Art Fair Preparations: My Holiday Workshop!

Looking around me today, I feel that I am in my own little Santa’s workshop: brown paper packages (not yet tied up with string), cards, prints, watercolour paper, paints, and a variety of tools surround me. I’m getting ready! Yes, for Christmas, but first I’m getting ready to participate in the upcoming art fair pop up at The Arches of St. George Street in Moncton, New Brunswick (Canada) on Saturday, December 18^th! Here’s what I’m working on and what you can expect to find on offer from me!

The holiday season is, for me, the season of writing cards. It’s the time of year of thinking especially of others and reflecting on those meaningful relationships in our lives. Some years, I actually achieve my goal of writing to my long list of loved ones; other years, I scramble and only get a few done (or send them in the Spring). With this in mind, I wanted to offer a small collection of cards that would be appropriate for both the holiday season, but also for any time of year and for any occasion. I needed two things for this: a versatile image and a blank card interior for a personal message!

I decided to make greeting cards from four of my Forest Series paintings: “Treelined Path”, “Two Paths”, “Forest Light” and “Forest Staircase”. These four paintings were inspired by my daily walks at the Belgian coast during the early months of the pandemic in 2020. These walks, along dunes and in forests, were a grounding routine in an uncertain time. Focusing on my surroundings and paying close attention to the details, colours, and shapes around me helped me feel connected and peaceful. These four paintings were the beginning of my Forest Series and I hope as cards they convey messages of love, joy, support, kind wishes, new beginnings, and celebration.    

I will also be offering high quality inkjet prints of select paintings, including pieces from my Forest Series, Sculptural Trees Collection, and my Canada Series. As I’d done for my greeting cards, I turned to The Printing House in Halifax for these fine arts inkjet reproduction prints of my work. I was able to compare different printing options with test printing and was very pleased with the communication and customer service from TPH team. I chose some personal and fan favourites to have on offer including, “Horizontal Sculptural Trees” and “Fundy Coast”.  

For the mats (passe-partout), I was able to find exactly what I needed at DeSerres in their variously-sized mat kits. These kits include the front window mat, backing board, and clear protective envelope. The assembly of matting prints takes time and precision (see my recent blogpost on this process here) but I love this meticulous work and feel proud of the finished product. I was also happy to revisit DeSerres since the art supply store was my go-to during my university years in Quebec.

Finally, I’ll be offering some original watercolour pieces at the art pop up next weekend. These include pieces of different subjects and colour palettes but all will be in my main theme of landscapes (see some recent watercolour examples on my website). Inspiration has come from all around me, including the welcome home flowers waiting for me at my family home when I arrived in Moncton and the snowy outdoors that I see all around me.

If you are in Moncton or the surrounding areas, I hope you will come out to The Arches of St George Street and say hello! The lineup of other vendors looks fantastic and I’m sure it will be filled with holiday cheer – the last pop up before Christmas!

Looking forward to seeing familiar and new faces on Saturday, December 18^th (10am -3pm).

Thanks for reading!

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