Spring Fling

This weekend is "Spring Fling" in Dumfries & Galloway - an open studio event, celebrating the very many artists working in the region. We visited 5 studios today, including Sarah Keast, Lucianne Lassalle, Jason Shackleton,Silvana McLean and Kathleen Woods.
Sarah Keast's fantastic work has the whaling industry as its central theme, using printmaking and typography to explore the life stories of whalers and the importance of whaling. Her work also looks at whales and explores their intelligence and behaviour when confronted by whalers. Images of the sea, whales, ships and harpoons are combined with word art. Sarah's passion and research into this controversial subject area, shine through and give the powerful images real depth.
Having enjoyed the exhibition housed in Sarah's breakfast room, chatted with Sarah and her husband, been enticed to nibble delicious biscuits by 2 wonderful daughters and bought several goodies, we went through the garden to see Sarah's studio.
The studio (think garden shed!) housed a large relief press and fabulous Adana letterpress. Above the press hung an old, wooden drying rack to die for, as shown in my photo. So, so envious...