Overlooking Loch Long on the Rosneath peninsula in Western Scotland, Cove Park is a centre for national and international artists working in all art forms – the performing arts, visual art, craft disciplines, and so on– to undertake research and develop new projects through its annual residency programme.

Such is the beauty of the location that it’s a wonder any work of substance is created at all – yet according to many of the artists currently on residency, the regular interaction and discussion stimulates a productive environment, despite the enticing landscape outside.

The importance placed on discussion was evident during a recent event marking the end of Frances Priest’s three-month Scottish Craft Residency. Together with Director Alexia Holt, Priest invited a variety of craft-related individuals representing different roles within the craft process –the gallerist, the curator, the collector, the writer, the official representing the funding body, and of course the maker – to preview her new work, and to discuss the current status of ceramics in Scotland.