Creative Spaces - Open Studios II

Here we are, the night before the Open Studios and we are rip-roaring and ready to go!

I really like that this is as much about showing people what we do, inviting them to enter our working and creating spaces and to share the experience of art in the making, as it is about selling work.

We are not sure if we will have hordes of folk descending upon us, or a trickle of interested souls who want to chat and talk about what it is we do, how we do it, why we do it...

I think we sometimes forget in amongst our madness and busy-ness and angst that other folk find the idea of an artist, and their studio exhilarating and exciting. That magic happens in there, and that somehow they might be privy to watching the process unfold.

I know I love looking at other artists' spaces; how they work, the little talismen they have around them to inspire them and keep them going; the tools they need, the mess they make.

Its  a privilege to share this time with the people who drop by, and we look forward to sharing our space with them.

Having said all that, we are also conscious of the fact that people often like to take home a little something; a touchstone or link to the visit and so have made a few pieces that folk can purchase without emptying their wallets. The wallet-emptying pieces will also be there should anybody feel moved to do so!

Here are some cards we had printed locally, using some of our own images of a few pieces.

And here are some of Barry's wee "Inspiration in your pocket" pieces - shiny bits of recycled metal with inspirational words stamped on them. In fact they are so shiny they pick up my skin reflecting like its sunburnt!

And my pebble letters - hand written on each pebble is a letter, and you can choose to write a word or just carry your initial with you...there are a couple of bowls full to play with.