Lost in the Wood

Me & Evie Dress Up (can't help ourselves) Last weekend kicked off the 10th annual Helfa Gelf (Art Trail). Spanning five counties right across North Wales, this brilliant open studios event gives access to all manner of studios, creative spaces and interesting artists and makers. I'm happily taking part for the third time (as Laura Cameron , no.9 in the HG booklet) and Friday saw the set up at the 'Creu' studio in the pretty courtyard at Parc Glynllifon along with some of my fellow Helfa Gelf Glynllifon gang: Gareth Brindle Jones (painter, film maker), Sioned Hywel (textile artist), Richard Jones (photographer) and across the courtyard, the lovely Irene & Edith (potter/ceramics).  Anglesey Elvis (a creation of the very patient Gareth Brindle Jones) indulged my love of dressing up by allowing me to borrow his wig and sunglasses, until his head fell off and Evie (my rabbit headed lady) stole the glasses. That's the sort of thing that happens round here....

Detail from ' Visceral Whisperings...'  Oh poor neglected blog, it's time to do a brief round up before the pre-Christmas making madness eclipses everything else. Exhibitions : I'm delighted to have work currently in two local exhibitions: a needle felted heart & brain installation in the Galeri (Caernafon) 's Agored / Open 2014 Exhibition , entitled 'Visceral Whisperings (sometimes my heart murmurs things my brain decides not to hear)'. It happily nestles amongst an interesting mix of works from a reworked chest of drawers ( Rebecca F Hardy ) to an impressive pool filled with water & bronze statues (Llyr Erddyn Davies). Definitely worth seeing, it runs from 3rd October until 14th November .   Also, I have 5 woolidermy heads on display at Ysbyty Gwynedd, part of  their 'Art in Hospitals' programme of exhibitions, this one features selected Helfa Gelf artists working in various mediums and seems to be a cheery sight as you...

Me in Creu Studio, 1st weekend of Helfa Gelf Art Trail Evie, queen of the studio We're half way through this year's Helfa Gelf art trail so I thought I'd better make some kind of comment on this fab open studios event. With Evie now firmly established in our shared studio ( 'Creu') at Parc Glynllifon, participation in our second Helfa Gelf feels much more relaxed than last year's debut. Despite some nerves, last year was an incredibly positive experience: I got to know some lovely artists/ makers, it galvanised me into getting my act together, I had a chance to introduce my work to the public (in a gentle, supportive way) & be part of something I think is a great boost for the area (for artists & the public). It seems a shame then that there was apparently a bit of struggle this year to secure some of the funding to allow the co-ordinated event to go ahead. Think we've got enough signs now (more not shown!) All the artists financia...

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...

Evie looking regal (back view) Weekends in North Wales are stuffed full of interesting arty things to see/ visit at the moment as the annual Helfa Gelf (art trail) is in full swing across 5 counties. So far, me & Evie (see pic) have enjoyed our first time involvement in it. We've been very lucky to be sharing a lovely light & airy studio with two other colourful artists in Y iard (the yard), an idyllic old courtyard of restored workshops at Parc Glynllifon (near Caernarfon). Many artists are opening up their actual studios/barns/workshops/ spare rooms for the public to potter in but others, like us in Unit 9, are renting space for the month. There's definitely some advantage to this, a cluster of artists are presumably more likely to be visited especially when there's a cafe selling huge slices of tasty cakes in the grounds, the Black Cat Cafe . I recommend the ridiculously gooey beetroot & chocolate brownie (just not for a first date, bit too messy/...

Evie starring in 'The Last Days of Summer' A bitesize blog today! Helfa Gelfa has begun in style, Evie has had her makeover & is now looking pretty ravishing / sinister (depending who you ask, apparently there's shades of The Wicker Man about her) at the centre of a strange tea party. Entitled 'The Last Days of Summer', it's a mysterious picnic with a hint of things unravelling. Evie with her crochet rabbit's head (a more ambitious version of my mounted bunny heads), somehow looks both imperious & slightly wanton and exudes a definite nymphish air. She's a work in progress & will by the end of the month be (hopefully) festooned with flowers, vines, creatures & ivy.  I feel very fortunate to be sharing a lovely light & airy studio (reminiscent of a lofty garret) with two other colourful artists, painter Alison Englefield (the photos of her work give the flavour but don't do the wonderful multi layered, intricate ...

Amelia Puddle Hello folks, this week has been full of big announcements and much artiness! Peter Capaldi as the next Doctor has been met with cheerful warmth in our little cottage and sighs of relief that it wasn't someone alarming like the smug student from the BT ads or Shane Ritchie (as my friend upsettingly threw into the rumour mix). Our personal hopefuls were Ben Wishaw, 'Johnson' from Peep Show & Zawe Ashton (the fabulous 'Vod' from Fresh Meat) but Peter C is certainly ok by us. Even more excitingly, The Doctor's new companion was unveiled today, rather unbelievably, at the national Eisteddfod in Denbigh. As pictured, the producers requested a cut-price Amy Pond type so hurrah, it is I! I'm planning a bilingual effort after doing surprisingly well in my recent Welsh exam (most surprising perhaps to the people who have tried to chat with me 'ym Cymraeg'). Sadly, my make-me-look-cooler oversized sunglasses have broken so I'm looking ...

Needle felted bee swarm (in progress) As my old school motto had it (see title), living bravely is a Good Idea. I'm not sure I've always embodied it, unless changing my mind & trying out various different paths in very meandering style counts (maybe by default it actually does?). Anyway, let's attribute my latest decision making to boldness rather than folly. Prompted by an adorable little shop recently coming up for rent, I've briefly been debating whether to open a workshop/ studio/ shop with my woolly partner in crime. After much thinking, planning and costing, I've put the idea on hold for at least a year or two. It'd be a big undertaking that financially & artistically I'm just not ready for it at the moment. However, all the thinking and debating has been fantastic in helping me define what it is I want to (and can) do right now. So it'll be a big goodbye to the (part time) day job in 3 weeks HURRAH!! I'll miss the many lovely peo...

Portmeirion Bit erratic on the blog front recently but with good reason, last weekend my little brother made his inaugural trip to Wales. After 5 years of excuses (including living in New Zealand for the 1st 2 years, I gracefully accepted this one), he arrived at last! Was most exciting to be able to show him lots of lovely things with the sunshine gods beaming down benevolently on us for once. Accompanying him in the trip was our best friend, a good natured soul who will happily potter round Caernarfon Castle, Portmeirion etc etc once again (not really a hardship and there were plenty of ice creams to help fuel these escapades). I've been to a number of lovely places around the world (such as waterfalls in Brazil, arriving by camel to the Pyramids at Giza, hilltop temples in Japan) but few places can top the loveliness of Portmeirion on a sunny summer day. I've visited quite a few times now (including in winter) and it never fails to delight and inspire (and use up a lot o...

Evie My, it's been a busy week (and a bit). Last Friday, I was fortunate to go to a session arranged by Helfa Gelf http://www.helfagelf.co.uk about marketing for artists. I learned quite a lot of useful things (which I hope to put into practice) and met some lovely artists whose work I definitely want to know more about. The day was facilitated by Jo Quinney, PR & marketing guru http://qmpr.co.uk/ who clearly knows her stuff, is very approachable and works a lot with artists/ creative types (her diplomacy and sense of humour must help a lot with this). Also, I've enjoyed a jaunt to visit the folks & friends in Edinburgh. As well as A LOT of relaxing in the greenhouse (then garden, sitting under the apple trees when it just got too hot), I've been gatecrashing a weavers guild AGM to hear an entertaining talk on adventures and textiles in rural India (with many fabrics ingeniously crammed into a tiny suitcase for our perusal); enjoying a fantastic belly dance ...

Quick post to let everyone (anyone?) know that I'll be participating with my strange creations in Helfa Gelf (North Wales art trail) in September this year.  The website has just been updated and is now sparkly & shiny with this year's artists & crafters http://www.helfagelf.co.uk/en/artists/ I'm in the guise of Laura Cameron.  There'll be lots of content being added for all the artists between now and September. Please 'like' the HG Facebook page to keep up to date with developments https://www.facebook.com/HelfaGelfArtTrail?fref=ts