Glass Versus Weaving

Wool yarn from Texere Yarns

It's here! A big package of assorted yarns from Texere Yarns in Bradford ready for my next project. Lots of lovely colours (three shades of black) and some Chinese silk yarn for dyeing too.  I love the aqua and pistachio yarn - can't wait to start experimenting.I'm also hard at work in the attic studio creating glass for several events. The new Christmas exhibition opens at Just Makers in Harlow Carr very soon and I also have events in Masham, Saltaire, Kelbrook, East Riddlesden and Headingley in November and December. 

Christmas Trees for Harlow Carr

So glass versus weaving - which one will win out? It will have to be glass of course (but I can always weave instead of sleeping I suppose) 

I have a weaving diary on Pinterest HERE 

It's Show Time

January and February are the months that I spend applying for fairs, events and exhibitions. March to May are the months that I find out if my glass has been accepted - or not.

It's always a case of  "you win some, you lose some" and I'm pleased to say that I have only had one rejection so far this year (so we won't talk about that)!  Form filling and application processing are time consuming: editing and selecting images of new work, making payments, writing artist's statements that fit the word count, updating CVs - all take up time. Some galleries want to see images of the actual work that is to be submitted, others just want to see a selection that represents the artist's work.  This means that for exhibitions such as Platform Gallery's Craft Open I had to make the work in advance in the hope that it would get selected (it was :) )So now I am changing the pencilled-in dates in my diary to inked-in ones, paying more fees (bleurgh) and planning how to present and display my work.  Here is my event schedule for 2015 - I am hoping to add more dates in the next couple of weeks.

14 April - 10 May Glass and Ceramics exhibition at Just Makers The Old Bath House RHS Harlow Carr North Yorkshire

23 - 25 May The Makers' Fair Saltaire Arts Trail Victoria Hall Saltaire West Yorkshire

25 April - 4 July Craft Open Platform Gallery Clitheroe Lancashire

11 - 12 July Crafted by Hand Masham North Yorkshire

15 - 16 August Art in the Pen Skipton Auction Mart North Yorkshire

I love Mondays

I was chatting to one of our resident artists at work the other day and she said that she really looked forward to Mondays as she spent Sunday in anticipation of getting back to her studio.  Well I like Mondays too.

Today I'm off to Harlow Carr to drop off glass for a forthcoming exhibition. It's a lovely drive over to Harrogate via Beamsley Beacon (a very big hill) and I have a car boot full of new glass.  Harlow Carr is a fantastic place to visit, made up of extensive gardens and owned by The Royal Horticutural Society.  The exhibition, which opens on 17th March, will be in the Old Bath House and I am really looking forward to it.

The Old Bath House, Harlow Carr

I think the reason that I like Mondays so much is that no two days are the same. Last Monday I was teaching glass fusing and next Monday I will be enjoying a long weekend in The Lake District. Before I was self employed I worked for a building society and every monday (in fact, every day) was the same. 

Once I get back from Harlow Carr I will spend the rest of the day back in the studio creating more glass for an exhibition application with a deadline of the end of March (!) I'd better get busy then....