I suppose if I celebrate the ups in my everyday life as an artist it’s only fair to record the setbacks. I’ve just been turned down for membership of Axis, the ‘online directory and resource’ for contemporary artists, but they don’t tell you why…. As I’ve been a practising artist for some years, regularly doing solo exhibitions by invitation, and constantly experimenting and innovating rather than sticking to safe territory, I guess there’s not much more I can do to be a ‘contemporary artist’. Still, I continue to make and sell work: here’s a farewell to ‘A Crying for Wine’, finished last autumn, which has just been sold at the Ropewalk Gallery, one of the nicest possible places to exhibit.

And there are lots of practical, real-life projects in the offing. Generating and exchanging ideas, creating and exhibiting work, workshops, commissions, working with adults and children…. And, of course, all of the administrative stuff – time to hunt out some new opportunities!

New and exciting prospect for May: an invitation to join in Brighton and Hove Open Houses, which takes place during the famous month-long Festival. I’ll be one of two mixed media artists – others are showing sculpture, paintings and photography – at (or is it in?) Hove Park Villas.

My contribution will centre on hand-cast cotton paper, and art from recycled materials (both indoor and outdoor). Since our hosts are personally and professionally dedicated to recycling this seems very fitting!

To celebrate the first post of the New Year, here is a picture of my mixed media piece, Celebration, as it now looks in its new home. This is the dark, atmospheric lair (‘shed’ sounds a bit dull) of Gary the guitarist: a place for lessons and inspiration. Every inch is covered with interesting stuff but somehow he found room for another piece.

It incorporates some genuine party debris (corks, wrappers, Annis’s bottle-tops, plastic forks – all sorts) on a background of printed and hand-coloured invitations.