A lengthy but beautiful road trip took me to Timespan, the venue for the next Meet Your Maker, at the beginning of this month.

After journeying up much of the East Coast of Scotland (and taking in an awe inspiring number of sites for a newbie to Scotland) we reached the village of Helmsdale late on Tuesday evening to be warmly welcomed by Timespan’s director Nicola before getting our heads down ready for an early start.

The following day I got my first look inside Timespan. I was really impressed by how light, bright and welcoming the space and staff were, as well as the amazing smell of baking scones that was coming from the cafe kitchen. I had a chance to explore the gallery we’ll be using for Meet Your Maker. A lovely white, bright space which had a beautiful exhibition of glass from International Artists of Northlands Creative Glass studios.

I then met our selection panel for the day: Pamela Conacher from HI Arts; Ros, a weaver and friend of Timespan and member of their regular knitting group; and Penny, the Chair of Timespan’s arts committee. An enthusiastic group, who after taking in all the submissions agreed on two Highland makers. Joan Baxter, a weaver with a studio in Brora, and Laura West, a bookbinder from Skye will join Leah Black, Jilly Blackwood and Frances Priest exhibiting at Timespan.

After a yummy lunch in Timespan’s cosy cafe, Nicola, Emma and I then got down to the task of selecting a curator to bring the Meet Your Maker concept to life at Timespan. After a lot of discussion we shortlisted two and appointed Glasgow based Panel on our return to Edinburgh. We’re delighted to be working with this dynamic team of freelance curators and arts project managers with lots of experience and creative vision.

After a bit of last minute shopping at Timespan’s and a fond farewell to Nicola and the team we wandered to the harbour to take in the beautiful views and bracing wind. We then headed North to Jon O’Groats, exploring yet more of the Scottish landscape peppered with little lambs looking rather chilly in the wind. With a brief stop at Jon O’Groats we all piled back in the car for home. After an early pit stop at the grand and rather imposing Dunrobin Castle were all very grateful to see the Forth bridges and home after a rather epic road trip and a busy few days!

With the makers and curator confirmed it’s all speed ahead on formulating the exhibition display and delivering it ready for the install on the 17th May. After having many chats with Panel already and our designers Bluemungus I’m really excited about returning to Timespan to see the ideas realised. It’s going to be a real treat for any visitors who head up there over May and June.