Northants, Leics &amp; Rutland


<p>Northants and Rutland Open Studios kicks off this month and continues to the end of September with a riot of sculpture, ceramics, paintings, photography, jewellery and more, showcased in all manner of spaces across the counties from galleries to garden studios and churches to stately homes. With over 300 artists taking part his year, it’s hard to know where to start, so why not kick off with our pick of some of our favourite pieces and see where the mood takes you.</p>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/07/NOS-James-Skelton-2.jpg" alt="james Skelton letterpress print making" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">James Skelton</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Drawing on the rich tradition of letterpress craftsmanship, James Skelton creates artworks, posters and cards from vintage wood and metal type, as well as linocuts, experimenting with different colours and papers. A love for typography and lettering infuses his projects with an authenticity and craftsmanship that we the printed word is rapidly moving away from, lending a nostalgic appeal to his work. </p><p><a href="https://nros.co.uk/nos/artist.php?id=453" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHERE TO SEE JAMES</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/07/NOS-Fiona-Carver.jpg" alt="Fiona Carver Northants Rutland Open Studios" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Fiona Carver</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Fiona trained at Edinburgh College of Art graduating with a BA (hons) in Furniture Design before becoming a London-based picture framer and gallery manager. Back home in Rutland, she now creates observational oil paintings from life, both <em>en plein air</em> and in her Lyddington studio, capturing moment, atmosphere, colours and emotion.</p><p><a href="https://nros.co.uk/nos/artist.php?id=385" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHERE TO SEE FIONA</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/07/NOS-Jennie-McCall.jpg" alt="Northants Open Studios Jennie McCall" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Jennie McCall</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Jennie is a sculptor and illustrator working in the picturesque countryside on the Northants/Leics border. Her award winning figurative work evokes mystery and intrigue with masterful use of porcelain, capturing its translucent and pure qualities. Jennie has received several awards and has work featured in many private collections including the Royal Mail and the Royal Society of Arts.</p><p><a href="https://nros.co.uk/nos/artist.php?id=414" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHERE TO SEE JENNIE</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/07/NOS-NICOLA-CLIFFE.jpeg" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Nicola Cliffe</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Nicola is the creative force behind Madder Cutch &amp; Co., based in Stamford. She&#8217;s a former chemistry teacher with a lifelong love of textiles, having left the classroom to follow a childhood dream of attending art college, completing an MA at Chelsea College of Art and Design. Nicola&#8217;s work attempts to re-dress the careless use of synthetic dyes worldwide. Nicola&#8217;s nature-inspired designs are hand screen-printed on 100% linen that is woven in the UK.</p><p><a href="https://nros.co.uk/nos/artist.php?id=433" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHERE TO SEE NICOLA</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/08/ROBERT-FOGELL-ECLIPSE.png" alt="Robert Fogell sculpture bronze" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Robert Fogell</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Exploring form and the fundamental elements of symmetry and proportion, Robert&#8217;s work evokes a state of flux, static yet in motion. Experimenting with positive and negative mass (space and solid) is part of his process for creating sculpture in bronze, stone and steel and paintings in acrylic, oil and mixed media.</p><p><a href="https://nros.co.uk/nos/artist.php?id=226" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHERE TO SEE ROBERT</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/08/Régis-Chaperon.jpg" alt="Régis Chaperon" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Régis Chaperon</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Combining the ancient and ephemeral art of Japanese paper folding with the immutable nature of stone, Régis brings beauty and an unexpected twist to the folds of his elegant sculptures. Using pure and simple lines, the stone appears to have been carefully creased and bent, transformed into intricate works of art, injecting an utterly modern approach to stone sculpting.</p><p><a href="https://nros.co.uk/nos/artist.php?id=486" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHERE TO SEE RÉGIS</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/08/JACK-WATTO.jpg" alt="Jack Watto Painting" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Jack Watto</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Attending The Slade School of Art in the 1960s, Jack became an architectural sculptor/restorer and travelled the world, working on UNESCO World Heritage sites, eventually returning to the UK to work on Heritage Projects throughout England and Europe. Protest with a paintbrush has become his creative language, examining the global environmental crisis and ecological damage to the planet. He strives to create awareness and provoke conversation. To create a brighter, better future and to urge action. </p><p><a href="https://nros.co.uk/nos/artist.php?id=115" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHERE TO SEE JACK</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/08/CLARE-ABBAT.png" alt="CLARE ABBAT SCULPTURE DRAWING" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Clare Abbatt</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Clare mostly works in clay and sometimes bronze, an ancient process, which brings durability and unique aesthetic qualities. The relatively unpredictable results of raku firing contribute to the character of other pieces. Unfired earth and ash create less permanent sculptures &#8211; reflecting our transient presence. She has a Fine Art degree and an MA and taught for many years at Fermynwoods Contemporary Art, and ran art workshops in schools, at Yardley Arts and other venues. Now concentrating on making her own work.</p><p><a href="https://nros.co.uk/nos/artist.php?id=471" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHERE TO SEE CLARE</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/08/MEL-BEACROFT.jpg" alt="MEL BEACROFT" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Melanie Beacroft</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Inspired by nature -garden flowers, ancient trees and weather worn branches, shaped by the elements, woodland, coast and wild, untamed places, Melanie uses oils, acrylics and watercolours to create gestural marks, colourful washes and expressive brushwork on heavy, cold pressed papers. Stepping out from her home studio takes her directly into the cottage garden where she experiments with compositions for lino designs and drypoint plates. Flowers and seed heads provide exciting lines, shapes and forms &#8211; perfect for relief and intaglio printmaking. </p><p><a href="https://nros.co.uk/nos/artist.php?id=251" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHERE TO SEE MELANIE</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/08/ana-ruiz-agui.jpg" alt="ANA RUIZ AGUI SCULPTURE" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Ana Ruiz Agüí</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Conceptual and abstract sculpture manifesting the beauty of stone, the dynamics of the curves and contrasting textures. Ana&#8217;s work echoes 20th century sculptors like Brancussi, Arp and Moore, yet she goes beyond, with a personal approach that focuses more on the tactile than the visual; where complexity and feminine emotion, radical or even contradictory at times, abound.</p><p><a href="https://nros.co.uk/nos/artist.php?id=500" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHERE TO SEE ANA</a></p></div></div></div></div>



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Drawn to it: Artists to look out for at Northants and Rutland Open Studios 2024

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