Us three late bloomers put our work ‘out there’ for the public so in Steve Job’s terms we have shipped and so are for real!
A Painter, A Potter and A Sewer
The first Open Studio Day at Balligar was like a long party that started on Saturday evening with the arrival of two of our helpers and ended with another two helpers leaving on Monday morning, with well over 50 people joining in the fun in between!
There was plenty to see from my tree, people, baby and dog portraits:
Dog Portraits by Helen
to my watercolour wildflower paintings;
Yellow Eyed Flame Pea – by Helen Lock
to my acrylic paintings with Brenda’s pottery;
Brenda’s Pottery Under Helen’s Paintings
to Brenda’s pottery with Michele’s quilts;
Brenda’s Balls with Michele’s Quilt
to all sorts of creations by Michele;
Michele with her creations and interested visitors
to art by son Leo;
Closing Out – by Leo Tharby
and the bears from Puffles and Honey Adventures!
Honey and Isabelle
See more of the bear’s visit, which included transforming fresh laid eggs into chocolate ones much to the delight of our youngest visitors, here.
If anyone is considering holding a similar event:
- It was worth the huge effort!
- We met lots of lovely people.
- We gained confidence in showing our work.
- We were able to advertise our event for free.
- We enjoyed a whole day with members of my family who were our helpers
- We needed all five of our wonderful helpers on the day!
So a big thank you to our helpers: Kate who greeted people and provided a parking valet service when our parking area got congested; Louise who also greeted people and did a great job as a ‘social butterfly’ helping people and putting them at ease; Ed who was our official photographer and made sure the spirit of the day was captured; Leo who also put his work ‘out there’ and was my cashier for sales of many bookmarks, cards and small prints, and my dear husband Greg who kept everyone hydrated and fed and was totally supportive in us turning our home into a public exhibit!
🙂
Helen
Wow Helen ! Congratulations . Lots of hard work involved but so good to see a gathering of creativity like that . You must all have felt so pleased and rightly so .
Son Leo seems to be following along too 😉
Thank you Poppytump for such a lovely comment. Since I got back to art both my sons have picked up a paintbrush – an added bonus! 🙂
Sounds like a great art day and a lovely party with art lovers and supportive family. All your hard work paid off, I hope you all sold your works 🙂 .
Congratulations on a successful first Open Studio.
Jeff. Bhimji
Thanks very much Jeff. We did all sell some works but the best bit was seeing people interested, engaged & enjoying themselves. 🙂
Well done, it was a great success!
Thanks Ed – your help in making it a success was much appreciated. 🙂
woops. great talent from my beautiful wife Helen and her two artistic mates 🙂
Thank you DH :)x
What a great day, enjoyed by many and also included chooks, dog and the block in general. Congratulations to my favrioutew
We saw it all and we like it!