In Preparation

Some of you may have noticed a link through to my web page in the right hand bar.  I cannot tell you the agonies I had over making it!  I really quite like keeping things close to my chest so to open a proper web page, me!  Well really!  Actually it's all part of the build up to the Dorset Art Weeks next year, my front page if you like. I still feel it is incredibly pretentious that I should have one but I'll just have to get over that!

Aquarium 3

The Art Weeks last year were wonderful and John and I met some great people and I was so encouraged.  If your county has an open studios event, and I think most do, I thoroughly recommend them.  There are so many disciplines and levels of work. Some are professional and I can feel out of my depth and then there are groups of amateurs who are encouraging and tell me to just do what I love doing. The advice given to anyone who asks from all levels is so supportive and useful and quite often eye opening!

Aquarium 4

I have been having moments of panic now and then about doing this.  Well my first port of call for support is of course John who is really keen for me to do this.  My second is my friend Jan who I asked first off if she wanted to do this with me.  She paints wonderful watercolours and I was almost shocked when she said, 'yes please', almost before the sentence was out of my mouth!  I, at the very least, will be surrounded by her work so I don't have to fill a hall on my own.

I am mentally taking two steps to encourage myself.  First, I am not in this to sell my work, I am in it to show it.  The amount of pressure that left when I made that decision was huge.  I have no need to make a living out of this, though of course there are a lot that do, I would just like for people to see my work in the real world.  I will have some things for sale of course but it doesn't really bother me if they don't sell (can I really bear to part with a Troll??!) Secondly I remind myself constantly of one professional textile tutor we visited who only actually had six pieces up to show and none were for sale.  It just reminds me that this event is what you make it, a small window or a full on shop front display.  

Perhaps it seems a little early in this year to be thinking about May/June 2014 but we all know the horrors of last minute panic and how virulent procrastination is and I am going to do my best to avoid that.  I would like to have a few things done so I have pieces to show by Easter and see how it stands from there. Apart from anything all our paperwork and photos have to be in by about the end of October this year for the catalogue and promotional material to be ready for the new year.  Shortens the time-scale a lot doesn't it?  And life has to be lived in the mean time!  

As you can see I have the Aquariums framed in deep boxes, in reality you have to look into them to see all the picture.  I also have the machine on to work on other pieces, my poor abused darning foot!  I have had a few sketches in my books that needed to come out and it's great to see them coming together after all this time.  I am actually starting to think about working in series!  Me!  Mrs make it up as I go along!  Well we'll have to see what comes out the other end.

Hopefully I won't have last minute collywobbles and panic.  John won't let me and I can't let Jan down now!!!

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