The Hereford Times

Artists sitting pretty for the county event of the year

12:46pm Thursday 9th August 2007

Pink signs point the way to best art Herefordshire has to offer THE guide to h.Art 07, one of the highlights of Herefordshire's cultural calendar, is now available.

In its 44 pages, you'll find 115 participating venues, showing the work of 250 Herefordshire artists with colour-coded routes, larger maps and brief descriptions of each region to make it easier for visitors to plan their day.

The h.Art 07 website is also live, with facilities to search for an artist by name, or artists working in a particular medium, and to order a copy of the printed guide.

h.Art gives visitors exclusive access to artists' studios, workshops and exhibitions, with opportunities to meet the makers and view a wide range of art and craft, from early pieces through to new work in progress, as well as preliminary studies, sketches and models.

Many venues open two days earlier than usual, on Thursday, September 6, to coincide with the Festival of Flowers at Hereford Cathedral.

Bright pink roadside signs will once again guide visitors to this year's venues around the county, from the back lanes of Hereford to the hilltops of the Welsh border and the banks of the River Wye.

For those wanting to explore their own talents, there are dozens of opportunities, with workshops in a wide range of techniques on offer, including stonecarving, printmaking, felt jewellery, silver jewellery, sculpture and basket making.

For families, Diversity are holding Super Saturday drop-in children's art workshops at Eaton Bishop Village Hall and students from Herefordshire College of Arts are once again running Art in the Woods - a free jamboree of creativity at Queenswood Country Park on September 15 and 16.

The 2007 h.Art Open Exhibition at Hereford Museum and Art Gallery will feature beautiful new work by 22 established and emerging fine artists and promises to be one of the most varied yet, with works in paint, print, collage, textiles, glass, wire, metal, ceramic, wood and photography.

Pick up the h.Art Guide at a library or tourist information centre, call 01568 797842 or visit www.h-art.org.uk