Derbyshire Open Arts this bank holiday weekend

Once again it is suddenly the end of May, and tomorrow several of us at Long Eaton Art Room will open our studios to the public. We are open from 10.00 - 17.00 on Saturday, Sunday and Monday 24th - 26th May.

The image above is the one I submitted to go in the brochure back in January.
It was just hastily snapped with my fairly basic digital camera, and then cropped.
The small porcelain pieces wee posed on a sheet of slightly faded black paper, which provided the perfect foil for them.

I was pleasantly surprised towards the end off March to be told that my image was one of six chosen to go in a listing in Craft & Design Mag.

This afternoon when I left my studio I had these pieces set up, but the rest of my display may get changed in the morning.

Sadly, the weather forecast is for more showers so we cannot predict how many people will turn out.

Long Eaton has a strong presence this year, with the Art Room hosting artists 163 - 169.
Just up the road Helen Hallows and David Hallows are also participating, hosting some exciting artists.

More details can be found in the Derbyshire Open Arts brochure.

I am looking forward to seeing some of you over the weekend!

Open Studios preview ....

New fun pieces knitted with 0.20 mm coloured wire and 0.20 fishing line which I then overdyed.

 These are hanging in the studio window showing off their sparkling colour in the early evening sunshine.

It had rained off and on all afternoon, and I was beginning to think that I wouldn't have the chance to take these snaps.

This time tomorrow we will be open to all as part of Derbyshire Open Arts 2013.

If you are anywhere nearby, do drop in to see me and the other artists at Long Eaton Art Room, 29 - 31 Lime Grove, Long Eaton, NG10 4LD.

We will all be there from 10.00 to 17.00 Saturday, Sunday and Monday 25th - 27th May

Plenty of white paint ...

I've been silent for too long.

The reason why, I've been busy at shows and seminars and most of all preparing a studio for myself at Long Eaton Art Room.

When we opened the Art Room in 2006, we had hoped that sometime we might be able to have studios for rent.

Well that time has come, and I have taken the plunge and rented space for myself.
I was so impatient to get on with the painting that I forgot to take a camera along to do the "before" image.

My phone camera died on me in August, and I really miss the spontaneity of having it to hand.
But, not enough to go through all the hassle of selecting and purchasing a new device.
This one, bought three and a half years ago is purple, just the right size etc. etc.
As with the two previous handsets, I'm inclined to wait until it dies before replacing it.

So, back to the studio, this is a room with a view!
The walls were an unattractive (to me) shiny magnolia/beige.
Three full coats of matt white emulsion were needed to cover this up, and that took a long time.

Then having brushed over the dabs of the beige that were on the ceiling I realised that I needed to paint that too.

Oh, how I wish that I'd painted the ceiling first!
It would have been much easier to see the difference in colour when the room was less white.
I'm not sure that I really got it all covered, but my eyes start boggling looking for tine differences in colour above my head.

So, now it is painted and I can sit and look at the view into the cemetery.
On the windowledge at the moment is a small branch off a gage tree from our garden.
Just before the leaves came out I shaped the tree, and I thought that the branch was too attractive to be consigned to the compost heap.

I hope that being here without the distractions of home will help me to focus and develop my own practice as an artist.
So I am about to pick up where I left off when I graduated in 2001.

Spring: Ravelry swap, travelling and Derbyshire Open Arts

I'm  a bit of a sucker for the occasional swap.
This was a fun exchange with a theme reflecting the excitement of springtime.
My swap partner got it just right for me.
There was plenty of purple, including seeds for me to plant and gardening gloves.
I now have the most deluxe lemon squeezer I've ever seen.
Note to self: time to make lemonade rather than teas.

I hope to get back into blogging now I seem to have conquered the photo programme on our computer.
It had been refusing to download my images for a while.

April was a busy month, starting with a trip to Morecambe and ending up over Easter in New York.

May has dashed past again with much to do in the garden, much of which is still to be done.

This weekend it is time for Derbyshire Open Arts, and I will be amongst the artists exhibiting at Long Eaton Art Room.
Just a few days more to make frantic preparations for it!
My last minute ceramics will be fired tomorrow, so much to anticipate.

Trips in 2010

This year there has been so much on.
Back in July, shortly after we had returned from Canada after I attended the Knitting and Crochet Guild in Leeds, running a brief wire knitting workshop.

Next on the agenda was the Association for Contemporary Jewellery conference held at West Dean College in Sussex. Ian and I had a brief weekend in Midhurst beforehand. I took part in a couple of workshops, one with Michael Brennand-Wood, the other with Robert Ebendorf  from the US. In both we worked with waste materials, exploring connections.

 The resulting pieces in Michael's session were projected onto the wall. This was one of mine.

 Out of habit, I was knitting with wire in spare moments, attracting some attention. This little oddity knitted in stainless steel with turquoise coated copper wire ended up going home with another delegate.

The following week, I took off down to London for KnitNation. At the marketplace preview there was a mad rush of people to view the Wollmeise stand. Here is someone choosing which Wollmeise skeins to purchase.

On the Saturday night I managed to attend the first 20 minutes of the Ravelry party, then headed home. Seen on the tube, a Japanese girl sporting a lacy knitted hat.

 Next, at the beginning of September I headed north to the Shetlands for 5 day "In the loop II" knitting conference  in Lerwick. Seen on the ferry on the way out, a bright sky. This is one of many images taken on my phone.

 First impressions on landing in Lerwick - plenty of transport for animals lined up at the docks.

- anti gull netting for rubbish bags draped elegantly on a gate.

Seen at 07.40 the next morning, a delivery of fleeces to Shetland Wool Brokers. I was taking a stroll while waiting for the Co-op to open so that I could buy some food for my breakfast.

 People visiting the Shetland Museum. The boy and girl were both wearing interesting knits.

Some typical Shetland scenery taken on a trip on a local bus service. I had a few hours in hand before taking the ferry home, so looked to see where I could travel in the available time.

 The seas were just starting to get a bit bumpy on the return ferry service.

 This is all I saw of the Orkneys when we docked round about 23.00. On the way out I was already in bed by this time.

 The next morning it was still a bit choppy as we came into the harbour at Aberdeen something like 3 hours late.

I got home that Tuesday night , and then almost immediately afterwards it was time for the IKnit London weekend. Waiting for the RHS hall to open there was plenty to keep the eye happy!

So, one day I was in London, Melton Mowbray the next. I took Ian with me to see the Rare Breeds show. Here is a new take on hair brushing!

 There were good things available for lunch.

We chanced to meet our plumber, who was there to buy more laying hens. Here you see the sturdy packaging they travel home in, with other visitors.

And, bringing us nearly up to date, recently some of us from Long Eaton Art Room took part in the Harvest Moon festival in nearby Kirk Hallam. I took along a spinning wheel, and during the three hours managed to interest 6 youngsters in having a go.

d(erbyshire) o(pen) a(rts)

We opened up on a miserable drizzly morning, so it wasn't much fun sitting near an open door all day. (Note to self - wear warmer clothing tomorrow!)

We had a steady trickle of visitors all day, the first having come at 11 as we opened the doors.

People who had been to our previous studio last year found us again, and we also had newcomers.

For the 4 of us, it was a chance to relax and enjoy showing off some of our creations.

With two more days to go, we should get many more visitors.

Garden delights and our weekend exhibition

No time to take pictures today.

Last night, as I was cycling home from the "Woolly Wednesday" knitting session at the Art Room it was raining.

So naturally the traffic lights near the library failed to detect a single cyclist wishing to turn right onto the more major road. After two failed sequences I just went at the time the traffic opposite got to go.

Then there were the drivers who suddenly did u-turns in front of me and came to a dead stop, twice in one 10 minute ride!

But best of all, the garden got some rain, and the temperature dropped further.

Last night it dropped back to not much above freezing, quite a contrast with the 25C in the shade at the weekend.

This is the week of the Chelsea Flower Show, which is getting lots of coverage on TV.

This year Rachel Carter, a local artist, has a stand. She involved some local people to help out with willow weaving at the Art Room over the past couple of months.

Tomorrow, we transform the Art Room for the Bank Holiday weekend as four of us take part in Derbyshire Open Arts.

More on that later....

I just realised ...

... that I started blogging on 29 September 2005.

Can it really be that long ago?

Looking back ... little did I know then how things would change for me.

I certainly wouldn't have believed that I'd be part of the team running a community arts centre.

At that point I just thought that I'd jump on the bandwagon, and use blogging to keep a rough type of diary.

Together with my tattered travel sketchbook that was started in 1999, it gives a bit of a hint as to what I have been up to.

Optimistically, I intend to spend tomorrow getting on with a few projects other than the Art Room.But as you see here, the garden and yarn pull equally.

There is a bucket of reconstituted porcelain ready for me to play with. These were made about the time I started blogging when I had so much more time to myself.

And how about the spinning projects? It is going to be a complicated day, isn't it?

Then there is the backlog of laundry that has built up as we were away in Scotland last week.

So don't be surprised to see sliced pears acting as inspiration for all sorts of activities. I might even try to dry some.

Recently ....

... we visited Derby College that has built a new campus around the Roundhouse and other railway buildings near Derby station.There are new link buildings with the most amazing glass: blue on the inside,

whilst red on the outside.We have also had a few brief outings, including one to Manchester.

There are great opportunities for opportunist thieves in Manchester railway stations. It looks as though they are rostered along with railway staff and members of the emergency services to remove abandoned luggage from railway platforms! This jacket is in the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. We were there to see the Beyer Garratt locomotive centenary display, but this caught my eye; downy seedheads arranged on a fine mesh of thread. I've no idea who made it, but it has great impact.

I also visited Lincoln for the displays and trade fair at the end of the Association of Guilds of WSD summer school.

Walking back down to the station I saw this rangoli near the cathedral. I didn't have time to stop to talk to the man who was still adding names to the design. Doesn't this look fantastic!

The Art Room meanwhile, has a sign up, new windows are going in and we are slowly finding where things have ended up after the move.

And those promised images of sock knitting are still on my camera and the batteries need charging before I can download them. Pictures of my second parcel from my secret pal are there too. I should be able to share them with you in the next few days.

Monday - carpet; Tuesday - desks; Wednesday - internet ....

... and so on. The move has been made, and we have an office set up as well as the studio.

Wednesday night saw the hanging of art work in the entrance hallway, and much tidying up.

On Thursday we opened an exhibition we are hosting for the next week, "Art at the HeART of Wellbeing".

Many of the artists were present, and since then several other visitors have trickled in to view the work.

We followed up the exhibition private view with an opening event for the Art Room from 14.00 - 19.00. Many people we know dropped by to see the new studio.

This hasn't left much time for knitting or crochet. I finished off knitting a sample of handspun and instantly gave it away to a friend, so no pics there.

Yesterday I was out in the garden trying to tame some of the geraniums, and came across these other flowers, some of which were a complete surprise. We have plenty of grasses scattered wherever they feel like growing:We have no memory of planting gladioli, so this was unexpected. It is really a magenta/purple colour. My phone has given it a much bluer tinge, and I was too lazy to go into the house to fetch a camera..

I haven't looked this up in gardening books, so can't tell what it is. I know that I planted it about 3 years ago, it disappeared, and has now decided to make its presence known.This hollyhock comes from seed given to us by Sylvi from her garden in the Czech Republic.

Art Room move

I've been a bit quiet here for the past while, and all because we have been moving the Art Room to a new venue.

We have been in business now for a little over 3 years, and our rate of expansion has been phenomenal.

When we moved into larger premises in 2007/8, we knew that it was only until July of this year.

It gave us a chance to work on a larger scale, and that proved to work well for us.

The decision as to where we would be after our lease ran out has weighed heavily on us.

It has been a bit of a cliffhanger, as our preferred premises were not available when we had expected them to be.

We only found out late last Wednesday that we could move in this last weekend.

We had to be out of our premises by yesterday morning.

So we didn't have to do a two-way move via temporary storage.

Now we are moved, and frantically trying to set up for next Monday when we will reopen to the public.

The builders also had no access until this week, so we will be working alongside them.

The good news is that our new landlords walked through with the builders yesterday, and the builders wasted no time, and started this morning.

We have long days ahead of us to get everything in place.

We won't have a telephone line in until Thursday.

So in some ways it has been quiet, as unless people know our mobile numbers we cannot be contacted.

I have been too tired to think much about the Secret Pal 14 exchange, which just started.

I am looking forward to taking part, having missed out on the last couple of exchanges.

But please bear with me for a few days until we are sorted out at the studio.

I did manage some spinning last week when very much stressed.

Some of it was sampling a fantastic alpaca silk mix in "Think Pink" that I bought from Krafty Koala at the end of UK Ravelry Day in Coventry.

I have also started on spinning some fibres bought from Skein Queen at about the same time.

This may be a long term project, and just possibly the recipient may read this, so no more hints.

And now a reminder that I do knit sometimes. Here is a quick snap taken with my mobile phone one evening when fetching the washing in (hence the bluish colour). Ian had hung a load of my socks together, making a burst of colour.

This is one view from bed early in the morning, which may inspire some wire or porcelain - fine spider tracery highlighted by sunlight.

And the little bit of wire knitting I did on my way over to Coventry for UK Ravelry Day - purple wire with gold thread, worn pinned through a piece of porcelain I had fashioned, but that broke in firing. Now (when I get time) I need to make some porcelain with larger holes so that I can pin things on more easily.

1129767 ... a very important number!

Yesterday we heard from the Charity Commission that Long Eaton Art Room has been registered as a charity.
This will make it easier to apply for funding.

Lots more work to do, but we are on our way.

This weekend some of our artists are taking part in derbyshire open arts putting Long Eaton on the artistic map.
Do drop in to see their work!

Clone me please....

... as I never seem to have time to do things.

Somehow I find the time to spend too much time being distracted by lurking on Ravelry

Whenever I mention it as a resource to others I ask them not to blame me if they get to spend too much time on it.

I use it as a means of keeping up with friends, and it couldn't be bettered for that.

We had a steep learning curve at the Art Room as we started running our sessions in the much larger premises in January. We are making a name for ourselves, and enjoying the process, but it would be wonderful if we could make enough money to sustain ourselves and then pay ourselves some wages.

This card was made for me by a 5 year old who attended a couple of sessions back in the spring.

Alongside my voluntary work for the Art Room, I did the usual monthly sessions for CamTAD now taking place in the Salvation Army hall here in Long Eaton.

As usual I went to some of the stitching shows.

Art Room commitments meant that I had to miss out on a couple this year.

Some of them were a bit quieter this autumn, but it meant that I had time to teach crochet in depth.

I have been crocheting more anyway recently.

Thanks to the prominent exhibit of the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef at the shows at the NEC, Ally Pally and Harrogate we had several people wanting to learn.

In September I had to get a new phone, and all these pictures were taken on it.

I keep forgetting that I always have a camera on me, and miss out on some shots.

I had the presence of mind to take this picture walking home from the station one day. Had I been at the Art Room that afternoon I would have missed it as it would have been behind me as I cycled home.

We did find some time to do some other things, and this was one of the sparklers we took along to a Bonfire Night party with friends in Derby.

Later on in November we had a week long trip to Poland.

This was the vaulted brick ceiling in a textile mill that has just been converted into ms2 (art gallery) as part of Manufaktura.

My camera was still in my bag in the cloakroom, but this gives a bit of the atmosphere.

Minutes after leaving the gallery we were drinking hot chocolate at Wedel . I can't think why I failed to take a picture at the time. Maybe I was too busy drinking it!

Alongside all this I did some knitting, but failed to photograph most of it. These are fingerless mittens for the other Mary knitted with more of the sock yarn I dyed for her alternating with mohair.