Lockdown 2 projects

Coffee and carrot cake with Karen Mcendoo, Jill Eisiele, me, Bridget Macklin and Dana Finch

Hope everyone is doing ok: the news this week of another lockdown is pretty rubbish isn't it? But going to try and stay positive, keep working and helping each other get through it.

 

Here I am above yesterday, with the Terra Mater Art group ladies, discussing our new show in the lovely Tremenheere Kitchen. As a quick introduction: we're a group or women artists and makers who are concerned about the environment, living and working in Cornwall.

 

Our next show 'Germination' was scheduled to be at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens from 14th to 27th November: however with the new lockdown measures in England, we'll be rescheduling the physical show to early 2021. We're going to use this site, facebook live and IGTV though to try and show you the new work we've been getting ready for it, and to enable you to chat to us and ask us any questions live.

 

Go to our Terra Mater Art site for a schedule for the week beginning 21st November, so you can tune in to have a nosy round all the artists and makers studios, see what they've been painting and making, chat to them about inspirations, work ptractices or the weather! Possibly discuss commissioned pieces with them directly?

 

We are a group of seven women artists and makers, five of us are involved iwth the current Germination show:

 

Karen McEndoo: acrylic paintings and drawings

Jill Eisile: oil paintings

Sarah Drew: art jewellery

Bridget Macklin: ceramics

Dana Hunt: paintings

Penny Williams: oil paintings

Paula Downing: ceramics

all the sparkle online...

I've also been busy working with the lovely Alison Bick to organise our Makers Cornwall online Christmas Fair, coming up on the 13th -15th November.

 

This year we’ve moved our famous Christmas fair online with:

  • the brand new, posh website
  • 50 makers going live on Facebook 
  • as well as live cocktail chats on instagram 
  • and special offers all weekend

We wanted Christmas to still be on and ethical and interactive so we’re just hosting our fair online this year. If you haven’t been before, we’re a group of contemporary designers and makers based in Cornwall: we normally put on a brilliantly sparkly, modern Christmas fair full of  cool handmade gifts in November;  this year we’ve had to re-think it a bit. 

The first three Etsy Made Local Cornwall Christmas events were held in St Ives with 40 stallholders; then as they were so popular, in 2019 we moved to Penryn Campus where we hosted 70 stallholders and over 5,000 visitors during the weekend: everyone who came loved the fantastic buzzy atmosphere and fresh, modern gifts and treats they could find there.

This year, we made the decision to keep everyone safe and unstressed so we’re offering the same cool makers to buy from online. 

  • We’re having instagram cocktail chats on Friday 13th November@etsymakerscornwall Instagram account which will be chilled and interactive. 
  • Then all our 50 talented local makers will be hosting Facebook Live Shopping experiences on their own Facebook pages on Saturday 14th November morning from 11am to 1pm. You can watch them live, ask questions, ask to see things close up, check sizes, have a chat! Then if you’d like to buy anything you can just sort it out with each maker via their website, Etsy shop or bacs/paypal: it’s pretty straight-forward and relaxed and fun :-)

As usual, we wanted our event to give back to the community, so this year each maker has donated 25% of their ‘stall’ fee to help homeless and vulnerable people in Cornwall via Daisy Duke’s CIC in St Austell.

my lovely neice and Mum making...

I'm afraid workshops are going to have to be rescheduled again until 2021, but I am considering offering some free and very cheap ones online via Facebook live and Zoom in the mean-time: go to my jewellery workshop group to see if you fancy having a go at anything there. Or let me know on there what you'd like to do...

get outside...

Look after yourselves and everyone around you over the next few months: think if we can be patient and kind and help people struggling we'll come out the other side sane and with strong communities and support groups. 

 

My advice is have long baths, do your nails, eat decent food, help whoever you can and get outside. Breathe, look-up, and take your time...