And Here It Is, My First Blog Post!!
Happy New Year!
The past 22 months have been a surprisingly busy time for me, bearing in mind the constraints we've all been. living under! Our second grandson arrived safe and well at the beginning of March 2020 and of course we haven’t been able to see as much of the two little ones (or our grown-up family) as much as we’d have liked. I have however been able to spend much of the time beavering away in my studio on my collection “Exercising My Social Distance”, which is based on my running, both around our lanes and our local hills in the Vale of Clwyd, North Wales.
In March 2020, with the pandemic threatening us all, my textile art courses, had to finish. However my creative impetus also seemed to be adhering to the lockdown regulations, and I found it very hard to work! The only thing I wanted to do, (apart from cleaning the house, a previously unknown desire!!!) was to run. I began running longer and longer distances, and decided to complete a half marathon before my BIG birthday that year. I don’t race, so this was on my own terms and on my own route; one Saturday morning I set off and succeeded! The mindful nature of my running and the peace I found from being out in the countryside freed my creative block, and after writing a poem to express how I felt during this time, my art began to flow.
September 2021 brought an opportunity to share my work on the Clwydian Creatives Art Trail. What an amazing and wonderful surprise this was for me! Over the six days I was open, I had 106 visitors to my garden and studio, all Covid compliant of course! I was blown away by the support from those who bought, commissioned or just came and appreciated my work. The majority of my collection was sold, and I just managed to finish all the commissions before Christmas!
In October 2021, a friend sent me the link to enter the North Wales Art Open Exhibition. I deliberated over this for quite a while, and then almost at the close of the deadline, I pressed send on my entry of my remaining four large pieces, the rest having being sold on the Art Trail. I was once again blown away when all four were accepted! These are on show in Theatr Clwyd, Mold, Flintshire until the 15th of January 2022. There were entries from 250+ artists and 70 were chosen. I feel so honoured to have been included. The standard of work is amazing, with a great variety of art and different mediums used. It’s definitely worth a visit!
Over the past 12 months I’ve been working on an art/business programme online through United Art Space, I have found the help and support given both to my art practice and business development invaluable. I’ve “met” other artists from all over the world who support each other in their development. A few of us realised we were all living and working in Wales, two of us are in the North, the others are down South. Through these friendships made online, six of us have collaborated in putting together an exhibition called "New Horizons". This is being held in Llanover Hall, Cardiff, so with great trepidation I sent my five remaining original pieces down to be displayed. It opens on Friday 6th January with a virtual tour and “meet the artists” broadcast live on Instagram at 6pm. You can find it by searching for and following @welshhub2022.
This year holds the promise to be an exciting year for me both personally and professionally. Our youngest daughter is getting married and I think we are all hoping for a more “normal” life by then! I have more ideas for developing my art work and a new collection planned.
The launch of this website is a new venture for me. All my “Exercising My Social Distance” collection can be viewed here and I’ll be sharing my new work, blogs and other news on the site as well. There is a shop, which is still in development, but will have originals, prints, greetings cards and other items available all year round, not just at my open studios later in the year.
Those of you who know me may well be wondering what I’m going to do regarding courses. I still don’t feel the time is right to deliver “face-to-face” events, and working on my art practice has kept me from putting together something online. However this is still something I want to do. My website will have any up to date information, and I hope this is where I'll share online courses and workshops when I do “get my act together”.
My intention is to publish a blog on my website, and send a newsletter out approximately every six weeks, depending on how much news I have to share. Please fill in the contact form if you want to receive the newsletter, and to help ensure they do come through to your inbox and not end up in your junk mail, please add my email to your contact address book, info@melaniebaugh.com
Stay safe and I do hope that 2022 is good to us all
Mel