The Game of Life

The last couple of weeks have been one of those times where I've been constantly busy, yet when someone asks what I've been up to, I find myself wondering how to answer. It feels like I don't have a huge amount to show for it, but then I look back and realise it's been full of all those jobs that quietly keep everything moving.

Work for the Otago Art Society exhibition (detail)

There were dragons waiting very patiently for eyes so they could finally see. One rather impatient dragon insisted she couldn't possibly wait any longer for her wings before heading off on adventures. Once everyone was suitably equipped (it's always wise to stay on the good side of dragons), I turned my attention to preparing work for the Otago Art Society Spring Exhibition and deciding what would make the trip north to Darfield Art Week. The dragons, unsurprisingly, decided it was their turn for an adventure.

The dragons decided they were going to Darfield

There has also been rather a lot of admin. Not the glamorous side of being an artist, but I've realised how much easier life has become thanks to the Inspiring Design course I did a couple of months ago. It also encouraged me to organise better.

One of the biggest changes has been photographing work as I make it, then editing and resizing the images straight away before filing everything neatly into folders. It sounds incredibly boring, (and it is!) but honestly, it's been a complete game changer. I'm no longer fossicking through hundreds of photos wondering where that one image disappeared to. It has even spilled over into organising documents better. Setting up systems takes time, but I'm discovering it's one of those investments that quietly pays you back every day.

Another exciting milestone was finally getting my prints sorted. I was absolutely stoked with the quality, and I can't wait to start sharing them on my website over the coming weeks.

Very exciting getting the prints

The last week of the school holidays was a whirlwind, with grandkids staying and a routine of exploring things, playing at parks and continually eating. I feel so fortunate to have these amazing young people so full of energy in my life. So much energy!!!

I took time to admire some cool patterns with the climbing spider web at the park.

Cool patterns at the park

All this busyness got me thinking about The Game of Life when I found myself playing it with my three-year-old grandson.

I remember asking Santa for that game when I was about eight or ten years old. I wanted it more than anything. Looking back, it's a funny choice for a child—a board game about careers, marriage, paying taxes and all the milestones of adulthood—but I absolutely loved it. Little did I know that around fifty years later I'd be sitting playing the very same game with my grandson.

The Game of Life - three-year old version

The best part is the three-year-old rules.

His version of The Game of Life is much simpler. You drive around in your little car with your family. You go to the shop for an ice cream. You visit each other's houses for parties and eat cake. Every so often someone accidentally drives into the river and shouts, "Help me!" The other player comes to the rescue, everyone is saved, and then you all head back home for more cake.

To be honest, I think he's onto something.

Sometimes I get caught up in lists, deadlines, exhibitions, websites and all the things that come with running a creative business. Then a three-year-old reminds me that perhaps life doesn't have to be quite so complicated. Maybe it's really about adventures, helping each other out when we end up in the river, and making sure there's always time for cake.

Sometimes we end up in the river.

Talisman

What is a Talisman?

People often ask me why my latest collection of sculptures is called Talismans.

Part of the answer goes back a long way, to a book I read years ago—The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. I’ve read it again several times since and it still grabs me. It wasn't just the story itself, but the sense that there was another world sitting just beyond the edge of the ordinary. Full of mystery, old magic and strange relics waiting to be discovered. I loved that feeling, and it has quietly stayed with me all these years. Looking back, it probably had more influence on this collection than I realised.

Traditionally, a talisman is an object believed to hold protective or magical qualities. People have carried them throughout history for courage, guidance, luck or strength. Whether or not you believe in magic isn't really the point. I think we all have objects that mean something to us—a stone picked up on a special walk, an old family keepsake, a feather found at just the right moment. Sometimes an object becomes important simply because of the story we give it.

I still pick up special stones when I'm walking. Also found a possum skull yesterday! Can a dirty old possum skull be a Talisman?

The Talisman collection began with a rather vague idea. I wanted to create something that felt much larger than the individual pieces themselves—I put some thought into what sort of shape and kept coming back to this circular unfurling shape. I'd made a tiny sketch quite some time earlier, and although nothing happened immediately, the idea quietly ticked away in the back of my mind until it was ready.

Some have animal shaped heads at the centre, this came about because the silhouette of one looked animal-like and I thought, ‘cool-I’ll use that idea’ (some ideas are well-thought out - others because it’s just a cool idea!)

As I started making them, the stories arrived almost by themselves. Before long I wasn't simply creating sculptures—I was imagining ancient relics scattered through forgotten forests, quietly waiting to be found. Naturally, that meant taking them out into the bush to photograph them where they looked as though they truly belonged.

First light

This proved challenging, the main obstacle being my not-so-helpful assistant, Max.

Max takes his role very seriously, although I'm still not entirely sure what he thinks that role is. He has an extraordinary talent for placing himself directly between the camera and whatever I'm trying to photograph. If he isn't knocking sculptures over with enthusiastic curiosity, he's standing exactly where the light is best or barking at me because I've stopped walking for more than thirty seconds.

In Max's opinion, bush walks should happen at approximately one hundred miles an hour. Stopping to arrange tiny forest relics for photographs is, apparently, an incomprehensible waste of perfectly good walking time.

Max

He’s not feeling the peaceful calming vibe of the forest.

Despite my assistant's best efforts, these little expeditions have become one of my favourite parts of creating the collection. For a little while, it's easy to imagine these Talismans really have been resting quietly among moss-covered logs and beneath ancient trees, waiting for someone curious enough to notice them.

Old growth

Got to go clean up a dirty old possum skull now.

W

I have been working furiously lately!

One thing about being an artist is that when the ideas hit, it's less like having a lightbulb moment and more desperately hanging on to the tail end of a runaway train.

These ideas have actually been brewing for quite a while. At first, they were only whispers. The butterfly idea, for example. They started as little butterfly-like creatures, but somewhere along the way they became Messengers. Not just butterflies with fancy wings, but characters with their own purpose.

Not just Butterflies, little Messengers

It's funny how sometimes one small thing arrives completely out of the blue and kicks off massive changes. (The butterfly effect... haha.)

A few things have fed into this latest burst of work. Breaking my wrist, strangely enough, was one of them. It pushed me into making these little Messengers, but they were always connected to an idea that had been sitting quietly in the back of my mind, patiently waiting for me to notice it.

Here we go with the Muse again. She's been extremely busy lately.

By-product of taking part in demonstrations and workshops - you get a lot done!

Then there was the demo week and workshops at the Otago Art Society. As a by-product, I ended up with a mountain of sculptures waiting to be finished. But it also had the unexpected side effect of pushing these new ideas forward. Sometimes making a lot of work in a short timeframe is the best way to really hone an idea. 

The biggest catalyst, though, has been signing up for the Inspiring Designs workshop ‘The art of showing up’with Ngāhuia. I haven't even attended the in-person session yet—I've just been working my way through the workbooks.

There is a lot of information on a complex subject but it’s broken down into small chunks with clear examples, I can’t rate it highly enough.

While I was doing the Branding module, something suddenly clicked. I could finally see how all the different parts of my work could fit together and the direction I wanted to take.

The biggest catalyst for things finally coming together was starting the Inspiring Designs workbooks.

I was waffling on in an earlier blog about putting absolutely everything onto my website—drawings, paintings, sculptures... the lot. I spent ages uploading it all.

Well... I've changed my mind.

Turns out I was wrong.

Apparently I have been wrong before... I just can't remember when.

I've wanted to take a storytelling approach with my work for a long time, but I'd kept putting it on the back burner because it felt enormous. Too complicated. Too hard to know where to begin.

Then... BOOM.

I’ve finally found a way to include a storytelling approach

Sometimes an idea seems to leap into your head fully formed. Of course, it probably wasn't. It had been quietly growing for months, maybe years. I think what I was really missing was a framework to hang everything on.

I’ve been taking photos of my work in natural settings, I’ve always done this but now with more purpose. Nothing like heading off down a walking teack with armfuls of weird sculptures looking for the perfect mossy log and hoping you don’t meet anyone. If I do, maybe I’ll say it’s for some witchy ritual!

The tools I've been learning to use—Canva, ChatGPT, social media, SEO, keywords and the branding process itself—have helped enormously. They've given me a structure for organising the writing, the images and, most importantly, the stories.

I've discovered I can spin a good yarn….. I just needed somewhere for the story to live.

All very exciting really.

Better go, got a train to catch.

Ideas

I've been thinking a lot lately about where ideas come from.

Not the practical sort of ideas, like the age-old search for dinner inspiration, or how to train the nine-year-old dog who still barks at everything.

The strange ones.

The ones that quietly arrive and refuse to leave.

The ancient Greeks believed these ideas came from the Muses. There were nine of them, each the guardian of a different art or discipline, and artists would often begin their work by asking a Muse for inspiration. They believed creativity wasn't something to be owned, but something to be received. The artist's role was not to invent brilliance from nothing, but to become still enough to hear the whisper.

I've always loved that thought.

Not because I think little winged beings are flying around whispering in my ear (well... maybe they are!), but because it gently removes something that often gets in the way.

It reminds us that perhaps our job isn't to force ideas into existence.

Perhaps it's simply to quiet the noise and become still enough to receive them.

The Muse doesn't shout.

She whispers from a mossy rock, inside a birdsong, in the damp smell of decaying wood on a forest floor. She lingers in the mist that clings to a hillside or the curve of an ancient tree root. She is easy to miss if we're rushing.

Over the past few years, I've slowly realised something.

The dragons, the butterflies, the masks, the riders, the messengers...

I don't think they were ever separate ideas.

I think they have all belonged to the same world.

I just hadn't recognised it yet.

For years I thought I was simply following one curious idea after another. Looking back, I can see they were all quietly leading me to the same place. Piece by piece, an unseen world was revealing itself, waiting patiently for me to notice.

Maybe the ancient Greeks were right.

Maybe ideas don't belong to us at all.

Maybe they drift quietly through the world, waiting for someone curious enough to notice them.

If that's true, then I feel incredibly lucky.

Because lately, I've begun to glimpse a world that has been patiently waiting for me to discover it.

Demo Week and Workshops

It’s turned into a very busy August! I’ve just finished a 7-day stint in the Otago Art Society gallery for our yearly Demo Days, a week of artists working in the gallery together. It’s a very popular event on the Galleries’ calendar, with members and the public coming in to watch artist’s working and listening to the scheduled talks.

I always look forward to it. Spending most of my time working at home alone with the dog to talk to, it’s nice to talk to people for a change. I enjoy showing how I work and if you get me talking about the qualities of the materials I use you might not get away!

I also got a surprising amount of work done. Nothing like 7 days of focus without distractions at home.

I’ve also just finished running the first workshop ‘Introduction to Nara Clay’ and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m always blown away by the range of different ideas that people bring to the workshops and always come away with a few jewels of ideas myself!

I started by explaining about the qualities of the clay, moved through creating an armature, then helped with technical problems as we went. Everyone brought a different approach to the table and it was pretty exciting seeing the creations develop.

We ended up with finely detailed naturalistic, super cute and wild wacky sculptures. They days were so busy and I think we all slept like rocks particularly Monday night after a full day of hard focus.

I was stocked with the imaginative ideas and the hard work everyone put in, I have Workshop 2 to run next week and can’t wait to see the ideas coming out of that.

Art or Craft?

As I’ve been busy making these butterflies I’ve been pondering whether it’s art or craft. I think it was when I started putting sequins and beads on them to decorate, then of all things, I used holographic glitter! Nothing quite says ‘craft project like sequins, beads and glitter!

Is it different when I use a lot of butterflies to create a larger work? Is there some point when it magically turns into art? 5 butterflies? 500 butterflies?, or do I need to make a cynical statement about art and pretty things? Or do I actually give a rat’s arse?

Sequins, beads and glitter - serious artist materials?

Actually nope, if something is calling me to make it, I’ll make it.

If it calls to me to make it, I’ll make it

I shouldn’t say ‘rat’s arse’ really, I quite like rats despite their bad reputation and the damage they can do to our native environment in NZ. After all they’re just living their ratty little lives, finding food, shelter and raising their families, not so different from us really.

We had a pet rat called Henry and he was quite the character, rescued from a box left on the bonnet of a car in a supermarket carpark. I’m assuming some kid got him given to him and Mum said, ‘no way in hell’.

Speaking about small pets, when I was a kid we had a pet hedgehog for 3 days also called Henry. Henry loved to curl up and sleep in the sun. On the third day when the flies started hanging around, we realized that perhaps Henry was perhaps not an avid sunworshipper and may in fact have been dead.

First coat of paint on some butterflies

Anyway, back to the main story…..

The art/craft debate will, I imagine always be a thing along with discussions about good art, bad art, decorative art, and as many types of art as you can think of.

I do know that to get the most out of any art experience it’s important to have an open mind and not be judgy. Some of the most memorable art pictures I have in my head (yes, I have a gallery in my head that I visit!) are not ‘great’ art but art that connected and stuck.

I remember once when I was attending an opening, representing an art group at the time, and got into a discussion with a woman who seemed to think she knew a lot about the NZ art scene. She made a disparaging comment and kind if looked down her nose at me when I mentioned who I was representing.

‘Oh well, I suppose it’s good that people have somewhere to start’

I felt instantly defensive for all the hard-working artists I know, who create some amazing, genuine and heartfelt art. I know the art groups and societies in Dunedin are showing the whole mix from polished and professional to the just beginners and the range is impressive and exciting.

Some finished butterflies

There is a new word in recent years that seems to have gained some traction, ‘Creative’, which I really like as it seems to cover people who make stuff, with no judgement on good/bad, art/craft.

It’s an exciting time to be alive for an artist, and anyone who makes stuff, with the availability of information and resources. You can find out how to do almost anything with online videos. And the resources, so many materials available! Even with different clays, there are so many different types of clays and modelling materials available at a reasonable price that it would be easy to get distracted and veer off into so many directions trying them out. I’m not sure if I’ll live long enough to try all I want to!

How many butterflies do I need for it to magically turn from craft to art?

Given the madness that seems to be dominating the world now, and our apparent inability to care for the planet and stop killing everyone and everything, it is the exact right time to be making all sorts of art to remind us of what it should mean to be human.

A million butterflies

Ok, a million butterflies might be an exaggeration, but I have made a lot!

I have found that the only way to get good with new ideas is to simply make heaps of them. I think it goes for all sorts of art, and not just art. The key with doing anything well is boringly simple, practice, practice and then practice some more!

It’s a great way to troubleshoot ideas and refine them. I had things to consider with the butterflies, did I want legs? did I need wire for long feelers? what sort of wings would they have? how big? Sometimes it’s the making that decides these questions so I might need to explore a few options. The first ones were a bit clumsy as I worked through a few ideas and solved a few technical problems.

The key to getting good is to just make heaps!

I liked the idea of a magnet built into the body under the clay, so the magnet had to be strong enough to work through the clay layer and hold the weight but not so strong it damaged the butterfly.

After playing around with magnets in the supporting artwork and having difficulties with getting the polarities wrong (led to some very fussy butterflies not liking certain spots), I tried metal, and that worked but looked a bit untidy.

Handy hubby and it turns out, creative genius suggested flathead screws. Whoop Whoop, worked perfectly, and the screw will help it grip the clay and reduce the chances of pulling out.

Flathead screws did the trick!

I got my cast off my broken wrist yesterday, and things are looking good but still a bit stiff and weak, so I’ll be working smaller scale for a couple of weeks yet. That’s ok though, I feel I’ve got a bit to explore in this little divert.

I’ve a few different color combos to play around with yet. I hadn’t realized how comfortable I was getting with my usual colors so it’s good to mix it up a bit and branch into unknown territory. I’m quite enjoying making sparkly pretty things for a change, though I have discovered the heads of the butterflies are veering off into dog-shapes with big ears which just feels right to me. Clearly they are some sort of hybrids!

The heads are becoming dog-like.

I’m not sure how I feel about making pretty things, most of my art has a bit of a sinister, weird or creepy edge to it, but I’ve always felt my art leads the way, and my job is the backup, making sure my head is clear, mind open and the materials and my skills are fit for task.

That’s the magic with artmaking, if you can keep your head out of it and follow where the art goes you will find yourself in some unexpected places.

Maybe this focus on ‘pretty’ is some sort of instinctive reaction to all the ugliness there seems to be in the world at the moment. Or just because……

The bat/Taniwha/butterfly tree

The ‘bat tree’ that I built for hanging my bats off, but was too slender for the job, that was then going to have a Taniwha curled around it is now a butterfly tree (sorry bats and unmade Taniwha!) I found it had the perfect elegance for hanging butterflies off, so added some wire circles so the magnets could stick. Looks like I’m going to need more trees.

Tree detail

I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy playing around with decorating these things, so it’ll be interesting when I get back into making figurines what will carry over from this interlude, I already have a vision of a white horse/deer/cat with an elaborate ornate saddle encrusted with beads and sparkles.

The possibilities are endless!

Butterflies

Butterflies, a universal symbol across cultures for transformation, rebirth, freedom and the soul. I did not know that the Greek word for butterfly is psyche, such is the wonders of these small computers we are now holding all the time. Endless trivia and knowledge….

It seems the right time of year to be launching into butterfly-making. In New Zealand it is the time of the winter solstice and our very special Matariki celebrations. A time for remembrance, celebrating the present and looking to the future, it feels to me like a ‘pause’ before moving on with the year.

Matariki is the Māori name for the Pleiades star cluster meaning' ‘little eyes’ or ‘eyes of the god’, appearing in the midwinter dawn sky. It’s nice to see over the years more midwinter celebrations here in NZ, helped also by a new public holiday celebrating Matariki.

I always feel we miss out a bit on the impact of sparkly lights at Christmas time as it’s the middle of Summer and it doesn’t get dark till about 10.00pm when all the kids are asleep. (I talk about the kids, like I’m pretending I’m not in bed by 9.30 every night). It feels good to be celebrating something with meaning to our country.

We had our own family celebration last weekend, and it was nice just to all be together, we decorated with lights and sparkly things and had a meal and some sparkly activities for the kids. (I do like my sparkly things!)

I am surrounded by Mum’s artwork.

I feel we all did Mum and Dad proud; they both believed family connections were the most important thing in this life. I think of them all the time, I hear Dad’s voice in my head and am surrounded by Mum’s artwork, still miss a good political debate with Dad and a ‘show and tell’ art session with Mum.

I think of all the important people in my life no longer with us, Rose and Bert, grandparents, friends, and how fortunate I have been to have had these people in my life. Continuing to make the time to get together as a family is the best possible way we can honour their legacy as we move into the future.

Loved playing with the metallic paints!

So, the butterflies, I’m a bit limited with what I can do at the moment, with one arm still in a cast, (no good for twisting wire or some of the larger works) so I’ve been upping my butterfly-making techniques, with a view to making larger sculptures out of lots of small pieces.

I loved the idea of magnetic butterflies that could be put on different parts of the sculpture, able to be rearranged in different configurations.

Working small is tricky, I wasn’t blessed with small dainty fingers (got good, capable man-hands), so I just went as small as I could, even with tools you still have to handle them and the clay deforms easily when soft.

Trick for new players when using magnets, make sure you get the polarities right when making your magnetic butterfly stick to its ‘port’ on the main sculpture! Have to come clean and admit I did this more than once and that was while apparently making sure they were in the right way. The magnet idea still requires a bit of thought!

First ‘structure’ with butterflies

At the same time as I’m doing this, I’m re-reading Stephen and Owen King’s ‘sleeping beauties’. It features swirling mobs of moths, so despite being fairly phobic about moths (I dislike the way the smash around uncontrollably inside and you sometimes swallow one-long story), it also gave me this idea of swirling insects. Butterflies though because I’d be charmed by a swirling mob of those gorgeous critters (sorry moths!)

Fantastic book, mysterious and thought-provoking.

Painting them was fun! I just went nuts with the gorgeous metallic paints I’ve got. I’ve tried a couple of bases to put them on, they’re a little busy so something to work on, I wanted them to look as good without butterflies, but with all the butterflies it’s maybe a bit too much.

Colour-wise, I’m in different territory, something that goes with the metallic butterflies but not too colourful itself', as I want the butterflies as the main focus. I tried one green and one in shades of silver. I’ll still play around with the idea a bit maybe I’ll try a really airy structure in a dark colour.

Second attempt, in silver

Much to my disappointment this work actually looked the best with maybe 1-3 butterflies instead of about 6. Sometimes the artwork itself tells you to just settle down and make better decisions!

I hear it now speaking to me…’stupid decision, settle down…less is more’ (Going to be a battle of wills I can see, the artwork hasn’t yet realized I hold the ultimate power as Creator!)

Sometimes I say ‘more is more’

It actually looks best with less.

Silver Linings

Have my new cast on now and the swelling has gone down so I’ve got some use of my fingers on my left hand now. I’ve worked on a few drawings, and it got me thinking about my working process, where ideas come from and how I know a work is finished.

After a few false starts and fluffing around with unsatisfactory stuff, I embarked on a larger drawing. I had completed a piece some time ago that had stayed in my mind, this swirling mass of smaller animals and creatures. It had almost the look of a flower from a distance and up-close weird creatures swirling into or maybe swirling out of some dark place-maybe Hell. (not deliberate, just happened that way)

An earlier work that had stuck with me.

Well, I thought I might do another version of this, maybe a bit lighter in mood, (not Hell) , rainbows maybe , working in some colour.

The new work beginning

Now the only problem with working without pre-planning an idea is that you run the risk of spending hours on something that doesn’t work. A risk I take all the time. (Like to live on the edge)

I got part-way through and discovered the blue was going to be too dark and there was not enough orange. When drawing like this I put the colour on first before the graphite pencil because it gets smudgy and grey if I colour over the graphite.

Getting further along-probably should have left the white surround

I ended up with the red and yellow too close together. Now, I’m pretty easy-going with most things and can make most colour combos work, but red/yellow is not one I go near.

It reminds me of eggs and tomato sauce. I’m not a fussy eater, eat almost anything but if I have eggs, not a drop of red can go near them. Having grilled tomatoes or baked beans with my eggs, ok, but they need to be separated and not touching the eggs.

Funny how some quirks are, I’ve never been hungry enough to really test it.

I suspect my inbuilt politeness would take over if someone served me up eggs with a huge dollop of tomato sauce, just smile and gag it down….

Finished-for better or worse

Anyway, I thought I’d keep going with the work, considered leaving the background white (probably should have), darkened up the middle so it didn’t look so red. Kept coming back to it, I haven’t dithered so much over a work in a long time, am thinking the unexpected colour combo put me into unknown territory. The finished work looks too ‘worked’ for my liking, but it needed to be finished for some reason known only to the creative gods.

That’s how a work goes sometimes, it just won’t leave you alone, you’re trying to solve the puzzle till, suddenly it’s done, successful or not, and you can leave it be.

I still can’t get past the eggs and sauce when I look at it.

Got this idea of swirling small creatures and butterflies on a frame of some sort.

What did come out of this was an idea for lots of small butterflies or creatures swirling, lots making up a larger whole, something I could manage in clay with a reduced use of my left hand. (Thanks, creative gods!)

They’d have to have a framework for attaching to, which was a bit more difficult to make, but it might be just the right time to explore little creatures.

Fancy red cast with bugs

Got a fancy red cast now, so best I don’t drop egg on it.

Bugger!

Well, things were going great, made the small sculptures I needed to do, playing with my ‘bat tree’ idea. admin done on the website, about to launch into a couple of big pieces when….muddy bank…slippy slippy and broken wrist!

So very annoying! I was out walking Max the mental blue heeler, we usually go on tracks where there is no-one else because he’s no good with other dogs, mountain bikers, or anything fast-moving and usually they’re not great tracks, fairly muddy at this time of year.

I was pretty impressed with Max’s behavior; I’d always wondered if I fell over and broke something he’d get freaked out and bite me in the face or something but happily no face-biting. (just joking…or am I!) After a while of me sitting and trying to figure out how I was going to get up he eventually trotted back as if to say ‘well, come on, hurry up!’

Max the mental dog

So thankful it was my left and not my right or I’d be busy trying to teach my left hand to do all sorts of things. Still, it’s the hand that does all the holding that I’ve never really appreciated before. While the right is doing all the clever stuff, it’s the left that is actually holding stuff in the right place and right way so it can happen at all.

Not so clever now, are we smarty pants-right hand!

Wee bit limiting

Because it can be pretty heavy work on hand and wrists, twisting wire for armatures and working with clays, the sculpture is out for a bit so I’m working out what I can do.

Maybe some business education or delve into the depths of the website help videos so I can work my website better….sounds fun particularly if I team it up with writing a book on how I made my recovery as boring as possible.

Drawing or painting, I could do some of that, my art’s off in a sculpture direction at the moment but it could be good for keeping ideas flowing and may lead to some new stuff.

might do some drawing or painting

Prints, I do want to get some more images done suitable for prints, the thing with 3D work is that it’s hard to get the right look for a print, on some angles they look awkward and there is a background to consider, so I could put some thought into that.

‘Raspberry Parfait’

I have figured out how to sharpen pencils one-handed so there’s a start! I read an awesome book, certainly food for the imagination! It was one of those books you find hard to put down. (Well, I’ve the time for it at the moment-might go and investigate this author further.)

Fantastic book

Lots to look forward to… getting a lighter fiberglass cast….being able to wear jeans again instead of no-button track pants…wearing tops without huge arms and dressing myself without flapping around like a headless chicken…holding a pencil sharpener.

The possibilities are endless.

Going Batty

It’s been really great to have a few weeks getting stuck in making work, documenting and all the admin on the website.

I had this idea about bats a while back, not scary freaky bats (though may have to try that too), but cute, tiny little bats that could sit in the palm of my hand. These bats, I figured, could hang from a tree. Originally I was thinking of a tall tree with the bats hanging down so people could look up at them, but I need to think about how to create this, I’ll need steel for strength and need it able to be pulled apart for transport.

A quick sketch I did to remind myself

I thought instead of a smaller version that could sit on a plinth, using a rock for weight. Well, I loved how elegant this tree turned out, as a ‘bat tree’ the base is a little light and too many bats hanging make it a little unstable, but I may wind a lizard or even a Taniwha around it’s trunk instead. This is the great thing about making stuff, ideas that don’t quite work can generate other ideas.

The tree, love the elegant shape-not the best for bats though!

So, I’ve made the bats, currently waiting in a little batty bundle for their new improved tree while I veer off in another direction playing with this tree. Why… who knows, I know by now not to question the creativity gods, just roll with it.

A batty bundle

I also spent quite a bit of time adding works to the website, and a new shop page called Little Critters as I thought it was about time I added the crazy critters to the site. I still find it a bit hard when I haven’t worked on the site for a while as I find I have to re-learn everything

Brains are mysterious, why can’t I remember something I do every month or so but I know that bumblebees were introduced to NZ because the native bees didn’t have long enough tongues to reach inside the red clover?

This is the only time I have ever used this piece of information.

I made a new shop page

Autumn and Winter are the best times to get stuck into the artwork, and I find the low light here really inspiring especially when you’ve had a dull day and Nature throws a few bands of gorgeous golden light around just before the sun disappears.

Love the Autumn light!

2026 Christchurch Art Show

Well, I’m back from the Christchurch Art Show and settling into some normality again! I’ve noticed that as I’ve now done a few of these shows, things are so much easier as I get used to how things go and the setup. Al gets on the end of the drill and while I’m fluffing around unpacking, he gets all the shelves up. It’s really nice knowing a lot of the artists now and having a good catch-up.

When I flew up to Auckland for a show, I had bought another couple of hard-cased suitcases which are perfect for packing works and lugging around. We just wheel them into the venue and get to work. Took the caravan and stayed at the Tasman Holiday Park (excellent accommodation!), it was a bit of a speedy trip this time as we’d been away a couple of weeks before.

Setting up

The opening night was really busy; first time I’ve been near the sales desk so great to see things really buzzing! I’m starting to see a few people who have bought my work before or had conversations with me at previous shows. I always feel bad if I’m talking to someone who has been following my work or bought a piece and I can’t remember them on the spot. Usually, it comes later when I’ll think ‘aha, that was the person who …’ waay too late for that conversation though.

I think everyone has been in that conversation where you think the person’s name and context will come to you and you in too deep in the conversation to admit you can’t remember. They ask, ‘How the kids?’ (frantically wondering if they have kids and if you should ask likewise, will unknown person be insulted if I don’t ask or insulted if I ask and they don’t have kids?) “Hows the Hubby?’ (do I ask how their partner is, do I vaguely remember that they split up-is that something I remember knowing?) I have discovered mumbling is sometimes the best out here followed be a quick change of subject ‘great spell of weather we’re having!’ (weather is always a safe option)

Love the conversations!

I so love meeting and talking to people at these shows, I had light funny conversations and deep thoughtful conversations and everything in between. I was chatting with group of young people sharing some panels nearby and I loved the gritty energy in their work. The variety at these shows is great and good to see that young vibe sitting comfortably alongside more established artists.

Some people stayed for long and interesting conversations, and I met a few who I really gelled with. A few of my works headed off to new homes. I am so humbled by those who part with their hard-earned cash to purchase a piece of my art.

I am so grateful to be able to continue to create artworks, and having people buy some of them helps so much both financially and in motivation. I create because I can’t imagine a world in which I don’t but knowing that some people really see the work makes it so much easier.

Silver Shadow went to a new home

Travelling on also headed off to a new home

While we were away, I found out that my work ‘The Crystal’ had got a special mention at the Otago Art Societies Autumn exhibition, alongside some really thoughtful comments by the judge.

This is a piece that I just had an idea about an animal carrying a special crystal. It also was a bit of a carry on from the ‘Warrior queen” idea (thanks Mary!), looking at more detailed smaller characters, in this case this one is leading the animal.

So back home now, I got some shelves for the studio to hopefully prevent myself throwing things all over the floor. So, feeling organised and looking forward to spending a bit of time making things over winter. I’ve also decided I’m spending waay too much time mindlessly scrolling on social media so I am trying to spend it drawing instead so I’ll see what comes of that.

Got some shelves so hopefully it’ll help keep things more organised

So, amongst list of jobs to do, more small dragons, another large wall lizard, maybe a crow, I want to try small bats, and I need to get my teeth into a bigger project, I have one circling around partly formed yet to reveal itself….

Catching up

After a busy summer season of tramping, caravanning, grand-kidding and art showing, I have found myself with a week and a half to catch up before the last show in Christchurch. I’m out of small artworks and had couple of larger works that needed some finishing. My art room is a disaster again, but when I’m packing up works for the Christchurch show I figure I can tidy up then (kill two birds with one stone sort of thing)

I went up to Aspiring again for Easter and in between cooking for the group, got in a few walks. The scenery, as always was amazing and though wetter, it was ideal for photos. Straight after, we headed to Christchurch for a caravan service, heading to Hamner Springs for a night as well.

You know you might have been eating and drinking a bit much lately when you go to hire a swimsuit at the hot pools, asking for your usual size and the girl on the counter asks, ‘Are you sure?’ Knees have been sore lately but felt great after the soak.

Speaking of knees, I researched and bought a knee brace a while back to help when tramping. Now, I seem to be getting an awful lot of advertisements for knee braces on social media. Not only the knees need help, according to the social media adds I also likely suffer from constipation, high blood pressure and am at imminent risk from heart attack, stroke, maybe cancer as well. I also now know the 7 hidden signs of liver, kidney disease and various form of dementia.

I feel for my teenage niece who uses my tablet for following a YouTube tutorial for pretty flower painting with unexpected colon cleaning adds.

So, a brief period of frantically catching up…. I’ve got some ideas that I desperately want to hook into but got to finish some bits I’ve started! Stick to the list! I got into some more wee ‘floofs’, trying a slightly different look this time, with smaller eyes and made from another type of clay. Played around with a video while making them (got to leave room in the schedule to play!

Made up some more little cats using possum fur, love how these have a ‘pet cemetery’ look.

I had a mask that I was not happy with, the mask piece itself was too thin, so I figured I had nothing to lose by adding to it. I was stoked how it came up, particularly with some metallic paints I’ve been itching to use. So much so that I’ve got another in the works along the same lines (wasn’t on the list but decided to pop it on!)

I’ve finished a work for the Otago Art Society’s Autumn exhibition due in on Sunday, this work features a small wire-crochet basket (had to re-teach myself to crochet), a bit untidy so I hope no crochet-lovers judge it too hard. I figure in whatever world these creatures come from crochet is done differently anyway.

So, next job next week is pack-up for Christchurch Art Show and the promised art-room tidying. Then, a clear run at some new projects that I’ve had turning over in my mind.

Wanderings and warrior queens

The most wonderful thing about New Zealand is the easy access to the most stunning scenery. I’m part of the Milton Rotary Tramping/ Otago Youth Adventure tramps and we organize and lead tramps in the wonderful South Island, New Zealand. It’s a great crew to be associated with and an important part of my life. Getting out into nature is only a part of it, there’s the connections and friendships that form when travelling with a group. It takes a few days to get back to this world again when I’m back, I always feel invigorated with a sprinkling of ‘fairy dust’ that takes a bit to wear off.

Lake Wakatipu

The different landscapes make me think of my artist friends. It’s everything, the big vistas that make me wish I was a landscape painter like Lorna Allan, the moss-covered tree trunks and secretive leaf-lined paths remind me of Sarah Freiburger’s paintings filled with the stillness of our native forests. I’m inspired by simply breathing in the beauty, though I do like a good moss-covered tree stump that fires up my imagination!

Bushwalk to Lake Sylvin

I do like a good moss-covered stump

I have had a couple of projects that have been waiting for me to finish my wanderings, but hey, it’s that time of year when nature calls!

One is this ‘Warrior Queen’ idea. My ‘Raspberry Parfait’ sculpture went off to a new home at the Wellington Art Show, and I had a request for a figurine with a ‘Warrior Queen’ vibe to go with it. Great idea, I thought, so I began playing around with the idea. Not too human, I thought, needs to be a little alien-looking to match the sculpture, but clearly queenly and female……

Raspberry Parfait

Now, I have discovered that the best way to play with an idea is to simply make lots and lots. The scale was a little tricky, it needed to be small enough to stand in the structure on the back, higher than the tallest part and big enough to get the detail I wanted.

I used a sculpture I had that was similar in size to get the scale right.

A few ‘Warrior queens’ underway

I also liked the idea of her being freestanding so she could potentially stand beside the work if desired. I didn’t want her holding a weapon as such, but I felt a staff or scepter would represent that queenly authority while also stabilizing the sculpture.

I used Nara air-dry clay rather than oven-bake polymer clay as I wanted the flexibility of fine detail without risk of chipping and breaking. This project did show up some technical difficulties working in this size and detail with this clay. It does dry quickly, which didn’t give me as much time working on detail as I would have liked.

The hardest part was the face, getting the right look, I tried several different versions.

Painting time

I ended up making about 10, some rejected before painting as too small, too clumsy, too animal-like, and one with enormous breasts which made it too top-heavy (booby vibe). One was rejected after painting and decorating as somehow the nose ended up looking like a snout giving a strong ‘Pig Queen’ vibe.

The finished works

It’s intriguing how inspiration comes in, through what you see, read, feel or sometimes when someone says could you….

I think there’s more gold to find in this idea, maybe a play with a different clay that will give me the time to spend on the details, particularly the hand and face modelling. Certainly, this venture into character building could lead into something very interesting. I’ll stack it in the filing drawer next to the Raven I want to make (it’s looking like a very busy winter workload!)

But first I have to go adventuring again…..

The Wellington Art Show 2026

Making a list, checking it twice, packing up art, time for another art show. I do like Wellington, it has a lot of similarities to Dunedin, arty, hilly and everything in the main center pretty close together. Usually a bit warmer too, though not so much this time.

My art assistant/hubby/handy guy with a drill and I set off on Thursday to fly up. Most of my works travelled up in checked-in luggage, which was nice and easy, though cumbersome getting through airports with four large suitcases. Because the works are largely made from wire and flexible air-dry clay they travel really well if well wrapped and in hard-covered cases.

Packing up ready to go

Last time we went up we had a motel that didn’t have much in the way of opening windows and was pretty stuffy, so I got a place with a balcony this time, well-balcony and view it said……

So, we had a choice between the view of the concrete wall or the apartment next door. Ah well it suited the budget and at least we could open a door! We got to calling it ‘the cave’.

Balcony with a view

We got in nice and early for setup, which always takes about 2-3 hours, always longer than I think. I normally take shelves and dithered a bit so ended up just using the suitcases covered with a sheet to display some of the figurines, which didn’t look that great so I’ll make sure I take shelves next time. That aside, I was really happy with the display.

I decided to take up a few of my paintings and drawings this time too, I often jump back to painting and drawing for a change and hadn’t really shown these before. I felt they still fit the fantasy theme.

One of the paintings I took up

The opening night and show days were buzzing with enthusiastic art-lovers. I just love sharing ideas and techniques with people. Lots of young art students came to chat, and I can rattle on for ages about materials, techniques and ideas. It’s easy to be enthusiastic about materials I love working with, and I’ve spent so much time with this clay that I know it well.

It’s a great feeling when someone really connects with your work and I had some fantastic conversations with visitors and also came away with some other ideas people shared with me.

It was heartwarming to see a group of young people who had bought a small crazy bird at a previous show come back for another bird for a flat mate and crowded around laughing and chatting. Little interactions like this made my weekend.

All set up ready to go

These shows are always so well run and now I’ve done a few I’ve gotten to know a lot of the other artists. It’s a really supportive environment.

Some of my favorite pieces found new homes, which was wonderful. I am always absolutely humbled when visitors part with their hard-earned cash to buy an artwork, it means so much. I’ve come home tired but happy, with a few projects to get cracking on including making a small figurine with a ‘Warrior Queen’ vibe, should be fun….

‘Raspberry Parfait’ off to a new home

‘Spring Dreaming’ also off to a new home.

Leaping into 2026

Well, I feel a bit like I haven’t stopped running since before Christmas. Now that we are well into February, I thought I’d better do a quick recap of 2025 and an update on upcoming events.

I’ve hardly even been posting on social media, and usually I’m quite regular with updates, but as I get back into a rhythm of working it’s easier to post what I’ve been up to more regularly. Mind you, I haven’t been home making art so much during January anyway, I’ve been holidaying in the caravan, tramping and enjoying family time. It’s great to take a break and have found in hooking into it again there’s been a few ideas fermenting away…….

( I looked back on my blog to remind myself of what I’ve been up to, and about this time last year I said about the same thing. Guess I just need to forget about January and start my year in February!)

Anyway, first, the recap.

I started playing around with interactive, rearrangeable sculptures, making small characters that could be ‘played with’ and moved about a larger structure.

‘Chariot’

‘Chariot’ detail

I had a ball with these and still would like to play around with stop motion video more, making the characters climb up the structures and jump off, creating a little story around them.

Speaking of stop-motion video, that was the inspiration for the ‘Wheelies’, boat-type structures made on to of toy cars.

‘Vroom’

I’m in my element when I’m fired up with a new idea, problem solving and working out the structure. I made a few videos of them racing and I had the smaller characters jumping out and hopping into other ‘boats’

I took part in the Auckland and Queenstown art shows. Run by Art Shows Across Aotearoa, I enjoy the atmosphere of these shows, surrounded by other artists and talking about my work to the public. I flew up to this one and was happy with how easily my work travelled. It helps that its mostly made from wire and a flexible air-dry clay, so fairly hardy.

The Auckland Art Show

After the Auckland Art Show, I pondered on making some bigger pieces around a mask idea, thinking that I would like to have a few larger, eye-catching pieces for the next art show in Queenstown. It’s funny how the inspiration for pieces comes, sometimes a small, more personal drop of inspiration like the ‘wheelies’, and sometimes wanting to make a bit of a public splash.

I went on to make a few of these and am still playing with the idea.

Spring dreaming

I took part in the Otago Art Societies’ Demonstration week, Featured artist week and ran a workshop. The workshop was great fun, I was blown away by the creativity of the participants and felt I got as much out of it as the people taking part.

Demonstration week at the OAS is always fun.

It was a good exercise for me also, working out the different stages of creating a sculpture and how to communicate this to others.

I revisited Dragons, and made a few more, well-I should say am still making more! I do love a good Dragon, I can have lots of fun thinking up names like ‘Molten Myrtle” or ‘Fireball Fred’.

Do like a good Dragon!

Oh- I also made a Time Machine. It has glow-in-the-dark clay dots and who knows what will happen should anyone wind the winder!

The Time Machine

So that’s pretty much where I’m at. Gearing up now for the Wellington art show, frantically trying to finish the last pieces in time and regretting the time I have been spending procrastinating.

Featured Artist 2025

The Featured Artist series is run by my local gallery, the Otago Art Society over summer. We pack up our stuff and move into the gallery to work for a week. I always find it quite invigorating working in a gallery environment, a nice change from the kitchen bench anyway. Over Summer the gallery has a lot of visitors so it’s a chance to talk to people and show what I do.

This year (as I have the last couple) I set up with good friend and very clever landscape artist Lorna Allan, sharing one of the rooms. Our work is very different as is our working styles (Lorna thoughtful and measured in her approach, me, well I can be chaotic, jumping on ideas like a mad thing.)

Lorna Allan, friend and gallery buddy this week.

Where we meet is in our appreciation of all art, caring about people, and loving life with all its interesting bits. We had more than a few giggles and managed to make some good progress on our art too. Two other artists were in the next room, Wen Li and Raimo, so the atmosphere was quite buzzy as we checked in to see what they were up to.

It’s been fascinating to watch Lorna’s progress over the week, subtle differences in colour, gradually built up for a specific look. I’d be tempted to say ‘near enough, the tree can just be bright, maybe the sunlight is popping through a hole in that vast mountain’, which is why I’m not a landscape painter.

My setup (I look slightly deranged, but that’s ok)

The Dunedin railway station, home of the OAS gallery is an iconic building and gets a lot of tourists, so it’s a great opportunity to discuss art with visitors from all over the world. I am in awe of people who can speak more than one language, even a little, who can say, in English ‘sorry I don’t speak much English’, while I’m still using gestures and miming to communicate.

In between chatting, I managed to get a lot done, it helps not to have any of the ‘at home’ distractions, no washing to put out, dishes, deciding to go for a walk, just full days of making.

Getting some smaller pieces done.

I had a few things I wanted to get done, some small works for the OAS, and a couple of bigger pieces for upcoming shows. With Christmas fast approaching it was a good opportunity to get a good amount of work done before the holiday break.

I particularly wanted to get another big wall- hung lizard made, I do love making these big lizards with their elaborate tails! Made some good progress on it too.

A few works headed off to new homes, which was pretty cool, I love how, especially with the small furry artworks, the customer carries them up to the counter like a new pet!

I tried making an Orangutan (on request from a grandchild) and first attempt looked like this orangutan had just crawled through Chernobyl after maybe 40 years wandering the desert. Not quite the look I was after, Kind of like him anyway and have called him Cliff.

Cliff

It’s very validating when you meet people who stop for a long conversation and really ‘get’ you work. Sometimes when you work alone a lot, there’s no one to bounce ideas off, so it’s very invigorating to discuss with others who really get your vision and have ideas to share with you.

So, I finished the week feeling very tired but happy and accomplished.

Please with how the wall-hung lizard is progressing.

Now, as I start the run-up to Christmas, I have gifts to get, things to organize, and an orangutan to make that won’t give children nightmares.

Bits and pieces

Well, ‘Bits and pieces’ is the perfect way to describe the last few weeks. I seem to have had lots of little jobs to catch up on. You know the feeling when someone asks, ‘What have you been up to?’, and you say ‘I’ve been really busy’ but you can’t actually remember just what doing.

I haven’t been posting much on social media or writing this very blog for weeks because….well…I’m busy.

On what exactly…. Well, I decided to give my website a tidy up and something I had been wanting to do for a while was to get photos on my home page that link directly to the shop pages. Working on the website is not my favorite thing, the tutorials are great, but I do have to watch them about a million times to understand.

Figuring out how to do that took a couple of days, and several false starts and I’m pretty sure I have already forgotten how I did it.

I did discover (bit late to the party) the wonders of ChatGPT, I was like having a tutor sitting right beside me! One that didn’t roll its eyes when I asked really basic questions.

Working on the website - not my favorite thing!

The art room needed a tidy as I’d been just dumping stuff in there again and while I was at it, I also sorted through my works in pencil.

I thought it was time I put some of them up on my website. I did originally have all my work up on my website, but it all looked a bit chaotic and like it came from several different artists. At the time I was working with bright bold colors in painting, papier mache monsters and the drawings, all in quite different styles.

The sculptures I am doing now seem to be a closer fit to my drawing style, so I thought they fit ok now. Plus, I’m feeling the need to do a couple more of these large, detailed fantasy works again. These drawings are more of an ‘elaborate doodle’ really, I have a rough idea of where they are going but essentially start at the top of the paper and work my way down, making things up and working out composition as I go. I enjoy the challenge of making the parts work together, light, dark, scale, detail and areas of space. It’s like a little journey where I don’t know the destination.

Some of my drawings

I’ve been making some small dragons, a request for a special project got me going and I wanted to see how small I can make these things. So, as is normal for me, I needed to make lots to find out how small I can get with them. I must say, little dragons that fit in the palm of my hand are a bit cute!

Think I’ll work on some small flying ones too.

Small dragons are a bit cute!

I am thinking of getting a few prints made and figured my photography skills weren’t up to it. I can take a pretty good photo for website and social media etc. but felt a bit out of my depth for one that I would want on a print, so I got the help of a very talented photographer who took some fantastic shots. I got the pics back and was absolutely stoked!

As well as the whole figurine photos she did some stunning close-ups.

Got some pretty cool close-ups

I have a Featured Artist week coming up in the Otago Art Society gallery which should be great fun, I’m organizing a Christmas decoration-making day with grandkids, and really all the business of December. So, a few more ‘bits and pieces’ to come yet.

Floofs, Dragons and happenings

Well, there’s been a bit going on lately. Got back from the Queenstown art show with a list of bits I needed to get on to. Mainly some smaller works for the Otago Art Society going into the busy tourist season and Christmas.

Making a list…checking it twice…

I’m big on lists, I find it a great motivation to have a clear list of things I need to do, down to planning what day I am doing specific things on. My list reads “Monday - paint little critters, start floofs, dragons, Tuesday - finish critters, dragons, start ‘pretty little devils’. As I’m working on my own and I have to be my own boss, it’s my way of cracking the whip and achieving things (sometimes my boss is mean!!!) I like the idea of being spontaneous, but truth is I am a meticulous planner. Spontaneity can wait until I have my planned stuff done!

There is great satisfaction on ticking things off the list though!

Floofs lined up waiting for finishing

one of the little ‘critters’ I like to make

So, I had started making all the little bits I needed to get done when I got a call to say one of my dragons in the Otago Art Society had sold and someone else also wanted one. It’s funny how these things work. Sometimes a work will sit a while then all of a sudden it could have been sold a few times over in one day. I talk a lot about the creativity gods, but I’m sure the Art-Retail gods are just as mysterious! Maybe there’s a vibe sent out into the universe that all of a sudden makes an artwork desirable, who knows.

There are many things I don’t understand in this world, but I do love the mystery of it!

A finished Floof - love these cute wee guys

So, I added dragons to my list and began making a couple. I forgot how much I love making dragons. I may have to continue and make a couple more as I’ve got my dragon groove on.

A couple of dragons drying

I think sometimes what a privilege it is to live where I do, with the wonderful people in my life and making art. I love that my job involves making dragons. Being in the creative industry often (haha most usually) means the pay is low but hey - I get to make dragons!

I also recently had the privilege of reading the most amazing couple of poems sent to me, featuring ravens. These poems have stuck in my mind, and I can feel myself turning them over in my head, exploring them. I am in awe of people who can build pictures thoughts and emotions in your head using words as a medium instead of a physical medium like paint or clay.

Ravens have a long history in stories and folklore and sounds right up my alley. I keep thinking of those poems and now I’m thinking about ravens!

Got to finish my list first.

The Queenstown Art Show

Making a list…. checking it twice……bunches of bubble wrap flying everywhere……. loading the vehicle with mathematical precision making use of the smallest space. It must be another art show!

Held in the Queenstown Events Centre, this was a great excuse to visit this spectacular part of the country! It’s easy to see why the area is so popular with tourists, stunning mountains and lakes and a great vibe.

Handy-with-a-drill hubby and art assistant Al came up too. We took the caravan and stayed a night in Cromwell by the lake on the way. The Driftaway, a camping ground in Frankton was fantastic, great facilities on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. The best place for an arty holiday!

The view from The Driftaway in Frankton.

Unpacking at the show

The unpacking and setup went really well. I got some white boards to attach to the panels which made my work stand out a lot better, they worked well giving a clean, sharp look. As a lot of my work is smaller, I had made some bigger wall-hung masks for a bit more impact. It took us about 2 hours to get it all sorted, then back to the van for a break before heading off to the opening night.

Setup almost complete. Really happy with the white boards attached.

The weekend was pretty tiring! My feet were certainly telling me they needed a rest at the end of it. Had a (as always) great bunch of artist neighbors and I enjoyed getting to know them. As I’ve done a few of these now, I’ve got to know a lot of the artists, and I love the feeling of community that the art show provides. I can’t speak highly enough about the organizers Art Shows across Aotearoa for their smooth running and well-organized events. There is a great family-feel to the shows and talking to the staff, most seem to be related to the organizers, so a bit of banter going on.

An overview of the show, I’m over the far end not visible from this angle.

Looking at the weather forecast before we left home, it looked like a colder weekend, but typical of our spring weather, it turned out quite warm. Note to self-the venues are always warm anyway so take light clothing, so I don’t melt! I had a light top, but boots were not a good choice, my other choice of footwear, a very worn, dirty and slightly smelly pair of gym shoes were not appropriate.

The visitors were great to talk to, enthusiastic and curious, many who stopped for a chat were artists themselves, which lead to some very interesting and lively conversations. I love finding out what drives people’s artmaking, and what they do, how they do it.

It’s a bit of a special feeling when someone spends ages studying things, and really engages with my work, asks lots of questions, or buys a piece.

I set up a table and made a few bits while I was there.

I set up a table and made a few bits while I was there, showing people how I made things. Had a few enthusiastic kids come along who made some things with me which was fun. I gave away a bit of clay to some so they could carry on their creating at home. Two delightful girls made a couple of critters then took them around to Trish at the Liquitex and Windsor and Newton stand to paint them. Well, they got the most out of the show!

Home now, tired but happy. I have a neglected garden that has been waiting patiently for me to pull all the overgrown chickweed out and plant some veges. My sprouting potatoes are trying to get out of the cupboard and go find some soil themselves, so best I give that some time!