Surrey Artist of the Year 2010 - Photo Update

Surrey Artist of the Year 2010 Update

Last Friday night saw the preview show for the Baines Surrey Artist of the Year 2010 exhibition, at the New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham (see my post of 17 August 2010). I was really looking forward to seeing whether all 4 of my pieces were in the show and how they'd been displayed, and also what the other artists' work was like. It was a busy night with lots of visitors, and the range and standard of all the work on show was very impressive - quite how the public and the judges are going to decide between them all (ie paintings, sculpture, glass, ceramics, textiles) is anyone's guess. Do visit the gallery and vote for your favourite artist if you can (the exhibition is on til 7 October, and the gallery itself has lots of other lovely work on display and for sale).

Alpaca Open Day

Had a great day on Saturday at the Alpaca Open Day, demonstrating feltmaking with alpaca fleece. It was a really busy day (over 1000 visitors), and there was lots of interest in the animals themselves (including other animals like the cute baby donkey you can see here, with alpacas in the background) as well as all the different things you can do with alpaca fleece, eg spinning, knitting and feltmaking. An interesting change for me as I've never demonstrated all day like this before, but I really enjoyed it and look forward to having another go next year. Thanks to everyone who came along and said hello, and also to all the visitors who collectively raised over £1000 for charity!

Alpaca Open Day, Saturday 4 September 2010

If you were interested in my posting back in April (see below) about felting with alpaca fleece, then you may like to come along to an alpaca open day on Saturday 4 September. It's being hosted by Barbara at Lightfoot Alpacas based in Hawkhurst, Kent (click on the poster, left, for full details). It's an opportunity to see and even pet alpacas, as well as learn more about them and what can be done with their fleece. I'll be there all day demonstrating felting with alpaca fleece, so I very much look forward to chatting with everyone about the process. The farm is in a lovely setting, and this annual event is a really nice way to spend a couple of hours - so I do hope some of you are able to make it!

Baines Surrey Artist of the Year 2010

Had some exciting news after the Surrey Artists Open Studios finished in June when I found out I'd been voted one of the top 14 favourite artists by visitors - thank you to everyone who voted for me! This has led to me and the other 13 artists being invited to exhibit in a show at the New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham in September/October, when the public will have a chance to vote for their top favourite (which will be combined with votes from a judging panel). So I'm currently working on producing 4 new pieces for the exhibition, to be delivered by the end of August (and trying not to panic at the same time!). See the sneak preview photos here for an idea of what I'm making (focusing on combining felting with knitting techniques).

The exhibiton takes place from Friday 10 September to Thursday 7 October, with a Private View on 10 September 6-8pm and a Closing Reception on 7 October 6-8pm when the winner is announced - and all are welcome to both evening events or to visit the gallery during normal hours (Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5). The gallery is very close to Farnham station, see the gallery website (left) for more details and a map. So if you get a chance to go along and vote, please do! I'll let you know how it goes!

More Felt Flowers

Wanted to share the results of a felt flower-making workshop a couple of weeks ago with some talented ladies, making double-layered flower brooches and bold lilies. The brooches (and more like them) should be making an appearance later this summer amongst all the real flowers at RHS Wisley, so do keep an eye out!

Woodturning Lesson

Couldn't resist showing these photos of my husband Steve having a woodturning lesson with Andrew the week after Open Studios finished. He was a very good student, and Andrew's a very good teacher, and the result was a lovely polished tea light from a piece of cherry wood. Very impressed!