results are amazing, and the process is great fun and really easy. A unique workshop not to be missed! All materials will be provided. Pre-booking is essential so please email: [email protected]



exhiBiTions

Currently on display until Monday 23 September North Ayrshire Open Art Favourites Irvine Townhouse, John Galt Gallery Free Entry A selection of the most popular exhibits from this year’s North Ayrshire Open Art Exhibition as voted for by the public and various sponsors. Currently on display until Friday 18 October Pop Culture Portraits: An Exhibition of work by Lana McCracken Abbey Gallery, Kilwinning Library Free Entry Lana was born in September 2005. She showed her creativity from an early age and the time she was ten was constantly drawing and painting. Inspired mainly by musicians and music, Lana began to draw and paint portraits which has become her speciality Pop Culture Portraits is an exhibition of portraits of musical artists of the 21st century. Saturday 31 August – Wednesday 8 January North Ayrshire Collections Heritage Centre, Saltcoats Free A selection of objects and artworks from the North Ayrshire collection. From souvenirs to our industrial heritage, to decorative arts and fine art, you’ll find something to interest you in our display. Saturday 31 August – Wednesday 8 January Syrian Arts and Crafts Heritage Centre, Saltcoats Free A celebration of traditional Syrian arts and crafts created by Syrian people in North Ayrshire. This exhibition shows the culture in the lives of refugees living in North Ayrshire and helps to tell their stories. A rich mix of photographs, traditional craft, traditional costume as well as paintings will be on show for you to enjoy. Friday 6 September – Friday 1 November Courtyard Studios, Group Exhibition 2019 Harbour Arts Centre, Main Galleries Free Entry The WASPS Courtyard Artist Studios on Irvine’s Harbourside is one of Ayrshire’s centres of excellence for the arts. The Courtyard accommodates 16 artists, working in painting, drawing, graphic design, photography, jewellery design, book-binding, music, fashion and ceramics. Set within this beautiful Ayrshire coastal setting the artists produce original,

imaginative, high quality and contemporary art and design. This year, for the first time, the Group Exhibi-tion will incorporate work inspired by or thematically linked to Tidelines Book Festival. Tuesday 1 October – Monday 4 November Irvine Community Art Club Exhibition Irvine Townhouse, John Galt Gallery Free Entry Irvine Community Art Club started in September 2009 and has since gone from strength to strength. The club consists of talented senior citizens, with a range of both mental and physical disabilities, but also “next generation” members with a shared pas-sion for art. Described as “a safe haven for all” mem-bers can work in a friendly, passionate and supportive environment. The exhibition will showcase a small range of their art work and choice of medium, which includes pastels, water colours, acrylics and oils as well as mixed media pieces. Something for everyone! Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 October Courtyard Studios Open Weekend WASPS Studios, Irvine 12pm – 5pm each day Free Entry The WASPs Courtyard Artist Studios on Irvine’s Har-bourside is one of Ayrshire’s main centres for great quality art. The Courtyard now accommodates 14 very different artists, all working in their own individ-ual ways, all working to produce original, imagina-tive, high quality contemporary art. Although visitors are welcome all year round, the annual Open Week-end brings many of the artists together at one time and is a great opportunity to see work at various stages of completion, along with finished work for sale. Thursday 7 November – January 2020 49/49/49: An Exhibition of Portraits by David Reid Irvine Townhouse, John Galt Gallery Free Entry A series of 49 portraits hung together in a seven by seven matrix. Each painting took 49 minutes to paint. Painted on a 49 square inch board David set himself this challenge for the Courtyard Studios Open Weekend in October 2018. The whole project was completed over 4 weeks. All the people depicted are residents of North Ayrshire.

Thursday 7 October - February 2020 Syrian Arts and Crafts Irvine Townhouse Free A celebration of traditional Syrian arts and crafts cre-ated by Syrian people in North Ayrshire. This exhibi-tion shows the culture in the lives of refugees living in North Ayrshire and helps to tell their stories. Friday 15 November – Friday 3 January Rhythms and Blue: An Exhibition of work by Caroline Borland Harbour Arts Centre, Main Galleries Free Entry

Solo exhibition and sale of work by Irvine-based artist Caroline Borland featuring a wide range of sub-jects in various styles and media. “My inspiration comes from the world around me - the wonder and beauty of nature, the signs and ef-fects of human interactions upon it, and how nature reclaims spaces and structures over time. I am natu-rally curious and experimental and enjoy making art in various media and styles, from watercolour, acrylic and oil painting to drawing, printmaking and mixed media. Favourite subjects include landscape, flora and fauna, old buildings and ancient Pictish standing stones, while the sea and coast is an ever-recurring theme for me. My work ranges in style from represen-tational to abstract, depending on the subject and the feelings it evokes in me.”


We would like to thank our friend and constant supporter, Kit, who kindly donated an Adirondack chair for us to use as a raffle prize. We are delighted to announce the winner is Kevin from London. We raised £220 all the proceeds going towards our Community Arts & Crafts Training Initiative. Thank you to everyone who supported us through donation or by purchasing tickets and to Chloe McKee who is a CACTI member and a volunteer with us at Riverside Studios, for making the draw for the winning ticket. Sincere thanks also to Southcraig Special School for booking our wokshops for a 10 week pilot programme. We had great fun and success with their wonderful school leavers at the end of June and we look forward to welcoming them back to Riverside Studios at the same time next year. Please call us for more information. We have two new members joining the regular the team here at Riverside Studios. Sandy Campbell, is a woodcarver with over 20 years experience woodcarving on commission and Tony Robson, is a diamond setter, trained and time served in London’s Hatton Garden. Both will be offering workshops for the public.

A big welcome also goes to Abbie Watson who is giving singing lessons and Courtney Fisher who teaches yoga. Our workshops begin this month and we are currently taking bookings for classes in Pottery, Painting & Drawing, Life Drawing, Spinning & Weaving, Stained Glass working, Jewellery Making, Woodcarving, Stone Setting, Needle Felting, Crochet & Knitting, Singing & Yoga. Please contact Riverside Studios for bookings and more details on 01292 618587 or email [email protected] or [email protected] Thank you to everyone who has donated materials and equipment of all kinds. Please get in touch if you think we might be able to utilise anything in ARTs & CRAFTs.

The RiVeRsiDe sTUDios 27 High Street Ayr

“Loggerheads by Sandy Campbell Three jewellery pieces

Three drawer chest Jen’s necklaces

Glass Bowl



Dale weaving tartan Staves

Tartan Scarf on the loom

“A Blue View”

Glass Bowl



“Overgrown Track” by Jim WylieGlass designed by Leona Stewart

“White Rectangle” by Ian McNicol “Blue Bowl” by Duncan Stewart

Richard Demarco talks about his exhibition “For the Love of the Clyde”

“Dual Face” Richie Cameron


Documents

Auutumn 2019 The Maclaurin Gallery Magazine...Ma c laurin Published by Friends of the Maclaurin The Maclaurin Gallery Magazine Entry to the gallery is free The Auutumn 2019 Maclaurin