Setting up 18 studios, Long Eaton, Nottingham

Have just returned from the Bathing Beauties Festival in Mablethorpe/Sutton where 7 HMS artists took over 4 beach huts at the smaller seaside resort of Sutton-on-Sea. A great weekend. There was a constant stream of visitors but… I’m not sure I managed to reach the audience which were mainly elderly with every shade, make and size of dog imaginable. Some funky mobility scooters too. I had geared my work up for children, taking along a couple of littlechairs and a low table. I also provided materials so that young artists could add characters to ones I had already created on a beach scene. Whilst there were a few under-7s yesterday they were definitely doing other things today. Still it was a great way to spend the day – by the sea and with a great bunch of people. David and Louise’s activity managed to attract more attention though. Louise had the bright idea of cutting up the wooden slats of an old wooden blind into 6 inch slices. Visitors were invited to paint seacapes which were repositioned back into the original slots and hung in the beach hut window for the public to see.