Grantown Museum
Exhibition now on!
Our annual exhibition got its launch on Saturday night – thanks to all who came along to support the group.
As per tradition, the show is on at Grantown Museum and will run until May 5. The museum is open from Monday to Saturday, 10am-5pm.
The quality of work this year is amazing, with a great range of subjects and media.
And big congratulations to the winner of the Gordon Crisell Shield for Best Painting – Mary Hill, for her coloured pencil drawing, Mojo. She was the winner of the public vote at Saturday’s launch.
Hope you all make it along – it’s a great exhibition. Here’s a couple of hastily snapped pictures to whet your appetite.
Celebrating opening night
Our Cairngorms exhibition is now open at Grantown Museum.
We were delighted to see so many friendly faces at last night’s opening. The art looks great and it was fantastic to see such a wide range of media and techniques being used. Pastels, watercolour, acrylic, embroidery, printing – all those lessons have really paid off!
And of course, the big event of the night – announcement of the winner of the Gordon Crisell Shield.
There was fierce voting, with a range of artworks in contention.
But the winner was Ellis Rowe, with his acrylic painting of Anagach Woods.
SAG chairwoman Angela Wood handed over the trophy to a delighted Ellis at the end of the night.
Many thanks to all who came along and especially to those members who organised, poured drinks and counted votes.
The exhibition is now on until July 1. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday, 10-5pm. Our members will be on hand to chat to visitors about the work!
We’ll leave you with a wee glimpse of what’s in store when you visit – and our member Rona Smith left speechless after winning top prize in the raffle.
The final countdown
With just a few days to go until we launch our summer exhibition, Cairngorms, here’s a wee reminder about the requirements and arrangements.
Members can exhibit up to four works, at a cost of £2 each. Forms have been sent out and should be returned to Liz Downie, with payment, by Wednesday Jun 14 at the latest.
Artworks should be handed in at Grantown Museum on Saturday June 17, 1-2pm. They must be framed – fitted with D-rings and cord, not wire. Works should also be taped at the back, along with a label detailing the title, artist’s name and price.
No clip frames and if works are too heavy/large, they may have to be exhibited on the floor.
The opening event is from 6.30pm-8pm on Saturday June 17 – all welcome so bring your friends. Drinks will be provided but members are asked to contribute a plate of nibbles.
The rota for manning the exhibition is circulating via e-mail so do volunteer for a shift if you can. Having members there really does help.
As usual, commission on sales is 20% (split between the group and the museum: the rest goes to the artist).
Collection of works will be on Saturday July 1, from 5pm.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there and enjoying the art!
Announcing our new exhibition
The spectacular Cairngorms provides the inspiration for our 2017 annual exhibition.
Everyone has been hard at work producing original art for the summer show at Grantown Museum from June 17 to July 1.
And the event will open with a special open preview night on June 17 from 6.30pm to 8pm. All are welcome and refreshments will be provided.
Those attending the preview will again be asked to vote for their favourite artwork. The piece will wins the most votes will be awarded the Gordon Crisell Shield. This prize, which was introduced last year, is named after a long-standing member of the Spey Art Group who died in 2015.
Members should have their entry forms, which include useful information about how to present your work.
We’ll post a reminder about arrangements for handing in your work and for opening night very soon.
Big thanks
Thanks to everyone who supported our members at Grantown Museum’s Christmas sale on Saturday. And of course, thanks to everyone who took the time to make and sell items.
A great day was had by all and here you can see some of hardworkers on the stall.
Grantown craftiness
Just a reminder that some of our members will be selling their wares at the Grantown Museum’s Christmas sale on Saturday.
The Spey Art Group will have a table at the event, which includes a coffee morning, with a range of products made by our talented members.
But if you’d rather get your hands dirty, there’s still time to sign up for Angus’s jewellery workshop, which is on the same day at Inverallan Parish Church Hall.
Contact the Cairngorms Learning Partnership on 01540 662 420 or find more information at the CLP website.
Workshops galore!
There are plenty of chances to learn something new this autumn.
As part of our new association with the Cairngorms Learning Partnership, our tutor Angus Grant is hosting a jewellery workshop.
It’s a chance to get started on making some Christmas presents – you’ll end the day with three pairs of earrings and a bracelet.
The workshop is on Saturday November 12 and will be at Inverallan Church Hall in Grantown, from 10am-2pm. Just £45 for Spey Art Group Members. For non-members, it’s £55 but for that extra tenner you get to be a SAG associate member for a year.
All you need to take is your lunch and some enthusiasm! Book your place here!
And the week before, Rona Smith will be taking a silk painting workshop at Grantown Museum. This is one of a series of craft workshops at the museum over the winter.
This is an introduction to the art and participants will get the chance to create a small mounted picture. All materials will be provided.
The class runs on Thursday November 3 from 7pm-9pm, at a cost of £10, including refreshments. Booking is essential – phone 01479 821762.
Just one week to go…
The Spey Art Group’s Wednesday night classes start again next Wednesday. Realise you’ve all probably rediscovered the Great British Bake-Off over the past two weeks but I’m sure that that we all want to swap the wooden spoon for a paintbrush.
A programme of lessons until Christmas is now on our Winter Term page. Angus has prepared lots of exciting plans to stretch our artistic skills.
He has also built in time for more tutoring this term so, if they wish to, members have a chance to spend more time on their personal projects.
And don’t forget about the jewellery workshop running on November 12. You can find out more on this post or here on the Cairngorms Learning Partnership’s website.
See you next week!
Lots of lovely events
Grantown Museum is jam-packed with upcoming events during the autumn.
With our own exhibition Consequences running until September 30, there is no better time to get down to Burnfield.
This weekend sees The Big Draw, a national festival of drawing. You are invited along to find inspiration in the museum’s collectio. The event runs from Friday-Sunday, 1pm-4pm.
In October, two events will be running during the Highland Archaeology Festival. The first, on October 1 at 7.30pm, is a talk on the prehistoric sites of human occupation in Strathspey. This will be delivered by Dr Steve Goodall, with a suggested donation of £5.
A few days later, the museum will recreate the popular historical tour around the policies of Castle Grant. This will start from the museum at 10am on Thursday October 13. The suggestion donation here is £10.
Andfinally local artist Chloe Kelman will be showing her Highland cow paintings during October as well as the long-awaitedTen exhibition, in which 10 people have chosen an object from the collection and written a response to it. It could be a poem, a memory of just a few lines on why they like it.
The big reveal
After a year of hard work and fretting, we finally got to see Consequences in all its glory.
Starting with a pair of old boots, the pictures show the wonderful (and possibly weird?) connections that we all make when we see a picture. Included in the chain are poppies, collages, an orange, landscapes, village-scapes and a fly.
The launch party went well on Saturday night with people following the numbers and catalogue to find out more about the works and what lay behind their creation. A few images can be found below.
Well done to Rona for organising the exhibition and to everyone who helped set up the exhibition and preview party.
The show is now on until September 30. But you can also see a preview on our new Consequences gallery page.
Spey Art Group 