We have closed the doors on Hampshire Open Studios for another year. It is a melancholy time, the final hurrah of the summer. September is here: a time to harvest apples in the garden (no pears, again), to pick brambles on walks, the air feels fresher, and the days are beginning to shorten.
Soft Blush Nasturtiums, with a few weeds, in a metal trough outside my studio
Open Studios, which I share with my jeweller daughter Phoebe (find her on Instagram as @phoebepod), is initially a time of trepidation. Will anyone come? Is the entry in the brochure good enough to attract the eye? Soon though we are in the swing of it, the kettle goes on and the chats begin. It is a great opportunity to share thoughts about art, making and what keeps us going through the highs and lows of producing work.
Roses having a last flourish of summer
Two etchings shown during this year's HOS.
Unravelling, holding together I & II
Many visitors are artists and makers themselves, knitters or, as one visitor described herself, a curator and consumer. Here is a chance to explain techniques and thinking, to exchange views about materials, suppliers, writers, inspiration. We end each day grateful for the interest shown in our work and buoyed up by lively conversations.
An additional bonus is to have the opportunity to bring work out of the studio and to see it displayed together. Connections become obvious, further avenues to explore come to mind. I have come away keen to get back into the studio and see where some of these ideas take me.
Consuelo Simpson is a forager and finder of orphaned objects, an artist and maker working from her studio in Hampshire, honouring histories and reweaving stories. She remains obsessed with string!