Friday, 31 August 2012
New mini paintings - cartoon cats.
I've been inspired to paint some cartoon styled animals recently - it started with a cartoon dog, which I painted for a donation as a prize in an event at Driffield Showground on Bank Holiday Monday - I went on to paint 3 more of those dogs in a very similar, but not exact way. Then I started thinking about doing cats. I've always thought I couldn't really do cartoon paintings, but having positive feedback has encouraged me to try some cats. A fellow stall-holder at a craft fair (Lynda Mills of Wrapped In Style) suggested that I produced some cats on my mini canvases way back in March, but I wasn't sure at the time - I've now created two and have been sketching out several more in different poses. Here's the two I've now completed, as yet un-named. I will be asking my Facebook fans/likers to help me name them, as it's interesting to see what varied suggestions are thrown in!
Monday, 27 August 2012
Life's Little Ups and Downs..
Life is full of these - or so it seems to me, anyway. I have always thought that you actually need the lows in life in order to fully appreciate the highs.Some low points are obviously worse than others and take longer to recover from than others, but all the same it's nice when you get a high point after a low - this is what happened to me last weekend.
I'd done another event - part of a Family Fun Day - and not sold very much plus received some odd, rather thoughtless remarks about my work. Looking back, it was nothing, really, but at the time I felt quite upset about it. Therefore I was delighted to receive notification the next day that one of my painted wooden photo frames was featured in a blog all about sequins. The lovely Vixxie, who saw the frame on my Etsy site, wrote the blog, which you can read for yourself by clicking on the link Matin Lapin. It may only be a small thing, but somehow when another artisan selflessly promotes your work for you, it means so much. Thanks Vixxie, I really appreciate it!
Here's my painting of "Life's Little Ups and Downs" which was inspired by a series of such last year!
I'd done another event - part of a Family Fun Day - and not sold very much plus received some odd, rather thoughtless remarks about my work. Looking back, it was nothing, really, but at the time I felt quite upset about it. Therefore I was delighted to receive notification the next day that one of my painted wooden photo frames was featured in a blog all about sequins. The lovely Vixxie, who saw the frame on my Etsy site, wrote the blog, which you can read for yourself by clicking on the link Matin Lapin. It may only be a small thing, but somehow when another artisan selflessly promotes your work for you, it means so much. Thanks Vixxie, I really appreciate it!
Here's my painting of "Life's Little Ups and Downs" which was inspired by a series of such last year!
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Bin Buddies Blog Spot: Art of Recycling Exhibition
I recently met two of the girls from this team of LifeStyle members - Katie was on holiday at the time, but I was very impressed with the skills and dedication shown by Evie and Liv so far. Their theme for the project has been recycling and last year they concentrated on making several clocks using materials that were destined for the rubbish bin. They have continued with that idea this year, but also have created some stunning pieces of art using recycled materials. The girls came to chat with me, supposedly to ask my advice on what else they could create for their exhibition - but to be honest, I think they could've given me more advice based on their efforts so far. I did at least give them some materials to use, play around with and some ideas for smaller items that they could possibly sell at the exhibition. Unfortunately, I will be busy myself this coming Sunday, as I'm selling my creations at a Fun Day in aid of HERIB (Hull & East Riding Institute for the Blind). However, I will hopefully be able to see the girls when they start to put their exhibition together at some point on Saturday. Here's the link to their blog page detailing the exhibition.
Bin Buddies Blog Spot: Art of Recycling Exhibition: We are holding an exhibition of art made from recycled materials - this is in aid of Special Smiles, to fund a trip to Honeysuckle Farm for ...
Bin Buddies Blog Spot: Art of Recycling Exhibition: We are holding an exhibition of art made from recycled materials - this is in aid of Special Smiles, to fund a trip to Honeysuckle Farm for ...
Sunday, 8 July 2012
The way I see it....
Today's post is how I view life when I'm doing a craft fair. It's a strange thing, as you are thrust into a room of other people that sometimes you've never met before (which is a big deal for me, trust me!) and that you are, in effect, competing with for customers. I always, always get nervous in the run-up to a craft fair, in the same way that I always get nervous just before performing on stage either in a play or a musical show. I think it's to do with the fear of the unknown - you don't know what the other stall-holders are going to be like, whether anyone will actually buy any of your work, or even whether anyone will look at it as they glide past!
Usually, I can gauge when someone is going to buy something from me - and my heart starts beating just a little bit faster when that happens! Last weekend at the event on Victoria Dock, I had such a moment when a man bought the latest painted jewellery box, "Blythe". He made a purposeful move to the trinket boxes in general, made a comment about one of the wardrobe-styled ones taking a long time to do, then when I mentioned that the largest one cost more than the rest due to the different compartments and the size etc. he simply said "I'll have this one please".
There were no more incidents last week, other than a couple of children roughly handling my boxes. Some children are sooooo clumsy (and have filthy hands, too) and it's really hard to know how to respond, especially when their parent is with them. I don't want to stop people touching my work - that is often how people decide on buying something, but maybe I could get a sign put up saying that any damages must be paid for - although I've yet to see that on another stall so maybe others have a different way of dealing with it.
Yesterday, at the MadeandsoldinHull fair, which was a great success for all involved, I believe, the sweetest thing for me was the little girl who initially came to each stall with her friend and asked if we had anything for 9p. About 20 minutes later, she returned and the amount had gone up to 20p, then 21p and finally she had £1 in her hand hoping for a bargain. I suppose I could have given her one of my little cup-cake charms for £1 instead of £1.50, but she wasn't really interested in anything that small anyway so doubt she would have accepted it! She turned down a ring on my neighbour's stall for £1 so she was obviously fussy about what she wanted also!
There are times when you wonder why you put yourself through the process of standing/sitting there for hours at a times only to overhear rude remarks about your work. However, thankfully, yesterday was not one of those occasions and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was particularly nice to meet some people that I'd only previously spoken to on-line.
Overheard remarks, even though at times they are upsetting (or at least they may dent your ego a tad), are often also amusing afterwards. I remember some from previous fairs I've attended - one woman asked the woman she was with (ignoring me completely) if my mini paintings on easels were "boxes". The woman with her said "No, they're just plaques". Plaques are obviously lower down the chain of artistic creations, boxes are perhaps slightly higher up, but God knows where mini paintings are! Another woman asked me about the same paintings, squinted at them and said "what are they, then, just ornaments?"
Some people just don't realise that what they say to each other at their side of the table can actually be heard by us at this side! I've often heard remarks such as "Oh, I could do that easily" and "you can buy them in such-and-such for only £2 and paint them yourself" . I just think to myself "yes, but I'm actually doing it, not just saying that I could!" . I just try to spend my time smiling at people and saying hello when I make eye contact with them. Some people just blank you out altogether, however - a customer recently seemed to be taking a lot of interest in my mini paintings, as though she was trying to work out whether they were painted or not - so I just said "these are all hand painted by me" to which she just looked at me and walked off!
I had an unusual conversation yesterday with a man who is running a summer club for Youths and he was looking at my painted notebooks as inspiration for a craft project for them. He took some photos of the ones on display (asked my permission first) and we had quite a chat about how I created them, he thanked me, took my business card and went away. Several minutes later he came back and bought one of the books so that he would have an example to show them before they started. That sort of transaction is always such a pleasure - I feel good that I've hopefully helped someone else and I also made a sale out of it, which is an added bonus!
This is the book he bought - "Royal Crest".
The worst thing about doing fairs is when people just walk straight past your stall without even trying to feign interest. Yes, I realise that everyone has different interests, but to be polite, you'd think just the briefest of looks wouldn't hurt, would it? Perhaps us creative souls just need to switch off when that happens, and concentrate on the people that are interested, but it's really hard sometimes!
I am lucky in that my husband always supports me by coming along and sitting with me, even if he's the only man there (which does sometimes happen) and I really don't know if I could do it alone - so I really do appreciate the fact that he's there with me. He must get bored, I know - he brings a book to read and sometimes goes outside for a walk if it's a nice day, but I don't suppose there are many men that would endure such things - or that have the time to do so.
I sold 3 photo frames yesterday, a cup-cake key ring and a cup-cake trinket box as well, so all in all a really good day. The event organisers (Lucy Lines and Leni Bratten) were very friendly, extremely well organised and knew everyone by name when it came to saying goodbye at the end of the day. I always make a point of thanking the organiser at the end of any fair (provided I can find them) - even if I've not made a profit. I know from experience what a thankless task it can be, so try to show my appreciation especially when it has been organised so well.
Today, our 17th wedding anniversary, incidentally, we are off to a rehearsal for the junior production, followed by a Youth section rehearsal, so will not be back home till gone 7 at least. The weather is rubbish today, so it's not too bad that we are indoors rehearsing for a lot of the time!
I think I may spend more time jotting down the comments from potential customers, and collecting those from others to share in the future - it seems everyone hears something!
Usually, I can gauge when someone is going to buy something from me - and my heart starts beating just a little bit faster when that happens! Last weekend at the event on Victoria Dock, I had such a moment when a man bought the latest painted jewellery box, "Blythe". He made a purposeful move to the trinket boxes in general, made a comment about one of the wardrobe-styled ones taking a long time to do, then when I mentioned that the largest one cost more than the rest due to the different compartments and the size etc. he simply said "I'll have this one please".
There were no more incidents last week, other than a couple of children roughly handling my boxes. Some children are sooooo clumsy (and have filthy hands, too) and it's really hard to know how to respond, especially when their parent is with them. I don't want to stop people touching my work - that is often how people decide on buying something, but maybe I could get a sign put up saying that any damages must be paid for - although I've yet to see that on another stall so maybe others have a different way of dealing with it.
Yesterday, at the MadeandsoldinHull fair, which was a great success for all involved, I believe, the sweetest thing for me was the little girl who initially came to each stall with her friend and asked if we had anything for 9p. About 20 minutes later, she returned and the amount had gone up to 20p, then 21p and finally she had £1 in her hand hoping for a bargain. I suppose I could have given her one of my little cup-cake charms for £1 instead of £1.50, but she wasn't really interested in anything that small anyway so doubt she would have accepted it! She turned down a ring on my neighbour's stall for £1 so she was obviously fussy about what she wanted also!
There are times when you wonder why you put yourself through the process of standing/sitting there for hours at a times only to overhear rude remarks about your work. However, thankfully, yesterday was not one of those occasions and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was particularly nice to meet some people that I'd only previously spoken to on-line.
Overheard remarks, even though at times they are upsetting (or at least they may dent your ego a tad), are often also amusing afterwards. I remember some from previous fairs I've attended - one woman asked the woman she was with (ignoring me completely) if my mini paintings on easels were "boxes". The woman with her said "No, they're just plaques". Plaques are obviously lower down the chain of artistic creations, boxes are perhaps slightly higher up, but God knows where mini paintings are! Another woman asked me about the same paintings, squinted at them and said "what are they, then, just ornaments?"
Some people just don't realise that what they say to each other at their side of the table can actually be heard by us at this side! I've often heard remarks such as "Oh, I could do that easily" and "you can buy them in such-and-such for only £2 and paint them yourself" . I just think to myself "yes, but I'm actually doing it, not just saying that I could!" . I just try to spend my time smiling at people and saying hello when I make eye contact with them. Some people just blank you out altogether, however - a customer recently seemed to be taking a lot of interest in my mini paintings, as though she was trying to work out whether they were painted or not - so I just said "these are all hand painted by me" to which she just looked at me and walked off!
I had an unusual conversation yesterday with a man who is running a summer club for Youths and he was looking at my painted notebooks as inspiration for a craft project for them. He took some photos of the ones on display (asked my permission first) and we had quite a chat about how I created them, he thanked me, took my business card and went away. Several minutes later he came back and bought one of the books so that he would have an example to show them before they started. That sort of transaction is always such a pleasure - I feel good that I've hopefully helped someone else and I also made a sale out of it, which is an added bonus!
The worst thing about doing fairs is when people just walk straight past your stall without even trying to feign interest. Yes, I realise that everyone has different interests, but to be polite, you'd think just the briefest of looks wouldn't hurt, would it? Perhaps us creative souls just need to switch off when that happens, and concentrate on the people that are interested, but it's really hard sometimes!
I am lucky in that my husband always supports me by coming along and sitting with me, even if he's the only man there (which does sometimes happen) and I really don't know if I could do it alone - so I really do appreciate the fact that he's there with me. He must get bored, I know - he brings a book to read and sometimes goes outside for a walk if it's a nice day, but I don't suppose there are many men that would endure such things - or that have the time to do so.
I sold 3 photo frames yesterday, a cup-cake key ring and a cup-cake trinket box as well, so all in all a really good day. The event organisers (Lucy Lines and Leni Bratten) were very friendly, extremely well organised and knew everyone by name when it came to saying goodbye at the end of the day. I always make a point of thanking the organiser at the end of any fair (provided I can find them) - even if I've not made a profit. I know from experience what a thankless task it can be, so try to show my appreciation especially when it has been organised so well.
Today, our 17th wedding anniversary, incidentally, we are off to a rehearsal for the junior production, followed by a Youth section rehearsal, so will not be back home till gone 7 at least. The weather is rubbish today, so it's not too bad that we are indoors rehearsing for a lot of the time!
I think I may spend more time jotting down the comments from potential customers, and collecting those from others to share in the future - it seems everyone hears something!
Friday, 29 June 2012
Grandadshouses Craft Fair
I am busy preparing for my next craft fair this Saturday - which is being organised by Grandadshouses. They are a husband and wife team who make dolls' houses, garages and farms complete with miniature play animals, as well as a host of money boxes and other small wooden houses!. They are planning to run regular craft fairs in the Hull area as well as teach some craft workshops at the same venue. Here is their blog page advertising the Fair for Saturday 30th June: Grandadshouse blog.
There is a Facebook Page for the event also - if you know anyone who lives in the East Yorkshire area and would like to pop along, I'm sure there will be plenty to choose from with the various artisans displaying on the day.
I am planning to take a couple or 3 new trinket boxes, two new fabric covered notebooks, some new yo-yos and wooden photo frames with me, as well as my mini wardrobe trinket boxes, cupcake key rings and mini art on canvas with easel.
Starting at 11.30am and finishing at 3pm, it's a fairly short day for a change, but I am hopeful as I know a lot of advertising has gone into this event and it's very near to the town centre, so perhaps we will get weekend shoppers strolling down as well!
There is a Facebook Page for the event also - if you know anyone who lives in the East Yorkshire area and would like to pop along, I'm sure there will be plenty to choose from with the various artisans displaying on the day.
I am planning to take a couple or 3 new trinket boxes, two new fabric covered notebooks, some new yo-yos and wooden photo frames with me, as well as my mini wardrobe trinket boxes, cupcake key rings and mini art on canvas with easel.
Starting at 11.30am and finishing at 3pm, it's a fairly short day for a change, but I am hopeful as I know a lot of advertising has gone into this event and it's very near to the town centre, so perhaps we will get weekend shoppers strolling down as well!
Saturday, 16 June 2012
Forthcoming fairs/exhibitions etc.
I've just updated my website with dates of all the fairs and exhibitions I'm currently booked into over the summer (?) months. I also plan to enter the Summer Open Exhibition at Wolds Village, but have not yet filled in my entry form.
I'm currently working on some more wooden trinket boxes, mini paintings and new cup-cake mini trinket boxes - in between getting props and costumes sorted for the Junior & Youth Sections productions at the end of July!
Here's the list:
Upcoming and current exhibition details:
16th & 17th June 2012:
Holderness Art Show
Burton Pidsea
Saturday 30th June
GRANDADSHOUSES "HANDMADE" CRAFT FAIR,
Victoria Dock Village Hall,
Southbridge road,
Hull,
HU9 1TS.
11.30am - 3pm
Admission £1 includes entry into raffle,the prize is a HANDMADE DOLLS HOUSE!
Sat 7th July:
Made and Sold in Hull Event
11am - 3pm
Marist Church Hall
Cottingham Road
Hull
Saturday 14th July:
Summer Fayre - Endsleigh Mercy Centre, Hull
Sunday 29th July:
Real Aid Summer Fayre and Teddy Bears Picnic,
Tickton Village Hall and Field,
Main Street
Tickton
HU17 9RZ
11am -4pm
Saturday 4th August:
Costello Hull, Family fun day
(details to be confirmed)
Sunday 19th August:
Beverley Rugby Club
(details to be confirmed)
Sat 22nd September:
Newland Craft Fair
(details to be confirmed)
I'm currently working on some more wooden trinket boxes, mini paintings and new cup-cake mini trinket boxes - in between getting props and costumes sorted for the Junior & Youth Sections productions at the end of July!
Here's the list:
Upcoming and current exhibition details:
16th & 17th June 2012:
Holderness Art Show
Burton Pidsea
Saturday 30th June
GRANDADSHOUSES "HANDMADE" CRAFT FAIR,
Victoria Dock Village Hall,
Southbridge road,
Hull,
HU9 1TS.
11.30am - 3pm
Admission £1 includes entry into raffle,the prize is a HANDMADE DOLLS HOUSE!
Sat 7th July:
Made and Sold in Hull Event
11am - 3pm
Marist Church Hall
Cottingham Road
Hull
Saturday 14th July:
Summer Fayre - Endsleigh Mercy Centre, Hull
Sunday 29th July:
Real Aid Summer Fayre and Teddy Bears Picnic,
Tickton Village Hall and Field,
Main Street
Tickton
HU17 9RZ
11am -4pm
Saturday 4th August:
Costello Hull, Family fun day
(details to be confirmed)
Sunday 19th August:
Beverley Rugby Club
(details to be confirmed)
Sat 22nd September:
Newland Craft Fair
(details to be confirmed)
Friday, 15 June 2012
Sketch book drawings....
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