Helpful Holidays is once again delighted to be the main sponsor of this year’s Devon Open Studios event.

The self-catering cottage agency, which lets over 600 holiday homes in the West Country, is pleased to be involved with the event which offers both residents and visitors to the region the opportunity to meet artists in their studios in some of the most beautiful and unexplored areas during the event, as well as the chance to buy art direct from the creators, view demonstrations, or even have a go themselves.

The holiday home specialists have awarded bursaries to five emerging Devon-based artists. Wanda Gardner, Suzie Waldron, Jane Hodgson, Ama Menec, and Naomi Hart represent a range of disciplines. The bursaries, linked with the Devon Artists Network, are for those who are either entering the professional arts for the first time, are returning following a career break, or have started taking their work in a new direction.

Wanda Gardener, an ex-art teacher, has now turned her talents to printmaking. Whilst Suzie Waldron, who graduated from University College Falmouth in 2012, is taking her first steps into the professional arts as a mixed media artist following a year as Artist-in-Residence at Totnes Art and Design Foundation Course. Naomi Hart is another mixed media artist on the winners list as she is currently working on a participatory piece. As it is the Devon Open Studios event, it seems only right that one of the winners, Jane Hodgson, is a painter focussing on landscape inspired by her travels as well as Devon. Artist Ama Menec won a bursary due to her new direction. She has recently begun casting sculptures in bronze and experimenting with new materials following her work as a ceramicist.

The Devon Open Studios event, hosted between Saturday 7th and Sunday 22nd September, allows for a celebration of Devon’s artists and a chance for the public to get involved and see where the artists’ work is created. It is the largest annual art event in the county, attracting over 20,000 visits every year.

For more information, visit www.devonartistnetwork.co.uk, email openstudios@devonartistnetwork.co.uk or call the Devon Open Studios office on 07768 164560. You can also pick up a free guide at any Devon or Somerset library, Devon Tourist Information Centre or major art venue. For more details about Helpful Holidays or online booking, see the user-friendly and widely praised www.helpfulholidays.com.