POTTER Kim Langley has fashioned Malmesbury’s first art trail to celebrate and highlight the rich and varied number of artists and crafts people working in and around the town.
The Malmesbury Art and Crafts Trail will take place over the weekend of September 26/27 when the public will be invited into studios and workshops.
Mrs Langley, the owner of Roki Pottery at Easton Grey, floated the idea on Facebook and among fellow crafts people and got an emphatic response.
A potter for more than 30 years, she said: “I felt that Malmesbury and the surrounding villages had a wealth of talented artist and crafts people and that a public showcase for the wide range of creative talent from the area was needed.”
She has exhibited her own work at various craft shows and attends several arts and crafts trails in other areas.
She said: “I thought that with the number of gifted and vibrant people in the Malmesbury area we needed exposure to the wider community of what we had to offer.
“I put out a social media message to other artists and crafts people and the response was fantastic.
“Lots of the arts and crafts community wanted to commit to a trail and many came back to me with great ideas.”
She said that people such as Tracey Piper of Dolly Bobbins who produces crochet work, local artist Mary Dodd, and Shelley Hollingworth of Animal Sculpture all came up with input and advice for the event.
Mrs Langley went on: “From this Malmesbury Arts and Crafts Trail was born.
“The trail is a community event, organised by volunteers.” Those participating, she said, together owned the event.
“The trail aims to encourage creativity within the community, promote and showcase the work of amateurs and professionals within the area and to bring a wide range of arts and crafts within everyone's experience.”
Around 20 artists and craftspeople have so far signed up to the trail which they hope will become an annual event.
The event will include people specialising in pottery, art, crochet and textiles, stone sculpture, ceramics, jewellery, photography and works in bronze and resin.
Further Information on the initiative is available from: malmesburyartsandcrafts@gmail.com
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