lovely lino

 A happy weekend spent lino printing at Paper Village in Bristol with such fantastic results and lots of enthusiasam from all the participants!  Some people were very creative already, others claimed to be unable to even draw, but everybody got stuck in and we were all pretty impressed and even amazed with the prints by the end...

...a huge range of different inspirations and isn't lino just the best technique ever?  I love it, had you noticed...

raaaaaa!

I'm having such a great but busy time at the moment, printing, packaging and delivering.  I'm having another of my phases of feeling VERY strongly about the benefits of art and craft galleries existing in real life (not just online) and the amazing work they do promoting and selling so many artists and makers work.   Some of my galleries have stocked my work for over ten years now and have introduced sooooo many customers to my work in that time, which means I don't have to do too many art markets and fairs out in the cold at this time of year and can quietly get on with printing instead!  And I think another big thing is that I love visiting and discovering all the independent galleries in towns around the country, I find it so exciting...let me know which great galleries are near you too, so that we can all pay a visit.

Enough ranting, but raaaaaaa!  If you can visit an art or craft gallery in a real life shop this week, then do it and even if you only buy a small pottery mouse for £3.50 after spending an hour browsing through all the print racks it can only be a good thing...

(and by the I'm not denying the importance of online selling either because it is the whole set of outlets that let so many artists make a living all around the world)

angel factory

Yes, really.  I'm mass producing angels.

The angels and their friend the deer are now in my Folksy shop.  If they don't sell fast enough I expect that I will get more and more 'seasonal' and decide to add glitter to boost their tinsel appeal, but at the moment they are striking, bold and untouched by the sparkly stuff...

exhibition season

With Christmas fast approaching lots of galleries are busy hanging their seasonal exhibitions RIGHT NOW.  They are all up ladders, polyfillering and painting ready for the off, probably working late into the night trying to hang pictures in straight lines to get it all ready for the private view on Friday!

I've got two sets of work in exhibitions opening this weekend, both in beautiful rural galleries, which is fantastic as it means I get to spend the day pottering round in the countryside.

First is the exhibition "Artful Storytellers" at Otterton Mill, which is a great mix of 3D and 2D work including ceramics and automatons as well as illustrations and runs through until January.  I've got a selection of framed and unframed work showing as part of this exhibition.

Then across at Redearth Gallery is the "Printjoy" exhibition, running until 11th December.  There I have linoprints as well as cards, tea towels and canvas bags.  The whole exhibition is an exciting mix of printmaking too, including textiles, ceramics and jewelry and I think I will find this one pretty tempting as I can't resist an exhibition of printmaking!

multiples of everything

I'm really enjoying having multiples of everything at the moment - squashes, apples, onions, potatoes and as it's still so warm we have several quails eggs each day.  It means I don't have to think about meals until ten minutes before cooking time and I can also be very negligent about ever visiting shops as there is always something hearty to eat on a damp autumn evening.

Tonight we are off to the local fireworks display and I'm sure multiple sausages in rolls will be consumed...

perfect day for sorting out...

Every time I've gone outside today I've got wet, despite the spells of sunshine in between. 

The only way today is to stay in and sort things out!  

Lots of prints are now wrapped in cellophane, boxes of prints are now in rough 'themes' so I might find what I'm looking for for a brief week or too before the muddles reassert themselves and I'm even looking at proper paperwork with the thought it could all be done by the end of the day...

...or I could veer off into the kitchen and finish off all the preserving and odds and ends that I mean to do before winter ...

printing cards today

I'm torn this week between the call of the soil and the call of the printing ink.  Today the ink has won and I've done a huge batch of cards ready to take to Bristol Museum and Art Gallery later in the week - but it's SOOOO sunny,  I think it's going to have to be a digging day tomorrow...


A lovely new shop has opened in Wincanton if you are in that area, called "Jessica's House" they have some great local artists work (I've managed to sneak a bit of mine in too!) so really well worth a visit if you can...