Claymills Victorian Pumping Station

I've just spent the weekend at the Claymills Victorian Pumping Station, just outside Burton On Trent. It was their first craft fair, organised by Hayley, of Forever Forged, who is the Blacksmith at the Station. We were also joined by Jayne Sanders, their first Artist in Residence, This is Bazaar, Samantha Eynon and a Jeweller, whose name I didn't get, and a wood turner, who was called Paul.

This has made for an enjoyable weekend and a good trial run for next weekends Draycott Arts & Gardens Festival, it gave me the chance to put all my work out and see how it looked together, luckily, it looked ok! A few tweaks and it will all look much better.

They also have THE BEST, Beetroot and chocalate cake, which sounds wrong, but tastes soooooo right!

Its well worth a visit when the steam engines are up and running, if not for the noise, then definately for the smell.

Come Home Soon Preview

Tonight was an informal get together at The Arboretum in Derby, Diana Shepherd organised an evening of Poetry, Music and Art in The Orangery as a preview to her exhibition opening. It was a wonderfully hot evening and we made our way to the hub of Derby's more culturally diverse area, rich in smells and tactile colours. The Arboretum is a central point for this eclectic community to meet.

Diana was showing her latest works in Charcoal and Ink, beautifully sensitive drawings hung on the walls, surrounded by the poetry of Stephen Vaughan Williams, who stood up and performed some of his poetry to an accoustic guitar accompaniment.

And in response to the poetry, participants were invited to draw on large sheets of paper in charcoal, I found myself surrounded by people absorbed in drawing images on the walls. It all added up to a very calm, rather surreal atmosphere, an area of serenity nestled amongst all the noise and energy of the park surrounding the Orangery. All in all, a very lovely way to spend an evening.