You would think spending summer in the Scottish Highlands would be enough to keep anyone happy, but not me. It coincides with my least productive time of year - the seven weeks of the school summer hols! Trying to work from my studio at home surrounded by the demands and interruptions of kids and their pals tends to leave me fractious to say the least. However, my work is now on show at Timespan, Helmsdale and also at the beautifully designed Moray Arts Centre, Findhorn. Both these wonderful modern centres for culture and the arts are great places to visit. Here are the links if you want to know more!
I have written an extensive article on my trip to the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore and subsequent comparisons between the American show and similar shows in the UK. You can read the article in the latest issue of Craft & Design magazine, and it has also been featured on the Hi Arts and Crafts Scotland websites. You can access the feature via this Hi Arts link www.hi-arts.co.uk/Features/April-2010-Feature-Melanie-Muir.htm
GLASGOW TRADE SHOW January 2011
I have been invited to participate in this well established and growing show, with over 500 exhibitors, and will be in the Scotland Showcase section at stand F60.
BRITISH CRAFT TRADE FAIR, HARROGATE, ENGLAND April 2011
I am looking forward to being at the BCTF for my third year in a row. It will be good to see Margeret and her team again - this is always such a well run and friendly show.www.bctf.co.uk
CRAFT & DESIGN FEATURE
I have been delighted at the reaction to the article on me and my work which is in March/April's Craft & Design magazine. Thank you Angie, Paul and their team! Click here to download a PDF of the article.
INTERNATIONAL POLYMER CLAY CONFERENCE "SYNERGY 2"
In February/March 2010 I attended Synergy II in Baltimore, USA, (my trip was generously supported by Hi Arts/Scottish Craft Council funding) which was a wonderful get together of the very best polymer artists from around the world. I was gratified by my sales in the Gallery section and it was great to meet friends old and new. I will be reporting back on my experiences at the conference and at the American Craft Council Show on behalf of Hi Arts. www.synergy2010.com
3D/2D CRAFT & DESIGN FAIR EDINBURGH
I am delighted to announce that I have been accepted into the “family” of fine crafters who exhibit with Scotland’s premier retail craft event organisers, 3d/2d. They organise a major show at the Edinburgh Festival each year, as well as at other venues in Scotland. www.3d2d.co.uk
HI ARTS ORIGIN REPORT
I first met Pamela Conacher (Crafts Coordinator for Hi Arts) and other members of the team, in 2009. I was immediately impressed with Pamela personally and with the level of professionalism and support exhibited by Hi Arts at the “coal face” of craft in the Highlands. They are really making a difference, and have some great initiatives planned. I was delighted to be awarded a grant to view “Origin”, the prestigious Crafts Council Retail Fair in London in October 2009. To read my report on the show (published on the Hi Arts website) click the link here: www.hi-arts.co.uk/default.aspx.locid-hianewpyh.RefLocID-hiacg501h00c.Lang-EN.htm
CRAFT & DESIGN MAGAZINE
Special mention here for Angie and Paul Boyer and their wonderful team who produce Craft & Design magazine, one of my very few "must have" subscriptions! If you want a really good view of what's happening in the fine crafts scene today in the UK, buy the mag or go to their excellent website, www.craftanddesign.net
I am pleased to have been accepted for inclusion in Craft & Design’s "Selected" online gallery at the website; www.craftmaker.co.uk/melaniemuir. Do take time to have a browse through this comprehensive gallery of some of Britain's best makers - fabulous work in a wide variety of disciplines!
You can buy my work direct from me or at these wonderful galleries/shops (in alphabetical order):
Aviemore Gallery, Inverdruie, Aviemore, Scotland
Appendage, Brighton, England
Bessemer Gallery, Sheffield Wintergarden, Sheffield, England
Castle Gallery, Inverness, Scotland (do visit their website for a browse, Denise Collins and her team at the gallery feature many of the best artists in the country, working in a wide variety of media) www.castlegallery.co.uk
CromartyCourthouse Museum, Cromarty, Scotland
Dancing Light Gallery, West Linton, Edinburgh, Scotland
Ebbing Tide at Neil's Gallery, Filey, North Yorkshire, England
Felsted Studio, Felsted, Essex, England
Fleet Gallery, Gatehouse of Fleet, Scotland
The Jewellery Box, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle (once I get their order done!)
