A new exhibition investigating how the environment is intricately bound up with the creative process opens this week in Kilmarnock.

‘Up Your Street’ features work which is directly or indirectly a reflection of the environment in which they were made or conceived.  Some of the makers take their cue from local found objects, such as shells or leaves. Others are inspired by the landscape or the geometric shapes of living in the city. Some use the product of their surroundings – the wood or willow that grows around them.

The exhibition features work by jeweller Beth Legg, who takes inspiration from the objects found in nature,  Gillian Cooper whose knitted and felted pieces explore the idea of suffocation and surveillance in an urban environment and Janet Mason whose double-walled ceramic pieces challenge our perceptions of the often ‘frowned upon’ elements within our built environment.  Among the other exhibitors are sculptural weaver Caroline Dear, jeweller Dot Sim, furniture designer Gareth Neal and textile artists Laura McCafferty and Donna Wilson.

Curator Katy Bevan says “Knowing what kind of environment these makers live and work in, be it inner city or rural hideaway, may go some way to helping us understand, literally, where the work is coming from. We are all influenced by our physical surroundings, and this is reflected in the things that people create, and whether we respond well to them.”

The exhibition, which was organised by the Develop Ayrshire Project in collaboration with Contemporary Applied Arts,  is accompanied by a series of workshops for children and adults, and a Professional Development Forum for other designer makers.

‘Up Your Street’ is on at Gallery One, The Dick Institute, Elmbank Avenue, Kilmarnock KA1 3BU from 11 March until 29 April 2006. Opening hours Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 5pm.  Admission Free.