Hoorah for Small for All!

Box of smalls

Last month I decided to collect undies for the charity Small for All. Between us my daughter and I managed to gather four bras but then I put out an appeal on Facebook and the response has been overwhelming.Here is the box packed full of new and barely used undies, all collected by lovely creative Yorkshire people including brand new packs of knickers. Most people brought their contributions to my stand at Art in the Pen, the rest dropped them off at the shop where I work in Saltaire. 

Smalls donation box

The satisfaction of collecting for Smalls for All is that I don't have to ask anyone for money or sponsorship and the donations go directly to the recipients. Here's what the charity has to say about it.

"Because many women and children in Africa can't afford underwear, they fall victim to disease and attack. And girls who are lucky enough to have a place in school often miss 3 or 4 days a month due their lack of underwear. Smalls for All donates underwear in many ways - through links with established charities; through hospitals that treat women with conditions like fistula; through IDP camps and children's homes and orphanages"

If you missed the collection and you would like to donate to Small for All please visit their website. If you don't have any smalls to spare they accept financial donations too.

Lots of preparation!

Art in the Pen is nearly here and I still have a list of tasks to complete before Friday 14th August! 

Today I ordered the flowers for my table display. We have an excellent florist in Saltaire, Brambles and Blooms, and I have picked a selection of green sculptural flowers to go with long white lilium grandiflorum. I'm hoping they will make a show.All my electrics have now been pat tested - one floor lamp didn't pass so I am buying a new one this week. I have bought dust sheets from B and Q to cover the bars of the pen and I have sewn acres of retro bunting too.  All my furniture is now painted and I am very proud of my bargain circular table I got for a whopping £20 from the auctioneers at Killinghall. My lovely new display boxes arrived on Monday, hand made by a local joiner, and tomorrow I will be painting those too. So, it looks like I am nearly ready - what am I missing?

GLASS! Oh yes, nearly forgot about the glass.....

New glass - Rretro Square

This year I introduced a new design (well it is an old design but I have revisited it and improved upon it) - Retro Square. I love the combination of lime green, acid yellow and bright tangerine shining out on white opal glass with touches of turquoise, aqua and emerald. Retro Square is all about colour and reasons to be cheerful and I have made fruit plates, oval fruit bowls, coasters, tealight holders and sushi-style dishes.

There will also be my usual glass tableware - Bar Code Stripe, Fleur, Honeycomb and Spun Sugar - as well as Scandi birds and Funky Fish.  To find out more about Art in the Pen at Skipton Auction Mart please visit the website, ArtiinthePen.

Finally, I am pen 69, surrounded by lovely artists - please come and say hello. 
Jo X

Art in the Pen 2013

Honeycomb Glass

It's the final countdown.....
until Art in the Pen this coming weekend. The preview is on Friday night from 7pm to 9pm and then two whole days of delicious art and hand crafted loveliness will be at Skipton Auction Mart.

Labyrinth Glass

I have an entirely new range of both Honeycomb glass and Labyrinth glass dishes made for this event, with new coasters and more Scandinavian Birdies available.  So I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone at one of the best events in my exhibiting calendar. 

Scandi Birds

Glass Fairs 2013

I have been sorting out this year's shows and fairs and trying to plan ahead. Here is a list of dates and venues where I shall be during 2013, although it is still a work in progress. 

Otley Courthouse Designer Craft Fair Sunday 28 April 
This coincides with the Otley Famers' Market and is inside the Courthouse from 9.30 am to 1pm

Saltaire Makers' Fair at Victoria Hall, Saltaire 25 - 27 May 

As part of the prestigious Saltaire Arts Trail, I will be at Victoria Hall as part of the Makers' Fair from 10am to 4pm

Art in the Pen at Skipton Auction Mart 17 - 18 August

My second year at Art in the Pen. This year will be bigger than last with 30% more stalls selling handmade and original art

Headingley Heart Centre 14 September and 14 December

A busy venue with a lovely cafe and a great atmosphere

Please come and see me at Glassprimitif at one (or all) of these events) or check in to my News page 

Count Down to Art in the Pen

Skipton Auction Mart

Only five days to go before Art in the Pen and I am in a panic. Will I have enough glass? Will my table display look OK? What will I forget to bring? (I always forget something).

So I have an empty animal pen to fill at Skipton Auction Mart and that is all it is - an animal pen. See above. It measures 2.7 X 3.3 metres and has a concrete base. I will also get a power point because the lighting there isn't so great. I am bringing a large trestle table that I have painted antique white because I am not going to bring a table cloth. I think my glass may look better on a hard surface rather than a soft one. This means all the "stuff" that I don't need will have to go back in the car because I can't hide it under a cloth. But I also need a small table to wrap glass so I am currently spray painting my daughter's dressing table antique white to match the big table. But what if I need more display? So I found this old table in a junk shop.....

Ugly old table

...and painted it antique white with a blue/grey stripe. 

Refurbished Table

Then there's my signage. I don't want/have a vinyl sign so I have framed two chalk boards and bought a white liquid chalk pen. Just summoning up the courage to write on them now. 

Framed chalk boards

And what about my labels? I hated my display when I was at Saltaire Arts Trail and was irritated by all the bits of card cluttering up my table as price tags. So I have painted some wooden hearts with chalk board paint and will place them next to the glass. 

Chalk board price labels

Now I need to sort out something to sit on, finish painting my display boxes, find the missing magnets (where did I put them)? and a million other things.....

To find out more about Art in the Pen please visit their website HERE

Art in the Pen - it's official!

Today I received my pack of invites for Art in the Pen and the information for exhibitors so I am both excited and worried.  Excited because I have made all my glass for the event so I won't run low on stock. Worried because I don't have a clue about how to display my glass, even after years of setting up fairs and markets, when it comes to staging design I suck!  

I understand the principles of display such as making sure my display is at different eye levels, grouping in styles and colours, making sure the display materials don't overwhelm the glass, but when it comes to putting this into practice it is a different matter. I have been selecting ideas for display on Pinterest  but I will have to buy some furniture to make this kind of display. 
At least I have the opportunity to go to the Auction Mart next week to measure up my "pen" and make some decisions. If I can get the display right I will feel more confident about booking larger shows and events. Watch this space! 

See you at the Fair...

Close up of Retro Metro dish

This weekend will be very busy as I will be at Saltaire Makers Fair from Saturday 5th to Monday 7th May as part of the Saltaire Arts Trail. 
This is my first big event of the year and I have been planning and making glass specifically for this. It will be a good opportunity for me to test out my new designs and my pricing structure.  It has been at least two years since I exhibited at the Makers Fair so it will be interesting to see how it compares to my previous experiences there (I've always done well in the past). 
I have also been given the good news that I've been selected for Art in the Pen  in August. This is really exciting because I have never applied before, although I am an annual visitor.  The event is over two days at the Auction Mart in Skipton and the standard for selection is really high (gulp)!  This event is slightly different from Saltaire Makers Fair because I have to design, bring and install my entire stand which is in an animal pen. Watch this space to see how I get on with that! 

So if you are coming to Saltaire Makers Fair please come along and say hello to me. I will be in the Evans Room at Victoria Hall and I'll be very pleased to see you. 

Keighley - Airedale Town

During March 2009 comedian Mark Steel visited Skipton for his radio 4 show - Mark Steel's in Town. It was hilarious - so funny that my partner had to stop whilst driving in case he crashed!
One of the butts of Mark Steel's jokes was Keighley, where I work, which made it even funnier. But then I got thinking - I spend a good deal of my working life out and about in Keighley. What makes it a better town than Skipton?

Skipton has a castle but we have Cliffe Castle, the Victorian home of Henry Butterfield. It has extensive grounds and is packed full of treasures, history and art. Parking is ample and, even better, it is FREE!

Like Skipton, we have a steam railway but you don't have to drive out of town to travel on it. The Worth Valley Railway journeys from Keighley train station to Oxenhope, stopping at Ingrow, Damems, Oakworth, Haworth and Oxenhope. The Railway Children was filmed on the railway.

Keighley has many fine examples of Victorian architecture as it was once a wealthy town built on the wool trade. Cavendish Street, with its shops and glass canopy, links the train station with the commercial centre... and that glass canopy certainly keeps us dry on wet days!

Keighley Library is another architectural gem. Recently restored and modernised, it still retains it's original features. It's worth visiting the lending library upstairs to look at the murals.

Both our town centre shops and our market are undercover. Very sensible when you think how unpredictable the Yorkshire weather can be. You can wait for a bus under cover and park undercover too. There's plenty of parking on Hanover Street and Scott street and it's cheaper than Skipton.

On sunny days it's so pleasant to eat outside in the Town Square, surrounded by trees. Or visit Church Green, at the end of North Street, another peaceful spot.

Keighley is a place of cultural diversity and there are plenty of places to worship - the most stunning is the Emily Street Mosque. Just got the minaret to finish...

... and if it's culture you are looking for then visit the Arts Factory, Keighley's only contemporary gallery. Admission is free.

More culture? A few yards from the Arts Factory is The Picture House on North Street. Parking is in Scott Street, across the road.

Keighley is vibrant with colour thanks to the Keighley In Bloom committee and its local sponsors. The roundabout at the end of Showfield looks fantastic at the moment (particularly if you like orange).

A short bus/train ride away from the town centre are: wonderful East Riddlesden Hall, a National Trust property with a very large duck pond and historical Haworth, home of the Brontes. For more about Keighley and why it is worth a visit go to LoveKeighley.com

Carrick Bay

Last year we wnt to Scotland for our holidays and stayed at Carrick Bay on the Solway Coast. It was beautiful and so peaceful, with the mountains sweeping down to the sea and the little bays with birds and deer and rabbits. I took some photos of the beach and the skies and, on our return, made some sketches of the pebbles and rocks.



From these I designed four glass dishes in amber, brown and grey on vanilla with a touch of dichroic glass in each one.
These dishes have now been listed on Etsy and are for sale at $25 each. I have made two sets, although they will never look exactly the same, therefore they are unique. The second set are at Shaw Galleries in Skipton, UK.






I really enjoyed making them but I won't be making them again. I'm now interested in the seaweed photos that I took so I will be exploring this idea in glass.


www.glassprimitif.etsy.com
www.shawgalleries.co.uk