Rutland Living Magazine features me!!

Me, looking nervous, in my art studio

Getting to know my local audience

It occurred to me, when someone in my art group mentioned ‘making the most of our local market’ that they were right. Of course it’s good to showcase the artwork I’m doing on my website and on social media to a worldwide audience, but what about the art loving audience right here on my doorstep? Was I making the most of that opportunity?

The answer was an emphatic no!

So I set about remedying that. First call - talk to my friend who also happens to be a journalist for Rutland Living magazine. I was quite prepared for there to be no chance, but Amander was thrilled with the idea of interviewing me and crafting a story around my journey from fashion designer to writer to full time artist. There was plenty to talk about, and you can read the full story here

The article came out this month – just in time for a couple of local art exhibitions I applied for - and got into.

First of all, I chatted with Amy, the owner of a wonderful little cafe/gift shop called The March Hare in Corby Glen. She often features the work of local artists and was so encouraging when I approached her, nervous as all hell. Within a week, I had several small pieces of artwork on show there, and as it’s practically on my doorstep, I am able to regularly update to keep it fresh and seasonal.
From that initial enterprise, I am planning a series of fun art events throughout the summer with Amy and a couple of other local artists which could prove very exciting and engaging for our local audience - I’ll keep you posted on that!

Next, I applied to have some of my original art shown in the Every Which Way mixed exhibition, in a lovely little art gallery in my local town of Stamford called Stamford Contemporary Arts. There’s 39 artists showing in total, so quite an exciting mix of styles and genres at prices that suit most pockets. I got three pieces into the show, including one large mixed media abstract and two smaller abstracts. The show runs for a month until 15th April 2023. If you’re in the area - it’s well worth a visit.

Coming up… I am putting several pieces forward to The Welland Valley Arts Society Spring Exhibition. I’m thinking my abstract landscape series will be good to show here - as it’s a really well-established exhibition that gets a good turnout. I’m a newly appointed exhibiting member, so this will be yet another first for me. I will let you know if my art is chosen - I sincerely hope so!