After working none stop in the build up to the Northern Contemporary Craft Fair I thought now it was over it would be a good time to take stock of my art life for a few days. So I have caught up with friends, been out to lunch and done a couple of extra Zumba and pilates classes, but Manchester was three weeks ago now and my studio is still in an after exhibition mess and I can't avoid tidying it up any longer. The task is so big I have gone to great lengths to avoid it, even spending a morning in the natural History museum with the stuffed animals so my daughter could draw their skulls for A level art.

I have to say we both found it a bit creepy!!!

Busy weekend

Just recovering from a great but tiring weekend in Manchester at the Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, it's a while since I have done a design fair so I have forgotten how demanding they are, but I have had a wonderful time. Makers are such lovely people to spend time with, it's very isolating working from home so it is good to spend time with other creative people. I also decided I needed a treat for working so hard so I bought a bangle from Julie Mellor who had a stand next to mine. I think I need more to go with it so I'm saving for more!

Unfortunately now Manchester will have to become a distant memory for another year as I have to catch up on all the things I have neglected for the last few weeks and all the washing up and jobs my family have kindly left for me!

Talented Designers

I have only one day to of the Northern Contemporary Craft Fair and I am tiered and looking forward to going home, but as usual it is full of fantastic designers selling all sorts of lovely original crafts and I have met lots of designers who have been great fun to spend the weekend with. Working on your own can be very isolating so it is great to get together with other designers to share ideas with. If you haven't been yet come along it's great.

Northern contemporary craft fair

Although I very busy preparing for the Northern Contemporary Craft fair which is on at Spinningfields Manchester 20th -23rd October, I have been forced to stop and tidy my studio before I can go on, the chaos is too much for me now and a sort out can no longer be put off. However I'm just going to pop to my friends for a cup of before I can face the task!!!

Latest News

I have been very busy in the last few weeks as I have lots going on in the next few weeks. Firstly I have been excepted as a member of the design factory which I am very pleased about as they are very supportive to makers.

Currently I have an exhibition on at the Colne Gallery in Colchester Hospital which is designed to open up art to the staff an visitors to the hospital, they feature a different artist each month and my work is there until the end of September.

I have been working really hard on some smaller pieces of work to add to my collection for Herts open studios, where I will be exhibiting some work up in my friends studio.

I have also had some pictures taken of my new work which I have made for my exhibition at the New Maynard Art Gallery in Welwyn Garden City which is opening on the 16th of September and is running until the 18th of October. Here is a sneak preview of some of my finished work.

Finally I am the featured artist on workshop on the web this month http//www.workshopontheweb.com/

Trace Emin

I have never been to an exhibition of Trace Emin's work so I was really looking forward to seeing the retrospective of her work at the Hayward Gallery. I hadn't realise that she had made so may quilts and that they were so big. It took a considerable amount of time to look round the exhibition as she is well known for her use of text and I was compelled to read as much of it as I could. I found the exhibition thought provoking in a disturbing way and it played on my mind long after I had left.

work in progress!!!

After spending a very relaxing week in Spain and then having to come to terms with the fact that the long hot summer I was hoping for has not happened, there is an up side as I have done lots of new work and haven't been tempted to sit in the sun and read books as there hasn't been any. All this is good as I have a exhibitions coming up in September and October.

This picture is called 'What u do'in u loser!' which I think sums up the way my children view my husband and I most of the time, Oh well I suppose it could be worse!

However enjoyable making new work is, it is always followed by having to then put it on stretchers which is not my favorite job and one I can put off no longer as I'm taking it to the Colne Gallery at Colchester Hospital on Sunday for the first of my exhibitions, a private exhibition which is on from 28th of September until 24th of September.

Letting go!!

My daughter Suzie is on her first holiday with her friends so I have spent the week trying not to worry and working instead. She in back on Tuesday much to my relief and from the little information I've been text she is now on emergency money funds and very tired. However I have spent the time productively and have nearly finished another picture. It needs a bit more work then I will post a picture.

18th Birthday Parties and Proms

18th birthday parties and proms are not good for work. My daughters birthday party arrangements and pre-prom party planning has taken over my life for the last two weeks, I have barely even had time for lunch, but at last they are both over, it didn't rain and hopefully she had a great time.

However I did manage one day off all the madness to go to part one of New Designers which is one of may favorite days out of the year. As always there was some beautiful work by this years graduates. I love the style of work every year by Nottingham Trent University students and this year was as good as ever. I really liked the work of both Lesely Elliott and Hannah Stevens.

I really enjoyed the work in one year on as well and have started saving for a lamp by Katie and the Wolf.

and.... finally I have got back to work today!!!

York Embroiders Guild

I spent a lovelly day yesterday with the York Embroiders guild who had asked me to give a talk to their members. They looked after me really well, as this is the first official talk I have given to a large audience so I hope they all enjoyed it.

Now it's back to work on my latest picture which is on the the theme of copying cloths. I have found this to be a key issues for my girls and their friends as they don't like their cloths copied and they don't like to copy their friends! Consequently finding a prom dress on a budjet that is different from everyone els's when there are over a hundred and fifty girls going is a very stressful task for weeks in our house. So I am going to get on with the picture and leave worrying about dresses to another day!

I can't believe another week has gone!

I can't believe the last week has flown by and I'm off to York tomorrow to give an Artist talk to the Embroiders Guild. I just have to practice my presentation once again and select some work to take with me. I feel I have plenty of time but I know it will fly by and I will be rushing madly around at the last minute, Oh well no change there!

Trip to York

Just finished making my first ever power point presentation that I am going to give to the York Embroideres Guild on Saturday. It has had a few false starts and had to be done again as I coluldn't reopen my slides to work on them. However it's all finished now lets just hope I can open it on the day!!!!!!! Now the presentation is finished its off to start on a new piece of work.

Art at 88

I am looking forward to the official opening of Art @ 88 tomorrow evening. http://www.artat88.co.uk/

workshop on the Web

Just to let everyone know I have an interview coming out in the June edition of Workshop on the Web. http://www.workshopontheweb.com/

Collect 2011

Just had a great day out at Collect 2011, lots of great makers at the Saatchi gallery. I loved the glass work by Steffen Dam which was very beautiful, the work at collect was his study of fossils and plants which he describes as frozen extracts of chaos to be watched undisturbed.

I also loved the delicate textile piece by Anne G loland.

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As textile artist it is always very disappointing that there is so little textile work at collect I always hope there will be more and there never is. However there were also a couple of textile pieces by Matthew Harris and as always the inspiring embroidery of Alice Kettle.

After a lovely morning spent looking at the work of contemporary makers what a better way to end the day than lunch with friends.

Art at 88

Art at 88 opened on Thursday and I have sold my first piece of work there so I hope the new Gallery is a great success. Their web site is www.artat88.co.uk. so have a look.
Here are some images of my

art work at Art 88

Living Crafts

I had a great day out at living crafts yesterday with fellow HVAF members Jan Clark, Linda Gifford, June Faulkner and Tessa Barnes. The day started of rather quietly and unfortunately very cold. I have got used to the sun shine so consequently was very underdressed and couldn't stop shivering. Luckily the sun made an appearance in the afternoon and brought lots of visitors with it. Living crafts is on over the weekend so if you go visit HVAF.

Living Crafts

I am spending the day at the Living Crafts at Hatfield House tomorrow with HVAF as part of the textile event, where I will be showing some of my work and displaying my portfolio. It should be a good day and I am really looking forward to it. Come and visit us if you go!!!

The good times

I have just had a very proud moment watching my daughters 'A'level dance which was brilliant, all the challenging teenage moments just seem to dissapear.

Art 88

I have been very busy working hard and have just finished some new pieces of work for the new Gallery Art 88 opening soon in Berkhamsted so hear is a preview before they are framed.

Art 88

Art 88 is a new contemporary Art Gallery opening late April in Berkhampstead. The Gallery is featuring a range of products from applied Art, prints and paintings, so I am just starting some new work to put in the Gallery. I will post when it is opening!

It's the first week of the Drawing With Thread exhibition and my work was chosen to be on the promotional poster which I am really pleased about.

Installation week at Shire Hall Gallery

After a very busy few weeks (well perhaps a bit more than a few) getting three new pieces of work finished for the new exhibition at The Shire Hall Gallery and as usual still framing them the day before, they were all finally wrapped and ready for the exhibition, so I finally made the journey to Stafford this morning. If you have never visited the Gallery it is in a lovely old building that used to be the old court rooms in Stafford. The Exhibition Drawing with Thread is a joint curated exhibition of six textile artists and it opens on Saturday 5th of March. It promises to be a great exhibition. Kim Gould the curator showed me around and I had a sneaky preview of some of the other artists work as it was being prepared for hanging. Debbie Smythe had started work on her installation and will be filmed while working to show visitors how she creates her work.

The exhibition is on until the 1st of May and will be well worth a visit. The web site is .http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/leisure/museumandgalleries/shirehallgalleries/Exhibitions/

Embroidery Magazine

The article Jo Hall wrote about my work is now in the current Jan/feb edition of Embroidery Magazine. It is a six page interview and looks great, I am really pleased with it.

Decisions

It's always a relief when choices have been made and a new piece of work moves through the planning and experimenting stages and finally starts taking shape. I have just finished painting the background for my next piece of work and worked out my colours so here I go at long last!!!!

The Beetroot Tree

After an early morning start the snow held off and I managed to deliver my work to the Beetroot Tree Gallery in Draycott, Derbyshire, where I am their featured artist for the next eight weeks. It is a lovely Gallery with a great cafe, so if you are in the area come along and take a look.

The Beetroot Tree

I must officially promote my next exhibition as the featured artist at the Beetroot Tree Gallery in Derbyshire which starts on the 8th of January. I am taking my work up on Friday and it will be exciting to see the gallery as I haven't been there before and they are very supportive of Applied Art and Designer Craft.

2011

It's now officially 2011 and the end of the Pop up shop exhibition which I really enjoyed. I was due to collect my work during the Christmas snow which was really stressful as I didn't want to leave it in the shop over the Christmas holidays. Luckily as the snow slightly subsided I was able to meet Mike from the New Hope Trust and retrieve it all. So now Christmas is a fond memory and my children are safely back at school I am about to embark on a new piece of work, this I find the most difficult time choosing what picture out of the ones I have planned in my mind shall I do next. I can put it off no longer decisions have to be made!!!