I have stalls all over the place this Autumn into Winter. I appear most weeks as a pop up shop on the barrow in Shrewsbury's very own award winning indoor market. The barrow is on the gallery level at the Barker St end of the hall.
I am super excited about this year's Drawn Christmas market. Back at the Flaxmill Maltings in Shrewsbury, an amazing indoor space soaked in history. Free parking and a host of amazing artists and makers to shop from. Last year there was mulled gin!
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So after a scorching hot first week of September, it looks like Summer is finally over. I have finally completed the first of the BT cabinets, after many rain showers which fell at just the wrong moments.
About a year ago, I was thinking about the lovely artwork which adorns the BT cabinets in Shrewsbury town centre, and how great i would be if some of the big dull green boxes in our village, were as lovely and colourful. So I spoke to the parish council, and applied to BT openreach to paint 5 of them. Hurrah, they said yes! I then spoke to our local primary school, and with their help, ran a competition for some of the pupils there to design artworks to paint onto the boxes. Their work was wonderful. Initially I requested three winning designs, with the aim of painting the other two boxes with my own artwork. But it was so hard to choose between them, that I eventually chose four brilliant winners, and the last box to be painted will be my own. Look at these beauties! Aren't they lovely!! I started work on the first box in June 2023. Unfortunately hitting a few snags initially. Whenever I set aside time to work on it, it was either pouring with rain, or there was a man from BT Openreach working in the box. His work is far more vital so I left him to it and scuttled back home awkwardly, as though it was perfectly normal to take a bag of paints for a walk round the corner for no reason. But eventually I got lucky with my timing and got started... Unfortunately since then the paint has started peeling off, and bubbled all over the place. Meaning I am going to need to start again. I think the base layer of paint was not tough enough to withstand the heat of the sun and general wear and tear during the two weeks after I started the work. It bubbled in the heat, and then the weather has been so bad on and off that I have not been able to continue.
I have aquired a better primer and I'll be doing some more work on this very soon. I'm disapointed with the slow start, but what a learning curve it is! I would like to say thanks to Cherie and Gisela if they ever read this, for their advice on paints. They are two of the artists who painted the shrewsbury boxes and they are both brilliant. You can find them on Instagram at the following... @cheriedidthis and @giselarobinsonart My online shop is moving house! Goodbye Etsy and hello to lots more items for sale on my website here. Frustratingly Etsy's fees have become unsustainable for so many small businesses, and that includes little old me.
2022 was a huge year for me as an artist. I started selling my work face to face at markets, which was an absolute pleasure and took me right out of my comfort zone. I have met some brilliant people along the way, and it felt like I endured every kind of weather imaginable from under my gazebo. I also joined the wonderful Association of Animal Artists, and exhibited with them twice. I will need to start work on a new piece soon, for the Spring exhibition (details will be coming soon). One of my proudest achievements has been continuing to raise money for the marvellous Cuan Wildlife Rescue. I'm pleased to share that since I began this project a year ago, i have raised a total of £118.20 for this lovely wilflife charity. I will keep going of course, and hopefully an even jucier total will be raised over the next year. My artwork now appears on beautiful gift items such as ceramic mugs and steel vacuum water bottles, thanks to a great print on demand service which I have joined.
Because the items are printed only when they are ordered, there is no wastage of stock, so is a more sustainable approach. I am fussy about what i print onto, too. The tote bags are organic cotton, and i won't be printing onto any items containing plastic. The orders are shipped out using only paper based, recyclable materials. Soon, i will be introducing tea towels and T-shirts as well. All of the items currently for sale, can be found lining the "shelves" of my Etsy shop. |
AuthorShropshire based artist and illustrator. Laurie enjoys chocolate, cheese, comedy, and shiny things. Archives
October 2023
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