23/08/2012

Art in the Pen

What a fantastic weekend I have had. It has been a huge learning curve and a wonderful experience.

My pen at 11am... it was bigger that I thought...

So shopping trip later, one more table purchased and more fabric, I can begin to start creating my little gallery for the weekend.


3 hours later and I am getting a little stressed, this is taking longer than I thought it would...


At last ready for viewing. 



So, a little time to sit and look at my work and I have to say I am really proud of myself and the work I have done. It made me think of my mum (for those of you who don't know me personally, my mum passed away 9 1/2 years ago now, she was my best friend and would have loved what I have done) and I have to admit I sat and had a little cry... 
So ready for the opening and to start the ball rolling we had a welcome from Clare Allen (Art in the pen Organiser) and speaker Karen Sherwood of Cupola Gallery. Karen spoke about her journey from graduating from Sheffield University to where she is now. It was inspiring and made me think that anything is possible if you are passionate and determined about what you do.

So the preview was opened and the public got their first glimpse of the work on display. The 70 Artists exhibiting had work hard to get their pens looking like mini galleries and the work on display was outstanding. Thanks to Emma and Pauline for coming to see the work, it was lovely to see some familiar faces.
My first sale :)

The rest of the weekend only got better. I received some lovely compliments about my work and loved the fact that other people like what I do. After a hectic morning I was beginning to find my feet and was enjoying talking to visitors from all over the country. I sold my first large piece of work in the afternoon and was on cloud 9 :) By the end of the day I was shattered but really happy with the way the day had gone. So out to tea to catch up with my family and then it was up to my studio to make more stitched collage cards.


Sunday was quieter (on a little) and again everyone like my work and display. I had a chance to look around the other artist work and bought 2 handmade books from Annwyn Dean and Elizabeth Shorrock. I could have spent a fortune (if I had it) as there was a lot of work that was fantastic.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend and I hope I can take part again next year xx








4 comments:

  1. Hi Anne, lovely to hear about your experience at Art in the Pen. So glad you enjoyed yourself, and met some lovely people. A friend from Cleveland College was there, Gill Kirk, she makes lovely cushions and devore scarves, don't know if you saw her. jayne x

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  2. I did see some of her work, but only at a glance. I wish there was more time for the artist to have a good look around. I hope she did ok xx

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  3. what an amazing weekend you had Anne, so glad it was successful for you. Your little comment about your mum brought a tear to my eye. My mam died 2 years ago and I miss her so much. Thoughts of them overpower you when you least expect it. I think we have been very lucky to have mums we considered 'best friends' and your mum is still supporting you and giving you the strength and inspiration to do what you do. Oh no!!! I'm off again !!.......Keep being inspired, your work is beautiful......gill x

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  4. Thank you so much, my mum was an artist too and she inspired me to follow my dreams. A quote I read at a textile fair still sticks with me today, all mums are stars but mine twinkles in the night sky xx

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