Salisbury Art Trail – was it worth it for me?
As promised - a quick update following the Salisbury Art Trail. Now it’s finished, it is much easier to assess the pros and cons of taking part, to see what I could have done differently and - ultimately - why I’m so glad I did it.
In truth, to start with, I was not really that keen to do it. May and June were already so busy - the thought of having to sort through, edit and collate my work, clear up my studio space so I could present and display it coherently, think about prices, insurance, publicity and social media was exhausting, let alone welcoming people into my workspace to talk about art and opening myself and my work up to judgement. It was a challenge for sure.
Why did I feel the need to do it?
Anyway, long story short I did do it and yes, it was well worth the effort.
I opened my studio for 10 of the 14 days. I got to meet artists in the ‘Plain Arts’ world and got to know some of my neighbours better too. My work was displayed in the Trailblazer Exhibition and in the windows of the ‘Salisbury Photo Centre’, I had 80 visitors, sold 9 pieces of work and added 30 people to my email list (hello if you are one of these). I was even offered a small role in judging an art competition but the best bit was coming out the other side of the fortnight with a much clearer sense of my own immediate direction.
I had initially thought if I were to take part, I should do a deep dive into ALL of my visual work - old and new. Ambitious! I didn’t get through it all of course but I did put a lot of work on display and was then immersed in it for 2 weeks which gave me a surprising and interesting perspective. It was a great opportunity to review and remind myself of work, materials and processes. Having to talk about it with visitors gave me fresh insights and reignited various ideas.
Thank you to Plain Arts and anyone who visited, bought work, chatted and asked questions - it was the spur I didn’t know I needed.