Herefordshire art week, h.Art is sweet sixteen this year and the pink signs are blooming by the county's roadsides.

As in previous years, the event offers exclusive access to artists’ studios, workshops and special exhibitions, allowing visitors the opportunity to meet the makers in relaxed surroundings and learn about their techniques and inspiration. Throughout the week, there will also be a wide range of special events, among them workshops for children and adults, demonstrations and talks.

Many of the participants only do this once a year, giving visitors the rare opportunity to talk to them about their creative practice and what makes them tick and of course buy or commission direct for a real connection to the artwork.

“I find the whole week's experience warm and welcoming, and it broadens my knowledge of local artwork. I enjoy every minute,” said one visitor last year.

Among this year's participants is The Vinery Collective, featuring seven artists, working variously in sculpture, ceramics, silver smithing, jewellery, mosaics, printmaking, blacksmithing, fine art, marquetry, mixed media and textiles, with two workshops running on Sunday, September 9 - a pod-marking workshop and another exploring print making through lino cutting. There will also be mosaic workshop demonstrations daily at the venue in Wellington.

The ten days celebrating the creative life of the county also features an extensive selection of talks, demonstrations and workshops, among them a stone carving demonstration by David England, a basic skills woodworking workshop at Designer Creations in Bishops Frome and a two-hour workshop with Sarah Williams at Williams Handmade, at the end of which you will have made your own hand-stitched leather card case or coin purse.

Get a preview of what might appeal to you on the website at 222.h-art.org.uk, where you can order a h.Art guide by post (P&P charges apply). Guides, including a pull-out map can also be picked up free of charge, at various tourist locations around the county. All featured venues will display the now-familiar h.Art pink signs, joined this year by balloons, to make finding them easy.