I had probably not got to sleep before 4 AM in the morning and was therefore less than enthusiastic about the inadvertent sounding of the alarm clock at 7 AM. I managed to sleep for another hour or two before reluctantly clambering out of bed and getting ready for the first of my two Cambridge Open Studio weekend days.
The very first task before the studios opened at 11 AM was to assist Mr Cooper in setting up flags at the end of all road and further along the road towards the main route through Milton, to ensure that visitors could easily find both my studio and that of Mrs Cooper who was exhibiting under her artistic name of Alison Hullyer. We met and chatted with some other villagers on the way, gaining some juicy nuggets of gossip on yet another conflict within a village organisation.
Then it was back to direct our gazebo, under which I intended to sit and paint whilst waiting for visitors to appear. My studio was not only clearly marked with the Cambridge Open Studios flag but also with the banner that Mr Burt of Jamy Ltd had prepared for me a couple of years ago for when I was on the plinth. Walking down to the end of our close, I ascertained that anyone walking past and looking in that direction could not fail to miss the fact that there were two studios open along Hall End.
Sounds drifting over from the playing fields at the other end of the village reminded us of the fact that we were competing against the Milton village fair. I had a scant four visitors before lunchtime. However things picked up during the afternoon and by the end of the day, 19 people had visited my studio, meeting the expected average based on prior experience.
Seated under the gazebo, I took the time to practice my Chinese brush painting. The lack of practice over the past few weeks showed and it took some time to get back into the flow. The gradually improving sketches that were done were added to the special board within the exhibition as examples of practice work.
Now that the first day was over, this Sunday and the following weekend would be less stressful as the familiarity of the open studio set in.
The evening was spent reformatting my now old Asus EeePC and installing the new Natty Narwhal version of Ubuntu. This resulted in a more compact use of storage space and gave me more space for my own files on the little netbook, should I so wish.
Good news by text from Mrs Ekblom – she had returned home and was recuperating after a successful operation.
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