The joys of stewarding with a group of artists from Drawn to the Valley. ( Other art groups are equally rewarding)

I am a big fan of Stewarding. I learned to love it in some truly iconic galleries in London, Tate Modern, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Slade School of Fine Art (UCL) , Brixton East and some of the many galleries in Spitalfields and Brick Lane. All with South London Women Artists.

Returning to the West Country finds me exhibiting with Drawn to the Valley. Stewarding with either group has been rewarding and so informative. Artists are solitary creatures. We tinker away in our studios. Doing our thing,sometimes with a flow of creativity and other times a little stuck. Maybe lost in our own thoughts. Stewarding gives us all the chance to talk to one another and talk to the public who attend our exhibitions. Really some of the most rewarding conversations that can be had between relative strangers. At Cotehele we exhibited in a gallery space that was built in 1485. Yes the floorboards creaked a bit and the shadows and shafts of light were tricksy for viewing works of art behind glass, but 1485! Henry VII was King. We  the chance to show our art and natter in a room that has been used for 540 years.  The art is fabulous, the location equally so and then in just one day the whole thing will be dismantled. Catch it while you can.