It’s that time of year again. I’m getting ready for this weekend, the first of three East Kent Artists’ Open Houses weekends.
Last year was great fun with lots of visitors and lots of interesting conversations.
Our studio in Faversham will be open 11am – 5pm on 17th & 18th October, 24th & 25th October and 31st October & 1st November.
Details of how to find the studio here. The 2015 Artists’ Open Houses brochure is available from the information centre in Preston Street, Faversham and from Creek Creative in Abbey Street Faversham. You can also download a copy from the website.
Starting tomorrow, I’m exhibiting with Creek Printmakers at the Fishslab Gallery in Whitstable (16-22 September).
The following week I’m ‘Close to Home’ with Marion Winnett at Creek Creative (22-27 September).
A short pause and then my home studio will be open during the East Kent Artists’ Open Houses weekends (17/18, 24/25, 31 October & 1 November) together with Mike Roberts.
Pathways in the Mist. Acrylic on canvas 20cm x 20cmCoastal Collection. Monoprint using plants and feathers. 70cm x 50cm
It’s the Transport Weekend in Faversham this weekend, 17th & 18th May.
Vintage bus at the Faversham Transport Weekend
Two years ago this weekend we made our first visit to Kent.
We booked a week’s holiday with an old friend who wanted to revisit Kent because of her childhood memories of holidays with her grandparents on the North Kent Coast. We were experiencing Kent for the first time. We were also trying to answer a question: “Should we move house to somewhere new and make a fresh start or should we stay in the place we had lived for the last 24 years ?”
Broadstairs Beach HutBroadstairs BeachCliffs at Broadstairs
Our holiday base was Broadstairs but one of our trips out was to Faversham.
Faversham looked lovely that day. Full of activity and sunshine. It was the annual Transport Weekend with vintage cars and buses lining the streets.
Sun Inn, FavershamSun Inn, FavershamThames Barge at Standard Quay
Lots of independent, interesting-looking shops, a brewery, Creek Creative and wonderful Thames Barges moored on the creek. Wow, it was certainly ticking lots of boxes for our “Would this be a good place to live?” question.
We spent a very enjoyable holiday exploring the coast from Whitstable round to Ramsgate and Deal, and inland to Canterbury. We even managed a trip to Dungeness to see Derek Jarman’s Garden.
When we returned home to Wiltshire we decided to put our house up for sale. We still had not made the final decision as to where we would live but we still had time to sort things out.
Well, no.
The house sold in three days and a mere three weeks after our first visit to Faversham we were back, looking for somewhere to live.
Of all the many places we had visited and researched, Faversham was the place that we both felt at home on our first visit.
We have lived here for 18 months now. It was a whirlwind move from Wiltshire but the start of a wonderful adventure in Kent.
I’ve added a first gallery to the website, of my small mixed media pieces done on card or thick watercolour paper.
[singlepic id=5 w= h= float=none] Image: Coast Downpour
