I feel as though I've been caught in a time warp, it doesn't seem possible that just a week ago I was setting off across the country, full of nerves and excitement, my poor old car packed to the roof with work and stand props. The British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate has been a background preoccupation and worry for the past 2 years (ever since I had to postpone taking part due to the house trauma) and it seems unreal that it's now over and actually the real work is only just beginning. I imagine I'm feeling a little bit like a couple returning from their expensive wedding and honeymoon; so much planning and heaps of money just for one special event but it's what happens next that really matters. I had a fantastic time pretending to be Agatha Christie in the Old Swan but it feels so good to be back on the mountain after an emotional return to North Yorkshire. We are a little behind with the seasons, Hawthorne and Sycamore buds are still only just emerging, Daffodils are at their Wordsworthian peak with Bluebell spears poised to take their place. It all has the air of something about to burst... a little sunny nudge and the whole thing will be freewheeling towards summer abundance.
There is so much I want to say about the experience of BCTF, I haven't yet worked out exactly how much it cost but I will let you know in a future post because I think might be really useful if anyone was thinking of doing a trade show. I really wish I had done it sooner... within a year or two of graduating, mostly because it has been a really useful lesson in planning, pricing, logistics and PR. It was a massive relief that the calico panels fitted the space (after a tiny adjustment to the wooden rods with a borrowed hacksaw) and everything looked almost as I had imagined it. I was envious of some of the more minimalist stands, they looked so slick and professional but overall I was very happy and relieved. It took 3 hours to set up and one to break it all down again!
My glamorous and wonderful assistant Sara was totally invaluable. I really couldn't have done it without her (partly because my hips kept seizing up so I could hardly move after 7 hours of standing with a clip board). Sara kept me straight when I drifted in to typical artist "down talk", reminding me that the work was was unique and perfectionist not experimental and "hit and miss"; she also correctly predicted the winner of the "Wow Factor" award, another CCAD graduate Joanna Coupland .We met so many interesting people and agreed that being a buyer or a trend forecaster must be a great job.
The list of artists and makers that we met and whose work we fell in love with is too long to mention, I'll list a few at the end, but the whole event reinforced my passionate belief that the skills and talents of these people should be celebrated and nurtured. Many artists and makers rely on the sale of cards for example, while they wait for the bigger pieces to sell, galleries too, which is why the Just a Card campaign is such a good idea. We don't need a world full of mass produced cheap crap, we need fewer but more beautifully made things and an education system that values the arts and the contribution art and craft makes to society.
The wall I was most pleased with was my card wall with embroidered details and a quote from Haruki Murakami. I love receiving real handwritten letters (nice ones not upsetting ones) and it seems that the greetings card is not dead; people still spend money on lovely cards to keep or send. I was hoping the show would push me in one direction or another but in the end there was interest in ALL the products from original framed pieces to mugs and velvet cushions so after this I'm off to continue following up the contacts I made, evaluating all the feedback and making a start on some new cyanotypes and drawings.
Thank you so much to everyone who visited the stand or sent good wishes from afar. It's been wonderful to meet so many people and talk non stop for 4 days - a complete contrast to where I sit now, listening to the buzzards circling above the valley... and an owl just then... oh and the sun is just breaking through.Some of my my lovely stand neighbours :Melissa Yarlett- gorgeous jewellery inspired by mosses and lichens Stephanie Hopkins - copper bowls and jewellery ( award winner at the show) Holly Argyll - Bright, quirky illustrations on textiles and giftware Katie Edwards - Fellow member of Cumbria Printmakers
I know you won't believe me but I think about you all the time. Ever since I got back from my trip to London I've wanted to tell you all about it but like a lazy lover or a neglectful friend I have frittered away my time this week; walking about the fells talking to myself and enjoying the precious Northern British heatwave. Now there's too much to say and it won't all fit here.
Sara's work, as you know, is about plastic pollution in the Oceans and it was wonderful to see it in real life ... from detailed drawings with etched perspex overlays to the beautiful "Ghost Fish" cast in resin encasing plastic and nylon fishing gear found on beaches. So thoughtful and disturbing with a really important environmental message.
Well, it's been 7 years since I started this blog and since my own graduate shows; I know how much work goes in to producing a final collection so right now I'm just full of admiration and pride (and a little envy as I'd love to do it all again!). Now the real hard work begins... but hopefully the creativity will continue.Well, I like to be an owl and there's so much more to tell you... Alexander McQueen at the V&A, returning home to discover the Ruskin Museum, coming out in hives for no apparent reason.... but I'm at work tomorrow and my book is getting to an unputdownable bit so I must say goodbye for now.
That was my attempt at scientific, methodical printing and here is a print which is now for sale in the Northern Lights Gallery. The tent is leaking magic into the mountains ... or maybe its sleeping powder, night night x
Reading: "Any Human Heart" William Boyd Listening To: Seth LakemanGraduates Websites : http://www.imogenclifton.com http://www.millieduffey-illus.wix.com/millieduffey http://www.frejya-moon.co.uk http://www.auroreswithenbank.co.uk http://www.cargocollective.com/elliceweaver http://www.cargocollective.com/jackxander http://www.sara.tillyersmith.com
Another weekend is over and the house is silent apart from the sound of me munching my way through a second batch of homemade Jammie Dodgers (even though I tried to trap them in this dome). Worryingly this picture got more attention on my Instagram and Facebook pages than any artwork I've posted recently, maybe I should start drawing biscuits? Or just go and work in a bakery and knock all this art nonsense on the head! Anyway, I even switched the radio off today and just opened up the sliding doors to enjoy the birdsong... sunshine at last.
And so with the sunshine comes my annual attempt at consistent cyanotype print making. I'd already messed up on the one sunny day last week so I recoated the paper and tried to be more scientific ( setting my phone's stopwatch and then forgetting it was on silent). The results were fun; adding another layer to the pale. washed out print underneath. Then I coated some more paper and of course the sun went in; seems I will have to get a proper exposure unit set up if I want to keep doing this, it's just too hit and miss relying on Northern sunlight.
Still, in the moments when I'm not banging my head on the table in despair, I'm thinking about ideas for BCTF and wrestling with the sewing machine because I want to make silk things and the corners are impossible! This week I also discovered the Cumbrian Printmakers group who have a Kickstarter campaign to open a studio space not too far from here. They also do group exhibitions and events so I'm hoping they meet their target so maybe I can do some etching or screen printing in the future. At the moment they're looking for the person furthest away from Cumbria to back them ( just a pound ) ... could it be you?
The landscape is changing colour almost daily and the little black Herdwick lambs now have white spectacles as they start to get their grown up coats, they look so funny and a little bit naughty. This weekend was spent well away from water and canoes... we climbed Robinson again and picnicked on homemade cheese and rocket bread, hot spicy apple drinks and those addictive Jammie Dodgers. The previous evening we'd had a bit of a horrific sheep incident when Rupert and his friend discovered a big fat Swaledale hanging at an improbable angle from its spindly leg, which was trapped in a tree root on the bank side. He got the saw and managed to cut it free ( the root not the sheep's leg!) but it was clearly snapped like a twig; poor thing (although it hobbled off when I lifted it to it's feet). A neighbour called the farmer but he didn't come that night...or the next. Now in the old days, when I was naive and trusted people I would have called again ... but my experience with aggressive farmers in Snilesworth, who hate you just for being there, have scarred me for life and I'm just hoping they've taken it today.
In happier nature news Mrs Frazzle has two little chicks now ... one hatched so late that I almost threw the egg away thinking it was a dud but it turned out to be a really sweet black and white chick (and they both have smooth feathers thank goodness so fingers crossed they're not cockerels!)Other happy news is the fabulous graduation of my wonderfully amazing daughter who managed to get it all together for her final illustration project.It was nail biting at times as she perfected the techniques and ideas but I think the work is beautiful and thoughtful and the message behind it is really important. The exhibition is on at UWE, Bower Ashton, Bristol until June 11th and then at Free Range in London on the 25th. Well done Sara.