What I won't miss is the weird feeling of the studio and, by extension, the house, being open to the public. I find I'm hypervigilant, looking up constantly to see if anyone is coming down the path, jumping at sounds -- ridiculous, really. Especially as there hasn't been a constant stream of visitors so most of the looking and jumping is quite pointless.
I've enjoyed showing people what I do and everyone who has come has been very nice but I'm not sure what I do is to most people's taste. It's strange, because I don't think what I do is very 'difficult' or 'way out' but I think a lot of people have a relatively narrow 'bandwidth' of what they like when it comes to art -- and I don't think Open Studios is a good way to sell paintings or anything that you want to charge more than a few pounds for. In terms of my experience this past month (which is, admittedly, very limited) people are not coming in looking to spend wads of cash. But I have sold some cards and prints and have broken even on the money I invested in joining the Open Studios scheme (ie going in the brochure and getting some 'Open Studios' bunting to put up) -- so all good. But this time sitting surrounded by my very eclectic artwork has focused my mind somewhat -- if I'm going to have a goal, going forwards, it's to try to get into a gallery or even more than one. We shall see if I manage to do this...
2 comments:
I'm really sorry that I've not been able to make it along to your studio Jane. Too much family stuff going on over the past few weeks but pleased that it seems to have been a positive experience. It's not easy putting your artwork out there!
Sounds like you have a sharp assessment of the Open Studios event and I'm glad it has broken even Jane. I love the positive sounds of looking for a gallery now. Go for it. There is a market for originality out there and someone will bite your hand off to sell your pieces. I love that collage - unsurprisingly given my penchant for moths etc. Well done you.
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