ONE hundred artists and makers will be opening their doors for the second weekend of the 2016 York Open Studios on Saturday and Sunday and more than a third of them are new to this year's event.
Among them are mobile maker Lu Mason, textile artists Fran Brammer and Tessa Layzelle, and Beth Savage, the YOS Bursary artist for 2016.
Lu Mason, at East Parade, is motivated by a love of pattern and colour, and having spent years painting patterns, she started to make rag rugs, followed by mobiles 12 years ago, influenced by Alexander Calder and the designs of Lucienne Day.
"I'm fascinated by the constantly changing patterns made by moving shapes and shadows, the way they catch the light, and the fine balance of the structure," she says. "As well as working with paper, I use Perspex too; it's more robust than paper and the transparent colours play with the light like stained glass windows."
Lu Mason at work
Her mobiles hang from the ceiling or sit on mantelpieces or clip on to shelves; she can customise a mobile to fit a particular space and also makes site-specific installations and Perspex brooches. Her latest works are influenced by the ceramics collection at York Art Gallery.
Fran Brammer left Worcestershire for Yorkshire 25 years ago to take up a post teaching art and design, then textiles and "a few other things", until succumbing to the allure of an historical costume-making course, and she now works part time for the Viking Loom.
At her Jute Road home, she makes atmospheric textile images drawn from Yorkshire landscapes, using freehand machining techniques and informal applique processes to combine line and texture. She has a piece of work ongoing over the two Open Studios weekends.
Tessa Layzelle grew up with the mantra "Well you could make that" and after training for five years in Fine Art, quilts provided an opportunity to experiment with painterly, illustrative and compositional techniques while making useful objects.
"I'm interested in my work disappearing through use, the quilts mingling with old cushions and dirty clothes, becoming part of the fabric of the everyday," says Tessa, who makes blankets, flags and table linen in modern designs, quilted by using traditional techniques and natural fabrics.
At 2pm on Saturday, 2016 York Open Studios Bursary installation artist Beth Savage will present a live performance on the river bank near Museum Gardens, between Lendal Bridge and the railway bridge. At present completing her MA in Fine Art at York St John University, she is the founder of PerformingNOW!, an open platform for performance and live art, and is a member of the The Wild Project, a loose collective of artists working with themes of wildness.
In the images, film and objects in her installation at St Nicks Environment Centre, she is exploring how the rivers of York have shaped the city's heritage, industrial development and leisure activities, as well as examining the wildlife and wider ecology of the Ouse and its tributaries.
Weekend Two of York Open Studios takes place on Saturday, from 10am to 6pm, and Sunday, from 11am to 5pm. For full details and maps of all the studios, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk and for a free copy of the event programme register online or email info@yorkopenstudios.co.uk Look out for the York Open Studios placed outside each location and make sure you carry the tear-out map from the back of the programme to plan your route.
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