Monday 3^rd May to Saturday 8^th May  ~ 10am - 4.45pm daily

The Open Studios Group first formed in 2000 and is still going strong 21 years later. We now have over 30 members and normally open our studios and workshops to visitors at the end of May.

There will be around 20 artists showing their work at Birdwood - an interesting mix of painters, ceramicists, sculptors, print-makers, Illustrators and more...

This year we are hoping to have our Open Studios event towards the end of the year.

Sunday 9^th May to Saturday 15^th May  ~ 10am - 4.45pm daily except Sunday 11am - 4pm

I have worked in various mediums, including Stained Glass, Etching and Screen Print, but now concentrate on Painting. The work is a mix of Figurative and Abstract, usually suggesting a subtext to the painted forms. Like the cave dwellers of the primitive past I paint what I observe. My paintings reference artefacts from the ancient world and fragments of historical and contemporary culture because this is the collage that surrounds us. Although I don’t necessarily believe in the content of myths, religious stories or fairy tales, I can’t help but admire their creative ingenuity. From the allegorical myths of the Greeks to the messages of medieval and Renaissance stained glass, through to the “Two Fried Eggs and a Kebab” of Sarah Lucas, the surface is not always the whole picture and it is left to the viewer to find their own narrative, or not.

For more information visit: frank-wotton.com

Monday 17^th May to Saturday 22^nd May  ~ 10.30am - 4.45pm daily

My paintings are about lifting the veil of appearance to depict an inner world.

I’m a Swedish narrative painter living on Dartmoor. I studied painting in Stockholm and Swansea twenty years ago. I paint almost every day. You’ll find here stories from childhood, connections between people and animals, intuitive art and daily reflections.

There are a lot of different works here. I couldn’t take part in exhibitions last year, so am excited to show you my work from the past three years!

Come in and say hi! I’m looking forward to shaking off the isolation.

Monday 24^th May to Saturday 29^th May  ~ 10am - 4.45pm daily

This is a selling exhibition.  It is a gathering of textiles made to decorate working animals, which has been collected over a number of years whilst travelling overseas.  Some of the larger animal covers and camel head dresses have been purchased from Oxford and London collections.

As single pieces removed from their original contexts they may appear quite alien, perhaps gaudy, to the western gaze.  Yet, despite most pieces being just 50 to 70 years old, as a collection they offer a glimpse into the tradition of animal dressing for village ritual as well as animal dressing for overland and seasonal migration.

My interest in decorative animal trappings from these historically distant lands and much romanticised lands has sprung from a longstanding affinity with the animal kingdom, the lot of labouring beasts, the resourcefulness of indigenous peoples in harsh environments and my sense of wonder at the variety of materials and skills used in the making of these diverse pieces. 

My first purchase was a pair of indigo-dyed cotton braided bullock veils decorated with moon shells from a dealer in Bhujodi, outside Kutch, India.  It was not a planned purchase – they hung on a nail at the back of a single-storey dwelling lit by oil lamp.  Whilst the textile dealer picked and draped heaps of embroidered and woven and stitched cloths for both human and home I was transfixed by the bullock veils.   It was inexplicable and moreover within two days I had also bought a pair of similar bullock veils dipped in madder with cowrie shells and an ochre braided camel harness with handmade turquoise glass beads. 

The collection currently comprises about 120 items from a pair of woven short-pile camel knee pads from Turkmenistan to a good number of bullock horn covers some beaded, some embroidered and the finest embroidered are made by the Banjara.  The embroidered horse headdresses of Sindh are exquisite.  There are many ply-split braided camel tangs in both cotton and brown and white goat hair with symbols and representational pictures of village life. 

There is one common feature in all – the amulet, which can appear as an attachment such as bells, beads, feather, horse hair or it can appear as an image woven or stitched into the surface.  The threats historically to livestock, people, and goods in transit were numerous – tribal attack, disease, drought, winds of such severity, they could take life.  Survival was key.  The presence of shisha (mirror) would not only protect from the bad, but attract the good through its convex reflective surface. 

This exhibition is a celebration which stems from admiration and wonder.  There will be photographs to accompany the exhibits.

For more information please visit my website gaynorwilliams.com

Monday 31^st May to Saturday 5^th June  ~ 10am - 4.45pm daily

Over many years of exploring the South Devon landscape and sea shores my insights and intuitions have deepened.

Aided by the good company of members of the local Gatekeeper group, I have seen more deeply into the seen and the unseen elements that escape the eye of the casual observer.

Following energy lines and exploring the landscape zodiac, sharing in stillness, the subtle vibrations of the many sacred places scattered over much of South Devon. From standing stones and the high tors to the racing rivers and ancient woodlands and on to the sea, a feast for the artist.

In this exhibition I have tried to reflect something of that moment of intimacy, born of stillness and absorption in the seen and unseen.