That Time Of Year Again

Yes, it is that time of year again - the run up to the Christmas Open Houses except this year the lucky visitors get an extra weekend to visit and I have one fewer weeks to try and get the house ready for inspection.

This Christmas, I am happy to welcome a new artist to the house - Georgia Elliott. Georgia is an illustrator who was shortlisted for The AOI Illustration Awards 2013: (Books, New Talent Category). She will be displaying her books along with a selection of prints and greeting cards, including Christmas cards.

I will also be welcoming back most of the artists who were with me last Christmas although we all have new work so there will always be something you haven't seen before. I'll be posting sneak previews over the next couple of weeks but in the meantime here's one of Vicky Scott's new card designs

and one of Ruth Mullan's new fused glass pieces

So... make a date in your diary and come along and meet the artists at 45 Westbourne Gardens, Hove, BN3 5PN. We are open 11am-5pm each weekend from 21st November until 13th December.

Start of the May Open Houses

Here we go again with the start of the May Open Houses in Brighton. I'm happy to say I have six of the same artists who were with me at Christmas with the welcome addition of Araboushikha, a stone sculptor, who has brought along two stunning, wonderfully tactile pieces which are in the garden as well as some smaller ones. "Harold" is a limestone hare and "Fire In the Belly" is a piece in serpentine.

Vicky Scott has brought along one of her original pieces to show the process that is carried out before her prints are made. "Alice in Wonderland" is a collage of detailed card pieces cut by hand (even the whiskers on the mice and cats) which is pieced together to make the finished article.

In addition to his detailed postcard sized original works, Del Thorpe has for sale some larger size prints. Theseus and the Minotaur is a recent work, the original of which was created for a charity auction raising money for Chestnut Tree House Children's Hospice. Having missed out on the auction for the original work, I'm thrilled to see the prints here.

Why not come along and see what we have? You can find us at 45 Westbourne Gardens, Hove, BN3 5PN. We are open the weekends (including Bank Holiday Monday) until 24th May from 11am till 5pm.

Vicky Scott

Vicky went to university in Brighton and, after a spell in London, has moved back to our beautiful city by the sea. She is an illustrator making paper collages and has produced commissions for Paperchase, among others. Remember the Elephant parade a few years ago with the brightly coloured elephants popping up in various locations in central London? Vicky designed a gorgeous bird print for one of the baby elephants.

I love the joyfulness of her cute and colourful prints - have a look at her website for more examples. It's http://www.vickysworld.co.uk which also has a link to her blog http://vickyscott-vickysworld.blogspot.co.uk.