The crate has been collected. Phew! Mick on the groundfloor allowed us to pack the work en situ. Given that it weighed 215 kg we were v grateful. But Mick also helped the courier on Wednesday as I couldn’t be there. I thanked him personally today. On the way to the studios I popped into Oldknows to see the Reunion exhibition – an overview of work by current and previous tenants of the studios, (including me). I missed the opening because I was tied up with SOS at the weekend. The show is a reminder of the great contemporary work being made by established artists in Nottingham. In particular I liked Stephen Craighill’s gruesome textiles constructed using found decorative fabrics and hand sewn tapestries. More Hitchcock than Home Sweet Home!
I am whacked! The builders were still working on Friday afternoon – changing the hinges on the windows before Southwell Open Studios this weekend. I managed to roller 12.5 litres onto the walls and hang work in 3 rooms. (My studio now has a bed in it and there is less wall space for pictures so we decided to spread out a bit). It’s traditional for artists to go on a tour of the studios the night before, with wine and nibbles at each stop. As there were 8 or 9 venues to visit, it meant plenty of booze and a late night. (Though we had plenty of coffe and tea to avoid a headache the next day)All good fun. I don’t know what the numbers were this year, but it felt busier than 2008. I’ll find out tomorrow because it’s a ticketed event. I had a few sales, interest in my books and some people signing up to my children’s book illustration classes.Today was spent packing Lim’s work in a crate to be collected and delivered back to Seoul on Wednesday. Luckily Sarah was around to help, though it still took all morning. Tonight has been catching up on admin and promoting Sooky’s show ‘Core’ at HMS. Her new work is beautifully executed and v original. See www.harringtonmillstudios.co.uk
Someone expressed an interest in setting up studios on the ground floor at Harrington Mills. He had seen my blog. However, I went through the sums and showed him that it would be too expensive and quite risky. It’s a shame because it would make a fantastic gallery/workshop/studios space.
We can only guess at the number of visitors who came to the Open Studios. Some signed in, but many didn’t. We estimated about 500 people… which isn’t bad on a tiny marketing budget. A great weekend! After little movement in the studios for over a year, two will be vacated by January. As we have a waiting list I have already contacted artists. I always explain to those wanting a space that the list can be quite fluid and wasn’t surprised to discover the next one in the queue had moved to Norwich. Two artists are pleased to hear the news!
