Roll Up! Roll Up! Kat's up to no good again!

Grab one of these limited tickets designed by yours truly and come along to one of the biggest exhibitions on show this month!

Oh! It's been a while...a long while writing here. Whether I have been distracted by the amount of noise online, or the amount of offline projects, I have been quietly putting together a new *ahem* vision for my work.

I had been concentrating on photography submissions to the SWPP - The Societies, entered two competitions and preparing my first panel for mentoring, when something came along that seemed to sit with me well.

Over a number of years I have been a dormant member of HVAF (Herts Visual Arts Forum). This year I awoke with a new incentive.

Back in March members could book to take part in the annual Open Studios season that begins each September. This is an important date in any Hertfordshire-based artist's diary to take stock and review all they create, produce, endeavour and inspire with. This year in particular being the Silver anniversary and proving to be the most sparkliest.

So this has been my project for the last 6 months.

In the lead up to September, we have had a huge swathe of time in which to prepare ourselves before we swing open our doors and become exhibitors ourselves. In July, the Open Preview got underway at The New Maynard Gallery in Welwyn Garden City. I popped along to meet fellow artists, painters, sculptors, craft-makers and photographers sharing the hope and aspirations for their own Open Studio.

Now, the launch is almost upon us. 5th September. I've been working along with artists, suppliers and businesses in the East Herts area (or the A10 corridor), to reach each and every one of you. We have distributed thousands of Open Studio brochures to public places, like libraries, tourist info points, schools and other community groups. Our call has been made through the local press and Hertfordshire Life magazine plus many more media.

This final week of preparations will see me out in public handing out more Open Studios brochures and my own tickets to get people interested in visual arts.

Personally, I'd like to thank Nick at Creative Thinking in Cheshunt for taking on some of the publicity, as always a handy supplier of art materials.

Do come along and find us on our art trail. Discover just what it is artists do all day. It's free to visit any studio and there could be a hidden gem you might like to purchase, or seek to commission an artist for your own individual creation.

Here are some links to the wonderful artists in East Herts:

Jo Gill     Sue Nicholls     Ruta Bartkeviciute   Tessa Verrecchia     Linda Gifford    Stephanie Edwards    Gillian MacKenna   Annie Brash Kelvin

All details about dates and opening times can be found over on the HVAF Open Studios website.