Welcome to Newsletter 24
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Well it is still January you know ...
Decided that I couldn’t wait until February to send out my Newsletter and invite you to the Bath Art Fair. And in any case, some of you might have missed out on the last chance to grab a bargain in my January sale if I had!
Here’s a quick list of what’s in this newsletter:-
1. Invite to Bath Art Fair.
2. Last chance to grab my January Sale.
3. Mentoring
4. No AWE or EOS this year
1. Invite to Bath Art Fair.
Friday 1st March 11am – 7pm.
Saturday 2nd March 10am – 6pm
Private View Thursday 28th Feb 6-9pm
Bath Pavilion,
North Parade Road,
Bath, BA2 4EU
The Bath Art Fair is in its third year now and is bedding-in nicely. This year it is at a new venue which should have a very positive effect. Centrally located in the heart of Bath, the Bath Pavilion is a splendid Edwardian building with good parking facilities, easy access to both the Bus and Train stations, and a short walking distance into the town centre. All of which should make it very easy for you to come and have a visit to see 80+ artists’ work. The organiser, Somerset
artist Alce Harfield, has a good business as well as creative head, which is an important combination for successful artists events. Tickets are £5 on the door (children and students free), but I can send you a “2 for 1” leaflet or PV invite is you tell me where to send it.
This is your invite to come and meet me at stand 38 (which is sort-of left of centre on the floor plan). To have a peep at the other artists exhibiting, take a look
here – I’m sure you’ll agree that it shows you a nice variety and a jolly good standard.
At this moment I’m preparing some artwork that will have its first airing in Bath, and also trying to choose from the stock I have what sort of artwork the good people of Barth might like to see...
Some of you who are familiar with my artwork will know that I have collections with different environmental or ecological subjects. So do you think the people of Bath would like to see City Bees; Devon Hedgerows; Blanket Bogs; Weeds or Bats??? Do let me know...
Hope to see you soon!
2. Last chance to grab my January Sale.
People who follow me on social media will have had the heads-up that for the first time ever I am having a January sale for one of the sections in my Etsy shop.
Truth is, I have to force myself to sit down and do some writing from time to time, so I only send out a few Newsletters a year. I know some people recommend a little and often, but if I tried to do it more frequently than I currently do it probably wouldn’t happen at all!
Up-shot being, followers on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram had wind of this over a month ago! Still a week or more to go, so if you fancy a clutch of little drypoints or perhaps a nice medium size one at 25% OFF go and take a look now while there is still time....
Sale on until the end of the month.
Here are some quick links to my social media...
FaceBook
Twitter
Instagram
3. Mentoring.
Mentoring isn’t something I shout about very often. Strangely I feel quite shy about it and often feel that I’m not going to be good enough. But when I get feedback like “You've got me so energised that I'm raring to go”, I have to reassess that self criticism. Being told that I was “inspiring and helpful” and that I “gave confidence” is also very inspiring and confidence building for me too. The first thing I have to do when someone approaches me for a mentoring session is to check what areas they are wanting to explore to make sure that they really are in my skills set. And only when we have had a chance to get to know a bit more about each other do I agree to a time and date to go through what those initial questions are. Some mentoring sessions entail me doing quite a bit of homework first, but this is all to the good because by endeavouring to help someone else I invariably learn things I need to know myself.
Being a printmaking tutor it’s not surprising that I’m often called upon to help with specific printmaking problems, or help to set up a printmaking studio. Choices of paper, colour mixing and framing naturally follow on from this. Not all my mentees have been printmakers – for example I am currently helping someone develop their Etsy shop and explore social media, but just a little at a time due to health issues. Sometimes there can be an element of “pointing out the obvious” and acquainting people with things that they hadn’t realised that they actually already know and just hadn’t had to opportunity to think through. There is a lot of information that can be found on-line (if you have the knack of asking the right questions). However some of the people I have helped haven’t
grown up with computers and would rather have some hands-on help with getting their Etsy shop started, or to get themselves out there on social media for the first time.
I have written a little more about this on the news page of my
website if you are interested. It goes on to explain an unexpected outcome where I went on to do the “homework” myself that I had suggested to other people!
4. No AWE or EOS this year
Exeter artists have been “Opening” their studios in many ways over the years. Exeter Open Studios now takes place as part of the city-wide Arts Week Exeter festival (AWE). – Except – AWE isn’t happening this year and it’s planning to morph into "Art Work Exeter" anyway. There are some Exeter artists considering organising an Art Trail in May – the period the AWE would have taken place. At present it isn’t known whether this will actually happen and personally, I think it’s quite a lot to sort out with no 
budget at this stage. So instead I am considering taking part in Devon Open Studios (organised by Devon Artist Network). This takes place in September so there’s plenty of time to hear more about this later.
Meanwhile, if you are concerned about
AWE not happening, the plan seems to be that AWE are looking at organisational development with the aim of making AWE sustainable! They also intend changing the focus a little more towards artist development and support.
If you are interested in being involved in these developments, there is a meeting of
Exeter Visual Arts Forum hosted in the AWEsome Art Space on Paris Street, Exeter.
Tuesday 19th February. 10am – 11:30am, plus 11:30am - 12 noon for discussion.
Agenda:
1. Art Work Exeter - plans and thoughts from the Board; artists spaces and learning/ professional development.
2. Changing scene - new posts in the city; Contemporary Art curator at RAMM; Creative Director at exeter culture; Arts & Culture Director at University of Exeter.
3. Visual arts calendar - what's on our collective radar?
4. AOB
5. Discussion - what further resources are required?
If this interests you and you want to be involved in the Exeter art scene get yourself on the mailing list for EVAF &/or AWE by emailing
info@artweekexeter.org.uk
AWE FaceBook
AWE Twitter
AWE Instagram
EOS FaceBook
Hope to see you again soon
Thanks Lynn
