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've shut myself in the small room with the high window so as not to be distracted from writing to you; I can spend hours, lost in thought just looking out of the window at the birds or the mountains so I'm trying to be more disciplined this week.There's so much to do. I'm cozy under a blanket with a hot water bottle because it's freezing and blowing a gale outside... and inside actually, through every gap in the ancient stonework. This building never lets you forget it was a barn! Lately though there have been several perfect days when it hasn't rained and the snow on the mountain tops was pristine and dazzling; I love the way the snow highlights all the details of the fells and in different ways depending on the direction of the wind, it messes with perspective and distance too so that the same view is endlessly interesting. On a good day those mountains are almost as orange as my homemade marmalade with hints of dark chocolate and icing sugar...
I felt a bit bad after my last writing; someone pointed out (in a very kind and honest way) that I'd made "The Last of England" sound depressing and because I already felt a bit low it made me really sad and worried that I sound like Eeyore the entire time! It was an interesting discussion and at least two important things emerged, 1. Art in whatever form it takes, from painting to music and writing, is hugely personal and emotive which is why it's so important and vital to us as humans. The fact that a painting or a song can evoke diverse and often overwhelming, emotions (and often not those intended or felt by the artist) is pretty wonderful I think; “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent” 2. It's very easy to assume everyone knows what you're talking about and feels the same way. I've been writing this blog for 7 years now and I do forget that I'm not talking to an old friend over a cup of tea and a cake...some of you have been here from the start but some of you may have just stumbled through the door right now and have no idea who I am or what the backstory is, so you shuffle back out awkwardly refusing all offers of cake. I've always been aware of this but as BCTF approaches I decided I should reinstate my website at www.witchmountain.co.uk so that prospective buyers and stockists aren't confused (or put off) by occasional emotional outpourings about evictions, politics, creative block or the loneliness of a person in beautiful exile.I hope always to write honestly and openly though, I can't see the point if you sugar coat everything, delicious as that may be.
Well today I tried to re-photograph some things for Etsy and also for the trade catalogue which I'm currently putting together. It's been so dark lately that alot of my pictures had an unhealthy sodium yellow tint. Hurray for sunlight but not so hurray for the iPhone camera and an out of date browser (that can't be updated because my computer is old which is pretty disgusting built in obsolescence if you ask me). My plans and preparations continue with some fairly expensive mistakes ( a metre of velvet that didn't print properly and which I'd not left big enough seam margins on) and the realisation that if you want to present good , well finished work there is a high rate of wastage and "failure" initially. I remember reading about ceramicist Clare Humphry ,whose work I loved in the gallery, she says the results of firing are so unpredictable that only a small proportion of bowls came out as she had wanted and was happy with and this must be the same for many makers and artists. Quality control is a good thing...its just a shame it costs so much (and another reason why the value of a handmade object is so hard to put a price on)!
Anyway, it's time to tend to the stove now and possibly do a bit of jumping around to warm up and increase my woeful daily step count on my Fitbit. Sara and I both have one as we thought it would encourage us to get more active if we challenged each other... instead we are in denial, rarely reaching 10,ooo steps and still less able to resist toast and butter. I think music is the answer, I just discovered one of my favourite bands, Blue Aeroplanes, is still around after all so I'm off to play it loud and dance like nobody's watching (sorry cat) whilst waiting for some thick, fresh bread to toast...
Reading: "Murder on the Home Front" by Molly Lefebure ( who lived here ) lent to me by our rather lovely log man, Tim.Listening to: "Colour Me" and "Tolerance" Blue Aeroplanes . "Colour me with burnt sienna, show me where my heart is..." 