Arts Trail 2 - Look for the bunting

How do you find your way round Saltaire when the Arts Trail is on?  Why, look for the bunting, of course!

Much of the artwork on display on the Arts Trail is shown in the ordinary houses around the village, each decorated with bright strips of red flags.  Brave residents open their homes for three days, come rain or shine (this year it did a bit of both!) and smile a welcome whilst hundreds of visitors tramp through their sitting room, kitchen and in some cases even bedrooms.  It's central to this Saltaire event's undeniable charm, and part of the fun is in seeing inside the village's historic Victorian cottages, which of course are not usually open to sightseers.

In many cases too, the artists and exhibitors themselves are there and it is so interesting talking to them and finding out what inspires them to create the pieces on show.  This year I was delighted to bump into Joy Godfrey, an Ilkley-based painter, sculptor and printmaker.  I've never met her before but a silkscreen print of hers - 'Hebers Ghyll' - was the first 'proper' piece of original artwork I ever owned, way back in the mid 1970s, when she was just out of art college.  I still have it and I was pleased to discover she continues to produce beautiful and distinctive work inspired by local landscapes.