well, possibly not, but I've been a full time artist for a week
and am exhausted! But it's not over yet..
It really started
last week when I began the hard slog of clearing the space for the Hailsham
Arts Festival 'Open Studio' - more than just the studio, it was the whole of
the double garage space, hallway and conservatory. The first couple of days
seemed to consist of moving piles of general stuff from one place to another
but I gradually got into the swing of putting things 'away', which sometimes
involved a bin bag, and shunting furniture and space miraculously began to
appear. But not for long because, with the help of sons and their
unsuspecting friends, a plethora of screens and tables soon filled the area and
I could start the process of hanging.
I had persuaded Mum to let me show some of her work including her
embroideries and we displayed some of Dad's pottery. Anne came on Friday and hung her work, laid
out sketchbooks and put out cards and prints to sell but after 2 days of
hanging I’d only managed to squeeze in about half of my work and I still needed
to add most of that to my catalogue. Saturday morning came and I dashed around
like a headless chicken with number labels until, at11am, we were finally ready
for our first visitors.
I wasn't under any
illusions - we live off the beaten track, a long way out of Hailsham, and the
Art Trail hadn't had nearly as much exposure as it should have had - so I
wasn't surprised at the lack of crowds on the doorstep. But as I write on
Friday evening, we have had a very satisfactory 45 visitors over 7 days, have
made 2 painting sales, lots of card sales, a photo sale and made a good sized
collection for Chestnut Tree House.
This afternoon I
found time to visit another venue on the Art Trail, in the centre of Hailsham,
that had considerably less visitors than us despite being open longer hours
each day which got me thinking about why. Our signage here definitely helps -
we have balloons at the end of the lane, posters with the Hailsham Arts
Festival and Art Trail logos and the opening days and times clearly shown and
bunting on the gates. If a visitor is uncertain whether they are in the right
place or at the right time, they may well turn away and go home. I also have
mercilessly bombarded facebook friends and contacts with reminders, have
emailed my large mailing list and have 'tweeted' frequently. I also had one of
my paintings in an empty shop window in Hailsham High Street (part of the Art
in Empty Shops project) with my name clearly shown and a copy of the Art Trail
map in the window.
I also think that
offering free painting demonstrations and refreshments has drawn visitors who
may otherwise not have bothered. So, they came for something free and the
refreshments made money for the charity box, not me, but I got to talk to all
of these visitors and they now know me, my name and what I do. Next time I have
an art event, they will probably return and bring friends, they will spread the
word and tell people about my work. Some of them are going to come to my future
classes or art groups, some are interested in booking me to demonstrate to
their art group, many have taken my Pet Portrait leaflets - it is all good
networking and publicity.
In addition to the
Open Studio, in the last 10 days I have given three 2 hour demonstrations to
art groups (in Shoreham, Lancing and Pevensey), seven free demonstrations at
home and one 3 hour workshop at Gallery North plus I have found time to do two
initial sketches for a commission and start two new paintings, attend an
evening Art and Business networking event in Eastbourne, hang some pictures at
Hailsham Library and go to the weekly Arlington Art Group. All this and I've
been able to sit and chat with visitors, chill at quiet times, read my book and
walk the dog.
Just 2 more open days left to go then......oh blimey, I've got to put it all away again!!
If my poor long
suffering family can cope with my unbearably awful mood in the run up to the
event, my unreasonable demands on their time and muscles, and the disruption to
the usual motorbike, tools and band equipment storage areas, I'll do this
again!! Next time, I think I'll offer workshops most days, will only open the
studio from 1pm and will try to get someone to display sculpture in the garden
to make the most of the space - unless of course I have done my welding course
by then and have my own collection of scrap metal sculptures to display....
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