At the Hadleigh book fair

A chance for Janet's gold books and my little inky black books to be near each other -

Setting up - and documenting the occasion -

Triss shoots Gwen

(Links to the websites of the exhibitors are at thebookartsfair.weebly.com.) chocolategirl64.blogspot.co.uk shows closeups of some of the works that were on show on her blog.

Sally's prolific work, in the foreground; Wendy beyond, with Triss's table at the back

Throughout the day the fair was nicely busy, but with time to chat. At the back of the photo below you get a glimpse of the cafe corner - excellent coffee and a selection of home-made cakes and biscuits, with tables and chairs for visitors to have a sitdown. I think that added to the pleasant ambience.

Exhibitors on the left are Andrew Law and David Howe

Karen showed visitors of all ages how to make a simple book

People were easily persuaded to overcome their don't-touch-the-art instincts and went ahead and picked up the various memory balls. On putting the prickly red ball into someone's hand, I was gratified to hear the "oh it's heavy" comment again and again - it means that people are realising that there are other dimensions to "art" than just the visual one. Touch and kinesthetics, though sometimes subliminal, are important too!

Many people wound their names into my "ball du jour", often reminiscing about how they used to wind wool for auntie as a child, and obviously enjoying it so much they didn't want to stop. I acted as a thread guide, to keep the cone from toppling over and make winding easier -

I had no enticing books to sell, so why was I there? To interact with the visitors, basically ... to give them an unexpected experience, and let them make of it what they will. I'm happy that people are interested!  Also it's a chance to practice talking to people about my work - and to listen to what I'm saying about it, and assess the reaction. To see where the conversation goes...