Pittenweem Arts Festival
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
The house on the rock
We are really lucky living in The East Neuk of Fife, there is always something going on. The East Neuk Festival is shaping into a great festival then the friendly and varied Crail festival takes over for two weeks. You just have time to catch your breath before Pittenweem is upon you!
I did a bit of terrible overlapping and managed two days at The Big Tent Festival,Scotland’s Festival of Stewardship, as well! I was totally blown away by The Peatbog Faeries on the Sunday night. What a collage of sound, a pure funk brass and guitar section with awesome pipes and fiddles dueling it out over the top.
With so much on you have to make sure work doesn’t get in the way so you can gorge yourself on this artistic feast. So Pittenweem it was. Unless you have a few days it really is like standing, starving, in front of a huge buffet. Cram it in there.
Mother and Jo had managed a scouting party the day before so at least we knew where we were going to luch and coffee. As it turns out we had two visits to The Cocoa Tree on the High Street
A paradise for those of you with a sweet tooth. For those of us who prefer savoury you will not be disappointed.
Even with the rain coming down and the brollies making the narrow wyndes treacherous Pittenweem seemed bright and vibrant. We headed down to the harbour where the fishermen carried on their daily lives, fork lifts buzzing around dreamy art fans licking ice-creams in the rain . This is such a great concentration of varied art forms with the back drop of the Forth, the isle of May, the Bass Rock and Berwick Law. With a moody sky art was all around.
I re-visited a personal favourite on Midshore; Tim Cockburn. Tim paints with a great sense of humour, realistic scenes of Ceilidhs and wedding receptions, after the whisky and champagne has been flowing for a while and the socks are down and the straps are hanging off! Everyone in their finery with their personalities starting to show through, great.
Quickly in next door to see Susie from Crail, business seemed good but I am sure the social scene attracts many artisits as old aquaintancies are renewed and new friends made.
So much of Pittenweem is about the venues….not just gleaming galleries here but old fishing net stores, garages, sheds, smart houses, summer houses and the telephone exchange! Carpets are lifted or protected, furniture is stored or covered and the doors are opened.
The debate goes on….a house on the front or on the terraces looking down? I am undecided but the house on the rock is outstanding also because the two artisits exhibiting here are outstanding.
Pat Kramek uses bright oils which if not so skillfully manipulated could be termed garish but it works in mostly West Coast and Island scenes.
Oh yes and they have a great sound system in this venue too….it all helps
Tucked into a corner of this house is Sara Mead. Sara paints what can only be called dream like scenes from an imaginery or psychadelic East Neuk. The local harbours all morph into one another and become fantastic uber-harbours
http://www.tcweb.co.uk/saramead/
Please note these images have been borrowed form the artists websites or agents’ sites. Go visit and buy them!!