Sunshine and Showers

So Spring is teasing me with sunshine and showers. I can smell the hope in the air and I'm filled with a sense of purpose. The reflective time of winter has fuelled new ideas and I've been scribbling them down in the hope they will come to fruition this coming year.

My creative flow is amazingly balanced at the moment. I find that to be true in Spring and Autumn. They are my favourite seasons because of that balance between night and day, light and dark. I work best then. In the summer I tend to be a bit skittish and high energy and in the winter I feel like someone has switched off all the lights and find it hard to get things done. So the pace just now is just right. I've been enjoying planning my gardening year too. Last year I didn't grow much but found I felt disconnected from nature. This year I have already had my fingers in the soil and planted lettuces and beans in our polytunnel. I'm determined to preserve as much of our crops as possible. I've been challenged by a friend to give up buying plastic for Lent. It has meant a journey of self-discovery and a hunter-gatherer style of shopping as I skit between farm shops, markets and super-markets trying to find unpacked or paper packed goods. It has given me a new drive toward being more self sufficient. This week that has meant making marmalade and pickling onions. You can find my favourite recipes here. There's something wonderful about stacking up jars of coloured produce in the Spring sunshine.

Connecting with nature is fuelling my workshops too. I had such a wonderful day with my students on both the 'Rest with Nature' workshop and 'Spring Sketchbooks'. There was a real sense of enjoyment of process and having time to experiment and try new things. That's what art is all about isn't it?

If you'd like to join me for a workshop, I'll be running a 'Summer Sketchbooks' day on Saturday May 21st and a mixed-media 'Mark Making' day on Saturday June 25th. And don't forget that I'll be running my 'Back to Nature' Art Holiday in July. It'll be a total immersion in beauty and art - a wonderful treat for your creative soul.

Amongst the planning for workshops I'm creating a new series of landscapes. I'm currently exhibiting at the Ferrers Gallery and will be demonstrating my techniques and giving a taster of my workshops on Sunday 6th March between 12 and 3. Come along and say 'hi'!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I'm much better with New Year than I am with Christmas. I do struggle through Winter but I like the sense of purpose attached to New Year, filling in my diary and being able to turn the pages to spring and summer. I'm spending January having a big clear out, and also getting some business mentoring to help me with some business planning. Here's a piece I sold in the run up to Christmas called 'Cold Sky'.

'Cold Sky'

Tomorrow I'm off to the Ferrers Gallery with a car full of work ready for their exhibition 'The Great British Countryside' that starts on Thursday. It's the perfect destination for some January inspiration and a blow-away-the-cobwebs walk.

News from the studio

My coop

The chicken coop

I've been enjoying my commute to work!  It's been wonderful to be in the studio at the bottom of the garden in the snow.  I never thought there'd be so much life going on there.  The studio decking is a crossroads for the neighbourhood cats. Black, white, marmalade and tabby all wander through on their journeys. There have been fox prints in the snow around the chicken coop which worries me.  The chickens haven't liked the cold snap and stand forlornly waiting for it to pass. They have been treated to scraps mixed with warm oats and cold liver oil to keep them healthy until Spring. One fine lady keeps rewarding us with her eggs. There's nothing better than collecting a warm egg on a freezing morning.

Having to come down the garden each day I am noticing so many more details. I'm already planning the changes for the garden for this year and a cosy evening in front of the fire was spent ordering seeds from the Real Seed Catalogue (I love the stories of the heritage of each seed).

I've been working toward my exhibition at Ferrers Gallery which starts on the first of February.  I have been developing new cards and prints that form ranges called 'Love & Light', 'Hill & House' and 'Seed & Stem'. Currently I have an art card giveaway on my facebook page.  Please 'like' and 'share' the link to take part.

Growing Wild

'Up the garden path'

'Up the garden path' is my favourite new limited edition print.  I really enjoyed the mark making and painting in the piece. I have had a huge version printed for the exhibition and can't wait to see it in situ.  It has been an image in my head for a long time with a few versions created over the last two years that never saw the light of day. It is a special piece for me as it feels like home and has been one of the first pieces created in my new studio where I feel so happy.

Next stop Ferrers Gallery

There are only two days left of 'Patterned Presence' at Loughborough Town Hall then I collect my work and hot foot it over to the Ferrers Gallery to take part in the exhibition In Print which runs until April 3rd.

It's been a busy start to the year.  I'm working on two new print designs and planning Art Fairs for the Spring and early Summer.  I've just put in my application for the Saltaire Arts Trail so fingers crossed I get accepted for that.

A good rest over Christmas means I've some ideas setting my mind alight.  I've also been working on a birthday present for my Mum but don't want to spoil the surprise so I'm going to keep you in the dark until next week.

Challenged!

I seem to be technically challenged and time challenged at the moment.  My photos seem to be stuck in my camera and I can't get them into the computer and I can't get the new scanner to work!  In the mean time, I've popped up on the Holmfirth Art Market blog, so have a read.

This week I've got drop offs at a few galleries with stock for Christmas and I'll hopefully get some studio time in amongst swimming, Harvest Festival, tea parties, play dates and a much needed massage booked at the end of the week....bliss!

I've updated my stockists list and I'm really pleased to now have work at Trattles and Gaell Fine Art in Whitby and the Ferrers Gallery near Ashby de la Zouch.

Busy, busy!

It's a really busy week ahead of the Melbourne Festival at the weekend.  Yesterday I had an inspiring day on the 'Marketing for Makers' course run by gallery owner Rachael Chambers at the Ferrers Gallery.  It's given me a huge dose of confidence in finding new markets for my work.  Hot on the heels of that, I've just spent the morning with Lyndsey from Lyndsey James Photography who came to do a photo shoot in my home and studio.  It was great fun styling different areas for interior shots.  I'll let you know when they're uploaded to my website.