How did it get to be Bucks Art Weeks again so quickly?  This is an annual event and it seems like only yesterday that we were packing up after Open Studios 2017 - for Bucks Art Weeks is Bucks Open Studios re-branded.


If you have been with me on the blogging and art journey for a while you may remember that my first foray into Open Studios was back in 2015 when I was living in Winslow.  Sadly, that was also the year my Dad died so it was, overall, a strange experience.

However, it was an adventure, and reading the blog post back I remember what hard work it was to get the space organised. For that first venture into Open Studios my lovely friends Rob and Andy (of Rob Turner China) came to help us set up.

I should probably explain at this point, that the Us is Mix3d Stitch - because there are 3 of us and we all use stitch in our work.  My Mix3d Stitch colleagues are Jane Charles (sometimes known as Smallbeans or Smallstitches) and Yvonne Elliott.  (Jane is on the right in the picture below, Yvonne is on the left and I am in the middle).




Back to Open Studios - for the following two years we were at Christ the Cornerstone Church in Central Milton Keynes.  You can read a bit about our adventures here. A fabulous space, but two years on we were ready to downsize again and make it a bit more 'domestic'.

Yvonne kindly volunteered her space (I have long since left Winslow, our first venue), so we set too to organise her work space into a display area.

This area is predominantly Jane's work, with one of my lampshades at the back.



We did not have big wall space so I only displayed smaller works, and of course a selection of lampshades.


We also took over the lounge - somewhere nice to sit and drink tea but also more wall space. Some of Yvonne's work and one of my lampshades.



Another corner in the main room. This is all Yvonne's work.







I took a selection of handmade cards over.


 And my hearts - cut from my abstract paintings.


Buck Art Weeks runs from the 9th to the 24th June. As I type this there is one more week to go and we will be open again next weekend.

If you are reading this and you are anywhere near MK then our venue is 19, Kenchester, Bancroft, Milton Keynes.  We open at11 am next Saturday and Sunday - the 23rd and 24th June. If you are reading this and you are in MK do pop in. There is tea and cake, as well as lovely arty stuff.

Here, I added a bit of additional collage from my paper stash.



And stitching brings the whole thing to life.


All ready to be mounted in time for Bucks Arts Weeks!  Nothing like a deadline to focus the mind!