Call for Artists Autumn is the time for artists to apply to take part in Open Studios West Berkshire and North Hampshire in readiness forthe event next May. If you have never exhibited before you may be apprehensive about joining this prestigious local scheme. We caught up with five artists who were new to the programme and asked how they found the experience and any advice they had for newcomers
OPEN Studios WBNH (West Berkshire & North Hampshire) are putting out a call for artists to join the scheme.
Autumn is the time for artists and makers to apply to take part in readiness for Open Studios events next May.
If you have never exhibited before you may be apprehensive about joining this prestigious local scheme.
We caught up with five artists who were new to the programme and asked how they found the experience and any advice they had for newcomers.
“Go for it…” That’s the advice from potter Anne Dalton. Helpful tips from Anne and four other artists who exhibited with OSWBNH for the first time this year include taking part in the ‘Matchmaking’ process whereby artists who don’t want to exhibit at their home studio are put in touch with other artists wanting to share a studio or venue. Anne said exhibiting with someone else was the best thing for her.
Ceramic artist Anne, who started throwing three years ago, joined the OS scheme after prompting from her family. Her work which often features exquisitely-drawn animals, evolves from sketching which she traces and transfers to leather hard clay. She says exhibiting for Open Studios has given her confidence in herself and her work: “I got a lot of validation from it. It’s not just family and friends being kind” and she says “I was surprised how much I could talk to people about it, I thought I would be too shy”.
Landscape artist Helen Grimbleby also recommends the OS matchmaking and mentoring programme to help new artists understand more about how the scheme works. Her main reasons for joining OS were to connect with other artists and to showcase her work to an audience. She also saw it as a way of taking herself more seriously as an artist and learning how to paint better.
Before exhibiting for OS this year Helen had never shown her work beyond friends and family. She attended classes and workshops and painted alone at home but she wanted to paint for other people to see and respond. She says: “I see art as a conversation” and she uses her creativity to share messages with people.
For Helen, being part of OS brought other unexpected benefits such as learning how to curate a body of work in a space and how seeing her work, on display all together, helped her see it differently and with a more discerning eye. From this she has been able to develop her work further.
Self-taught artist Ludmila Cummings also believes art should be shared with people. She says: “Art should make people happy” and her main joy at OS24 was seeing all her artwork taken out of the boxes and put on display. She enjoyed talking to visitors, especially children, about her drawings. and she welcomed the feedback from other artists. She says this feedback was a validation she is on the right track and gave her confidence, which she didn’t have before.
Her drawing ‘Crying Whale’ of a whale with a tear-filled human eye was chosen to represent Newbury Art Group in the scheme’s central INSIGHT exhibition, which received over 2000 visitors in May. An unexpected bonus of joining the scheme was that her profile image in the Open Studios Guide, a drawing of a monk at Donnington Castle, was noticed by a local historian and used at an English Heritage Open Day in September.
Like Ludmila, husband and wife team Malcolm and Suzanne Henwood found other OS artists friendly, welcoming and supportive. They say OS is like a “big family, very accommodating and very friendly”.
The appropriately named Henwoods use bespoke pieces of wood and resin to create large sculptural pieces and tables. They exhibited with four other accredited artists at the Mission Church in Silchester but it needed about a month of renovation and re-painting work before it was fit as an exhibition space. The church is now being used for art classes with teaching by painter John O’Neil. “Out of us doing Open Studios there, it’s kicked it back into life” says Malcolm.
Accreditation pushed Malcolm and Suzanne to meet the deadline and they were ‘flat out’ making for 6 months before OS in May but it was all worth it for them because of the new friends they made, the help and advice they received from their dedicated mentor (Kingsclere OS artist, Amanda Bates) and the reaction they got from showing their work, which really boosted them.
Suzanne says: “When we went to the Base (for OS flagship exhibition INSIGHT) we were blown away by how good it was…it scared me…but everyone was so nice, it was easy, comfortable. I think we were lucky we had our hands held by the people who’d already done it”.
Sandra McArdle took a Distinction in her Diploma in Silver Jewellery from the London Jewellery School. She had visited Open Studios over many years and loved the concept of it. She was encouraged to join by another artist and says her reason was “to challenge myself and see if my work would sit alongside other creative makers”.
Unfortunately Sandra’s home studio is inaccessible for visitors but she applied for the matchmaking scheme and Kevin Akhurst offered her a space in his studio which gave her a fantastic start in a very supportive group of artists. She was amazed at the visitors’ level of interest in how things are made which she thinks is a unique feature of OS.
Sandra’s advice to new artists contemplating joining OS is to talk to those who have recently joined the scheme and she is willing for them to contact her and ask questions.
Her experience echoes the feeling of the other new artists who have found the OSWBNH community to be very accepting and affirming. Like them she says: “Don’t be afraid – just go for it”.
The Open Studios West Berkshire and North Hampshire website has all the details for applying for accreditation, and any queries can be sent to Eva at admin@open-studios.org.uk
https://www.open-studios.org.uk
Don’t delay – applications need to be received and approved before Friday, November 8.
