Art Walk in Southsea

Saturday is chores day, but I cannot miss the Created in Portsmouth arts and crafts trail, which saw local artists and crafters opening their studios to the public.

I had very little time so briskly made my way to Darlington Road, where bookmaker and paper artist Adrian Munday was opening his front room to showcase some of the fabulous books he has made. The photographs of the books were enticing enough, but to actually feel the books yourself was quite something. I know I have a thing about stationary, but these books were exquisite!

Adrian's mother Shirley also had her crafts on display and she was an amazing woman who has a passion of beading and embroidery. You cannot miss her enthusiasm for the crafts and she couldn't avoid infecting me with her delight in crafting. Safe to say that I could not walk away without purchasing one of her beautifully crafted beaded bracelet.

Having had such an inspiring visit with these two I thought it would be churlish to skip the studio on Waverley Road. It's so near and on the way to Waitrose, sort of.

Artist Tracy Hodder displayed her dolls collection and talked enthusiastically about the joy of making the dolls. Such fascinating faces, some great for a present to your mother, others displayed a quirkiness that only your friends with a sense of humour could appreciate. I had a giggle seeing some of them.

Evagelia Hagikalfa's art stemmed from her Greek heritage, mixed with comments on current affairs. They prints make a beautifully classical look for any home, with inspiring quotes.

Helena Symes jewellery I like because they are made with interesting materials as oppose to the traditional precious stones. Her work is inspired by nature and tribal use of materials. In fact, glass artist Elisa Mott and I had quite a conversation with Helena about her amazing necklace, akin to a Masai Mara warrior neckware.

Sharon Justice had a huge collection of jewellery she actually made in her studio The Southsea Workbench. It was hard to tear myself away from the beautiful jewellery and especially the company, but I had to go.

It was an enjoyable afternoon and I look forward to more arts trails like this.

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