Autumnal Glow & Hues (Not Blues)

Evie, final week of Helfa Gelf

 Ooh, there's a lot going on at the moment and maybe the blog is feeling a bit neglected, so it's time to lavish a little attention on it and do a round up of a few things.
Firstly, a brief consideration of two things coming to an end. September's Helfa Gelf art trail was a brilliant experience for me as I got a lot more exposure (the good, socially acceptable kind) than I could have achieved on my own, I met a lot of lovely people and got to see their reactions to my work. Predominantly this was amusement (Evie, mounted heads, squirrel in milk jug etc), delight (crochet cakes & rack of toast) or being slightly disturbed (also Evie/ woolidermy heads). I've written before about how much I enjoyed being with the other artists in our temporary studios (see recent previous posts) so I will not retread this happy ground but it was very entertaining and enjoyable and I would definitely recommend the experience to other artists thinking of participating next year. Here's a final pic of Evie in her Week Three finery.

The Willow Gallery (Oswestry), 'Natural Selection' exhibition

 Also nearing its end is the 'Natural Selection' exhibition at the delightful Willow Gallery in Oswestry which includes my Needle Felt Bee Swarm (but still time to visit, it's on until 19th October!). I went for a potter round the exhibition a couple of weeks ago and was most impressed. There's a lovely mix of pieces in a variety of media and I was pleased to find my bee swarm keeping excellent company with two particularly wonderful artworks. Tereska Shepherd's huge oil paintings of bees and fruits have the precise detail of scientific illustrations, you can just see a peak of 'Endangered' depicting different types of bees.

'Looking Through a Window Made of Time'-Charlotte Winter

 Even more adored was Charlotte Winter's  'Looking Through a Window Made of Time' which seemingly suspends a taxidermied owl flying through a gilded frame. It's a clever, stunning piece of work and hung for maximum effect. There's also another piece by Charlotte Winter of hummingbirds in/as an hourglass, it's delicately beautiful and felt like a memento mori, a reminder of death & the constant running of time.

 In terms of the new, Autumn (my favourite season) brings new opportunities, rich glowing colours and new alliances. I've just joined Creu, a collective of artists based at the Creu unit at Parc Glynllifon encompassing jewellery, textiles, felting, cards, floral displays, homewares and gifts. I'm excited about this as I really enjoyed the interaction with other artists during Helfa Gelf (and through my Jeweller's Apprentice position) and it will save potential strain on my marriage that both of us working from home soon may generate! I love my husband and quite want to keep him even if he doesn't appreciate my singing to myself, constant interuptions and noisey crashing about while working (so I'm told). Having some studio space to go off to (as well as a pretty display/sales area) will prove a definite asset I imagine in both my professional and home life! (Creu artists-be assured I will not be this annoying!).

Acorn & Oak Leaf Necklace by Maureen Cameron

Evie is keen to flaunt herself once again for the North Wales public so she'll be on display in her new Creu home in her Autumnal finery from Saturday onwards (19th). My splendid Mum has indulged me once again by enthusiastically throwing herself into the role as Evie's Mistress of the Wardrobe/Dresser. At the glorious Borders Scrap Store (Musselburgh) we found gorgeous material for a Autumn outfit and Mum gamely made a suitably themed necklace (see pic showing both). Evie should look fantastic I just need to do my bit by making some things to sell and a few Woolidermy heads to watch down on visitors from above the fireplace. More on this at the weekend.

Also very excitingly, I'll have festive work in the MOSTYN gallery shop from the end of the month. Crocheted reindeer, bunny & squirrel heads, mince pies & clementines will be available. I'm really looking forwards to this and to seeing their Christmas window display which I know has a lot of thought and time behind it. More on this soon too.

Next time: My first magazine feature! & Evie does Autumn...