Forty years of art on show

Each year in June the bright yellow signs go up across the region, and visitors can drop in on hundreds of artists and makers taking part. This year the festival runs from 7th to 22nd June and there are painters, potters, jewellers, glassworkers, sculptors, textile artists and others waiting to meet you.

Some of these, like Olney’s Deborah Hopson-Wolpe, have been taking part since the event began all those years ago. In fact, Deborah even designed its promotional material in the early days, using scissors and paste, far removed from today’s computer-generated design.

Her father, Berthold Wolpe OBE, was a typographer who taught her these traditional methods. He was Jewish and had escaped from Germany when the Nazis came to power. Her mother Margaret Wolpe was a talented artist, sculptor and jewellery maker who had studied under the tutorship of Henry Moore. Deborah’s childhood home was full to bursting with art materials, books, papers and other inspiration to fuel the creative process.

Deborah studied ceramics and metalwork at Camberwell School of Art under Lucie Rie, Hans Koper and Colin Pearson. Then after several years in Japan she returned to the UK to set up the Olney Pottery in 1975. She expanded into print making in 2006.

During Bucks Art Weeks, Deborah displays pots, prints and greetings cards from the pottery in Holes Lane. She is joined this year by Jessica Ward, a mixed media artist.

You can plan your day out at Bucks Art Weeks by going to the website www.bucksartweeks.org.uk and looking at the interactive map and the artists and makers that interest you. Many venues offer refreshments too - it’s a lovely way to experience creativity on your doorstep. So make some time to plan your arty day out this summer!