Had a great day at Out of the Blue Drill Hall last Saturday, however much of my stock has now been depleted with three originals sold and numerous prints! Thankfully, I have loads of time off during the festive season so will have some time on my hands to get some new works on the go. Here are some pics of the event (please excuse the Christmas jumper- I get a little enthusiastic this time of year...):
0 Comments
It's been a busy week but I've finally got around to uploading pics from last week's art fair at the Out of the Blue/ Drill Hall in Dalmeny Street, Leith. I'm pleased to say I had a really good day with a few sales and lots of encouraging comments to put me at ease (it can be scary having strangers scrutinise your work!!) To top the day off my stall was next to the resident ferret, strangely good for business as my new furry friend attracted a lot of attention! Will definitely be doing it again, and I would thoroughly recommend their cafe- amazing breakfast rolls and scones etc on offer in a really nice setting. Anyway, here's some pics of my stall, and many thanks to the lovely Andrew who kindly helped me set up, and the amazing Claire, a most excellent sales assistant. Please excuse the crappy masking tape price tags. They weren't a sad attempt at shabby chic marketing, I just completely forgot that pricing my goods was an important element! So here's my first mural commission, a pretty recognisable bunch of characters. Really enjoyed painting this and hopefully will get the opportunity to do some more :)
From today onwards I am branching out into decorative murals for children's bedrooms. Just let me know what you want your theme to be and I will provide an estimate. As I am still building up a portfolio in this area, generous discounts will be available.
Despite stumbling into work bleary-eyed with a god-awful hangover (I know, it's only Tuesday) on days like this I love my job. Because I work in an old renovated school building, where each former classroom houses a charity, it's always got a bit of a buzz about it: there's always a bit of fundraising going on and the Cyrenians Farm come every week selling fresh eggs and whatever veggie thing is in season. Today, there was a jewellery sale by the very talented Stella, who makes jewellery out of reclaimed precious stones, such as rose quartz, Russian amber, lapis lazuli and jade. Often she'll give stones out of costume jewellery a new lease of life and makes an effort to use fair trade materials. Her designs vary from stunningly pretty to completely unique, epic pieces. It's also fair to say she ridiculously under-prices her work, which is reason enough to check out her wears at www.rawfiche.com. She also has an array of paintings at www.lilcoocumba.deviantart.com
Well, it's not quite been an entire year since I last updated this, but admittedly not posting anything since November is a pretty poor show... My excuse? Work, life, blah, we've all been there. On this occasion, it is my new job that has in fact prompted this post. You see, whilst i've been working in supported employment for almost 2 years now, I've started with a new company working with people who have Acquired Brain Injuries (and also those with mental health issues). So yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the little known Stafford Centre in Edinburgh, a great wee place offering a community resource for people living with mental illness. They offer all sorts of workshops such as crafts, music and painting so thought I'd share it's online gallery: http://www.staffordcentre.org.uk/#!groups Enjoy! They take referrals from a myriad of places from medical practitioners to self referrals, so if you know of anyone who you'd think would be appropriate for this service then have a look at their site.
I've always really wanted to start up a photo journal, and now I've finally found one! I may actually have the self-discipline to keep this going if there's no need to actually write anything, so I have some hope for this. If for whatever reason you would wish to see daily life through the eyes of myself (it's not particularly fascinating, but you never know, something may appeal to you... perhaps the photo of my smelly trainer I've just posted?) it is here:
http://www.blipfoto.com/NiceCupOTea Was really happy I managed to steal a look at Edinburgh Printmakers' current exhibition "Hidden City: Edinburgh Uncovered" the other day. Having been born and bred in this city without it losing any of it's appeal, it was good to see it through the eyes of some other locals. From prints featuring the city's iconic chimney tops and its hidden nooks and crannies to humorous illustrations of Cats invading Marchmont gardens and a visual response to the never ending tram-saga (a relatively new addition to typical Edinburger conversation, but is now found up there with "what school did you go to??")
http://www.edinburgh-printmakers.co.uk/gallery/52a.htm Recently back from my trip up north to a surprisingly sunny Aberdeenshire dog and cat-sitting for the in-laws. For anyone unfamiliar with this area, basically it's made up of gentle rolling hills, grand castles and, my personal favourite, whisky distilleries! The latter are usually big, austere factories these days, however there are some of the traditional ones left in tact, gorgeous buildings with the iconic pagodas that would've once been used for drying out the barley. We took advantage of some good value tours of these and I couldn't help but be inspired to make a start on the Distillery series (you can see in the print bit of the artwork tab.) I suppose it helps that I'm a massive fan of a wee dram or three, and my collection is, admittedly, disproportionate to my income!
Etches carved out, went down to the wonderful Edinburgh Printmakers the other day and they're currently in the drying rack as I write. Just a small mention about the printmakers, it's a great building just to have a look at as well as some of the great prints on display. In a previous life, it was an old Victorian laundry room and little has changed since them, apart from all the presses, of course. From floor to ceiling there are those great Victorian public lavatory-chic tiles and some of the old signs and industrial metal beams. It feels pretty ace to be able to work in such an atmospheric place. On another note, should you find yourself wondering about the lovely Aberdeenshire countryside, there's a fab new(ish) gallery called Touched by Scotland at the foot of Bennachie. It has a big blue roof so you can't miss it. As well as having a good range of artwork for sale, there's a good restaurant attached to it as well, so whether you're in need of a lovely cup of tea and a wee scone or an amply-sized meal you should check it out: http://www.touchedbyscotland.com/index.php |