Arts Trail Again!

The second weekend of the Arts Trail and the weather is being so much kinder to us. My studio is only open tomorrow (Saturday) but many of the other venues are open over the whole weekend, so it's not too late to feast your eyes on some fabulous artwork, right here on your doorstep (if you're local that is!).

We had a great write-up in the local rag this week - even got a picture of me in there! - so hopefully that will spread the word a bit wider and they'll be queuing up in the morning (well, I can dream). Pick up a copy of the trail map at the museum or at any venue on the trail...and don't forget the 'fringe' venues too, well worth a look!

Arts Trail Ups & Downs

A mixed reaction to the first weekend of the Arts Trail here in Littlehampton. Saturday was quite a good day weather-wise and a fair number of people dropped in to my open studio, including a photographer from the local paper, so maybe I'll be famous yet!. It was interesting and fun, and worth all the preparation. I finished the day on a high and looked forward to more of the same on Sunday. Unfortunately the weather wasn't quite as benevolent and neither was the public. There were very few visitors and the day dragged a bit. On the plus side, I did manage to get quite a lot of felting done, so not all bad news.
Next weekend I'm only opening on Saturday, so hopefully the sun will shine, the people will be out and all will be well with the world. Fingers crossed!

Littlehampton Arts Trail

The new Littlehampton Arts Trail will be running over two weekends in May - 19th/20th and 26th/27th - with a wide variety of art available to view across different venues. The Arts Trail coincides with the Open Art Exhibition at the local museum, and also includes shops, businesses, cafes and restaurants, as well as private studios. I'm opening up my own studio on 19th/20th and 26th May and will be working in there as well as displaying a selection of photos, textiles and hand-crafted items. Leaflets are available around the town, or get in touch for more information.

My felt-making workshops are mentioned in the Fashion Sussex e-magazine this month - take a look. There are some gorgeous designs featured in it, all by very talented local designer/makers, and it actively promotes all things British-made, so grab a coffee and have a browse.

http://fashionsussex.co.uk/magazines/

Two Exhibitions Starting Today

I went to the preview yesterday evening of the Forge Gallery exhibition in Walberton, West Sussex. The exhibition, by members of the Arts in Action network, was curated by Duncan Thrussell and includes work by many local artists and makers - Leona Angus, Una Beavan, Jan Bennett, Fiona Champion, Su Cloud, Gordon Ferrie, David Freud, Des Kilfeather, Nina Mills, Robert Pledger, Lisa Ridger, Sharon Robson, Jacqui Sinclair-Clarke, Valerie Shepherd, Patricia Stefanski, Hilary Stirling, Duncan Thrussell........and me! The exhibition is colourful and varied, and well worth a visit if you're in the area. It's on for the next four weeks until 19th May. Contact the Forge Gallery for more details.

The first Littlehampton Open Art Exhibition also starts today at Littlehampton Museum. It includes work from artists across Sussex and is a great opportunity to see some of the wonderful art being created locally...including some photos by me! The exhibition runs until 8th June. Contact Littlehampton Museum for more details.

Littlehampton Art market at Windmill Studio

Tomorrow, Saturday 14th April, there will be an 'affordable art market' at the Windmill Theatre Studio, just off the seafront in Littlehampton. It's being organised by Arts-in-Action, a local art network, and will be open from 11am until 5pm - lots of local art and crafts to look at and buy, so come along and enjoy a browse.

Littlehampton Open/Bosham/Forge Gallery

All 3 of my photos got accepted in the Littlehampton Open Art Exhibition, which was a lovely surprise. The exhibition starts on 21st April at Littlehampton Museum and runs until June. The theme is 'Spirit of Spring' and I'm looking forward to seeing all the successful pieces.

Went over to Bosham yesterday to top up my shelves at the Arts & Crafts Centre, ready for the Easter rush! It was a gorgeous day despite the gloomy weather forecast - wall-to-wall sunshine most of the day - and the Centre is looking great after it's winter refurb. There is a massive variety of artwork and crafts on display there, really high quality work, and the location is just perfect.

My next deadline is the submission of work for the Forge Gallery exhibition at Walberton, due in next week, so that's my focus for the rest of this week. Back to work part-time after Easter, so time to play now and enjoy this last week of freedom.....happy days!

Disappointing Craft Fair

Thanks to the ridiculous panic-buying of fuel last week, very few people turned up to the craft fair on Saturday, making it a dismal day for those of us selling there. There was a slight improvement on Sunday but visitor numbers for the weekend were much lower than usual. So, what should have been a great weekend, wasn't. Oh well, such is life.....
I now have to decide whether it's worth paying for another weekend in October or not. I'm told it's usually a much busier event and definitely worth trying, but who knows what will happen by October?

The 'Made It-Flaunt It' website includes 2 of my bags in the April showcase, which is great news. It's a good way to promote handmade and hopefully will take a few more people to my website.