Arran Open Studios

It’s great to have some of our participants take over our social media to showcase their work. We hope you are enjoying it.
A slight interruption to Iris’s takeover to introduce Estelle Manson Studio 2 and new to our event this year.
Estelle specialises in unique handmade jewellery/accessories made from Polymer Clay & Epoxy resin especially earrings.
#arranopenstudios26
#openstudiosscotland
#polymerjewellery
#arranopenstudios ...

Good morning (well, nearly afternoon now, that’s the retired life…)!

Today, as promised yesterday, I have a couple of paintings to share with Arran scenery. I’m by no means a landscape painter, but have chosen occasionally some local scenic views to paint.

Funnily enough I have right now two landscapes on the easel, I alternate between them. When one is drying I can work on the second one. If they turn out well you can see them during the open studios weekend. The first painting will be a Machrie Moor standing stones scene and the other one is a Kilmory one, view from the cairn towards the sea.

Tomorrow I will show a couple of ”botanical” paintings. 💐

Take care, Iris ...

Iris Russell- Venue number 38
Today I will share a few of my beach related paintings. I never come home from a beach walk without pockets full of seashells, bits of driftwood, seaglass, broken pottery or interesting pebbles.

My next post will have paintings with Arran scenery 💕

Iris ...

Hi there! Iris Russell here sharing some photos and thoughts to this Arran Open Studios Social Media Takeover! I will present some of my favourite paintings and show pictures of my studio which you will unfortunately not see this year as I will be exhibiting in the Ormidale Pavilion in Brodick together with two talented artists - Karen Bell and Nikki Harris. Please come and see us there! 👍

I found watercolour painting later in life, actually I didn’t start until I retired. My mum was as artist and I went to an art school for a few years when I was young, but after that I settled with crafting bits and bobs, tried basically everything in that field, but nothing felt completely right. After doing a watercolour course with London Art College I knew this was the thing I should be doing.

I find Arran to be a place that gives me so much inspiration and a great deal of my paintings reflect that. Today though, I will share some of my animal paintings. After I painted my first cat two years ago I have painted a few more and explored other animals as well, so here we go…. I have a short video as well, but that one I will share separately as I couldn’t do that in the same post with photos.

Next time I will share some beach related paintings! ...

I am Zabdi Keen and this is my final post in my Arran Open Studios Social Media takeover.
I did a carved wooden sign for the salamander stove company in exchange for a hobbit woodburning stove! They have it hanging on their office.

You can see one of the signs I carved for Roots of Arran at the viewpoint to the top of the Lamlash / Brodick hill. Take a walk to the community woodland - especially now walk the spiral and see the the bluebells before next spring.

I have some carvings at Easmor - One at the cafe and some down by the fairy pool past the micro Hydro station - If you ask Albert for the key to the hydro you can see some airbrushing mural that illustrates a fairy story. You can see a video here https://youtu.be/zD7octl929Q?si=ZfG7PnCYYdLzRoGJ

I mainly work to commission but I will also have some carvings and pictures available to purchase at my studio

Visit me at studio 20 in Kildonan
www.zabdikeen.com ...

I was enjoying the sunshine making a thatching test panel yesterday. It got so hot I went for a swim! I want to incorpoate my sculptures into natural built garden huts.

The Arran Visual arts exhibition is in Corrie hall today and tomorrow well worth a visit. I am trying to figure out a hut design that will incorporate the selkie sculpture I have done that is on display there.

I am part of the thatching crew for the Crannog centre a living museum at Loch Tay where I have been learning how to thatch. I scythed some water reed in the winter and am using that.

I have been developing the Kildonan castle forager trail ( the path that goes past the Wee gallery past Kildonan Castle to the shore) with the help of the Climate hub and other people. Planting fruit trees and bushes that folk can munch on as they walk. It took 75 hours of digging to clear the sludge from the pond to increase biodiversity. In this dry weather I can see I need to add more clay to the key outlet and to try to increase the water flow. I would like to create a water sculpture that will let the water drop into the pond to increase the amount of oxygen.

I tried to remove the gunnera plant as it is spreading but it hadn’t worked and I must admit the leaves look fantastic it’s like being in the Jurasic period.

I planted willow and hazel coppice here and at the Arran Land Initiative in Whiting Bay where I was helped by a couple of fairies! I have been harvesting and sharing basket willow twigs and have been weaving willow domes. I want to learn how to weave baskets next! So many things to learn and do! Life is fun!.

So you will occasionally see me working in my studio but normally you will find me hands in the dirt, boots on the ground weaving or carving something outside from the natural materials I find.

Zabdi Keen
Studio 20 ...

Hello I am Zabdi Keen and Im a sculptor . I have some sculpures on display at the Arran Visual Art exhibition in Coŕrie.

You can meet the Selkie and a cat as well as some others. There is a lot of fantastic artwork on display. Here I show some photos of how a carving develops from a block of wood using power tools then I move onto hand tools for the final work.

With the Selkie I carved all winter mostly using hand chisels. It’s on a beautiful 8 foot length of sycamore. The pillar at the Corrie hall is a great place to display it as you can see through the carving.

It is hard not to cut the wrong bit off when using the chainsaw so I make a little model in clay or plasticine to help guide me. ...