My name is Charlotte, sometimes known as Ms Lottie, occasionally as The Slightly Mad Quilt Lady. This is my blog, where you'll find me writing a lot about my quilting and textile arts and a little about my family's life in a small seaside town in New Zealand. Haere mai!

Monday, October 22, 2018

KOAST - done


Well, the Kerikeri Art Trail is over.  I'm exhausted, but on an exhilerated high, a bit like giving birth!  And I learnt a few things.  

I learnt that exhibiting and talking about my art non-stop for three days is hard work, but fun.  I learnt that I got better at talking about my art the more I did it.  I learnt that I actually LOVE talking about my processes and inspirations to people who have no idea about textile art.  


I learnt that people enjoyed watching me demonstrate how I did something.  Trail goers were fascinated to watch me free-motion quilt the swallow quilt above, and really interested to see me stencil on the sample below.  It was a great conversation starter and question generator.


I learnt that bringing my sketchbooks for people to look through was a great idea, even if it made me feel a little vulnerable.

I learnt that people are happy to pay fair prices if they love the work.  I learnt that participating in an art trail is really good for my ego!

And I learnt that comfortable shoes are a must...

I don't know if I'll get to do it again.  I can't participate in KOAST unless I'm an invited guest artist, as I was this year, because I'm not actually a Kerikeri resident.  But if I ever get the chance to do it again, I'd jump at it.  It was so very worthwhile on many different levels.

A few thank yous are in order - my family for putting up with my KOAST focus in the past couple of weeks, my fellow exhibitors Jane Shaw and Judi Souter, both very talented artists and the best co-exhibitors I could wish for, and the lovely staff and residents at Oakridge Village who looked after us, made lovely cups of tea and served us the best scones I've ever had!

3 comments:

  1. Booth looks great! You look great! I am so glad it was a good experience.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations, I'm glad that it went well. All that work was worth it

    ReplyDelete
  3. For those of us who know you, it is no surprise that you enjoy speaking about your art and processes... this is what you do, and you are passionate and excited about what you create, which is very engaging. Well done!

    ReplyDelete

Hi, I love reading comments, so thanks for visiting my blog and leaving me a message :)
Due to a huge increase in spam, I've disabled anonymous comments. Apologies if this effects any real life readers!