Eight Fife makers have been awarded grants to assist them progress their craft careers in initiatives as diverse as attending a specialist textiles trade show in Paris to developing a home business designing and making unique bags and accessories to staging a major solo ceramics exhibition in Scotland.

The awards, totalling £5,000, were presented at a special event in St Andrews Museum on Tuesday 22^nd January when the panel of judges had the opportunity to congratulate each of the successful winners.

They were:

• Patricia Beveridge (Glenrothes) - a textile artist who wants to develop new specialist embroidery techniques in her work;

• Gavin Burnett (Gateside) - ceramicist will have professional photography taken of his work to promote it and gain new exhibition opportunities in the UK and abroad;

• Nicola Cairns (Gateside) - a glassmaker who can now purchase a new kiln which will give other Fife makers as well as herself the opportunity to work in hot glass at her studio;

• Claire Christie (Dunfermline) -a textile artist will acquire new machinery to allow her to carry out more intricate techniques in her homebased design and making of unique bags and accessories;

• Lauren Crawford (Kirkcaldy) -a textile artist's grant will allow her to attend the Indigo section of the prestigious 'Premier Vision' tradeshow in Paris;

• Adrienne McStay (Newport-on-Tay) - a glassmaker will be able to purchase specialist equipment needed to develop her work for ;

• Simon Ward (Lundin Links) - a ceramicist who will stage his major solo show next year at the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock;

• Kathryn Williamson (Pittenweem) -a jeweller who will be able to purchase new equipment to develop her range of designs which are already being exhibited.

The judging panel assessed 28 applications and selected the eight winners on the strength of their wide ranging creative craft skills and success to date.

It was very encouraging to see such a diverse range makers apply to develop their skills and progress their careers in so many ways. The response to this first call for applications was impressive and the judging panel was delighted to announce the next round of applications today so that they continue to see the flow of creative skills and success continue throughout 2008.

The Scottish Arts Council provided the impetus and part-funded the scheme with Arts and Theatres Trust Fife and Creativefife, a new Fife Council and Scottish Enterprise Initiative.

The selection panel consisted of Arts and Theatres Trust Fife; Fife Contemporary Art and Craft; Janet Shelley, Course Director of Textile Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee; and new organisation for Fife creative people and businesses, Creativefife.