The Gold medal has arrived!

The other day I got called into metal , something exciting has turned up and you need to come in , oo could it be the medal , yes it could ! Brian and I were heading into town anyway so we called in , it was great to see Sarah and Ruth as it's been a while , we opened the box and there it was a real RHS gold medal wow !! I have dreamed of winning one of these but never knew if I would and here it was in my hand . It felt like a quiet private proud moment , after all the excitement and whirlwind of the show going on months ago . This was a sinking in moment for me. So many people worked to make this happen and I will never forget the specialness of the whole experience. The medal represents the icing on the cake and the best thing is the garden has created a new space in Peterborough and  will continue to grow.

Wintery week of wonders

Last Monday I got to meet the team at LDA design Landscape  Architects.  They invited me to go in and talk about what creating the 'A Space to connect and grow' garden at RHS Hampton was like . They are a really nice bunch of people and have an massively  impressive portfolio of work such as the Olympic park and cathedral Square Peterborough to name just a couple . They were really interested in my plasma cutting work so watch this space . 

Then the long awaited preview night arrived. I haven't put together a big exhibition for ages and I loved being a part of it, I managed to create 18 pieces for the Stamford "winterworks" exhibition which continues until December 9th at the Stamford Arts Centre open until 9.30 everyday except Sunday's . It's been a brilliant success so far,  I've sold 5 pieces in the first 3 days one of which was "Birds in bare trees" one of the main pieces . So I'm going to take another big piece in to replace it . This has really given me an appetite for exhibiting again , I better get planning for the next one . On  Saturday morning  I was back in Stamford for a craft fair and had a great day with Sue Shields, Kathryn Parsons and Sam Rodden , where we shared a stall . Drank tea wondered around and sold some work .

Plasma cutting madness

I've been completely absorbed lately, in plasma cutting , trying new techniques and experimenting with powder coated finishes , and generally getting as much work done as possible for a number of exhibitions and craft fairs . Firstly there was the work for Art in the heart gallery / shop in Peterborough where I put together a window display of winter inspired flora and forna metal relief sculptures, metal ivy and Wreaths etc  . Then yesterday we put up a joint exhibition at Stamford arts centre where I'm exhibiting alongside ceramicists Denise Brown , Christine Withall and painter Rene Viner , I was still finishing work up to the wire as usual but got done everything I needed too . I even had an apprentice for the day Chloe who is studying Art foundation at Stamford, she was a great help, I could definitely get used to this.

 The preview is tonight Friday 21st so I'm looking forward to that it will be nice to unwind and enjoy a preview.The exhibition continues until Dec 9th . I'm also doing a craft fair tomorrow at Stamford art centre so if your about come and say hi . 

Jet set week

Monday shopping with clients for hard landscaping materials and items for their  garden from reclamation yards and the like , great fun !

Tuesday I  went to London to take part in the Landscape show woohoo , I loved it , I sat on a master class panel with none other than Andrew Fisher Tomlins , Sarah Eberle and Tom Harfleet !  It was great Sarah and Tom had me in stitches and Andrew Fisher Tomlins is so generous with his time and knowledge . I also met up with people from RHS Hampton , had a cheeky glass of Champagne with the other speakers and shared peanuts with Jo Thompson , I feel like I need to pinch myself . On Tuesday the lovely Jacqui Hurst came up from London to photograph my studio my Plasma cutting and a some shots of my garden . The cheeky kittens followed Jacqui around all day and kept getting in her photography bag . On Thursday I met with a client to talk about their ideas and wish list for their garden , had a meeting with the guys at metal about how their garden will develop over the coming year . Friday I marked out the paths and terrace for the hardlandscaping for one of the gardens Ive been designing , then in the evening I've had a wonderful time at a party hosted by the head of vivacity

where I've met some brilliant artists and business people doing some incredible things in Peterborough . Peterborough is definitely a very exciting place to be and I feel honoured to be a part of it . This week I feel like I'm living a very exciting life I'm sure next week I'll  be back to normal . 

Winfield house

I've had a very lovely day today , first I went on a lovely bike ride the first time for ages then I worked on a survey I'm drawing up at the moment . Then I went to London , with a couple of hours to kill before the main event I went for a mosey around the V &A which I totally love I could spend days there taking it all in . Then

 as I've been lucky enough to be asked to go to the landscape show next Tuesday and sit on a panel to discuss how to take garden design forward in the future it's very exciting and a little bit scary too ,as I'm not sure how good I am at talking in front of crowds . Anyway I'm gonna jump in and give it a go !! So back to today the landscape show team organised a lovely party to meet and greet at Winfield house which is the US Ambassadors residence in London . We got to look around the exquisitly beautiful rooms ,which  included some very impressive modern art , delicious wine and nibbles , a tour of the beautiful gardens by the head gardener . It was so lovely , I especially loved purple border garden with  grapevines trained up large obelisks they looked stunning .we were shown the impressive plans for the New US embassy that is being built at the moment . I met some very nice people although I did feel a little bit socially awkward,  oh well practice will make perfect . It's been a good day . 

The launch of a garden in the balmy sunshine

Finally after months of working on this epic project we are done !!! Yay . I have loved this wonderful journey with Metal so many amazing aspects to it . Learning to plasma cut , building my first show garden at a RHS show . Winning a GOLD ! Winning best In category . Meeting brilliant people , working with brilliant people!  phew it has been totally awesome . And we couldn't have asked for a better way to share it with the People of Peterborough . Two days of fun . Foraging walks , delicious cooking demos with Lee Clarke from Clarkes prestigious restaurant . Handmade in Peterborough crafted some truly beautiful  yarnbombing and decorations , I made bug hotels with kids and there was a lovely pop up cafe for tea and cake. On the Sunday the sun shone down on us , while musicians and poets performed. Myself , Sarah , Sophie and Gareth gave a talk about the project . So many people came and their comments were great . So I think it's been a success and the best thing is a car park has been turned into a really usable and sociable garden . 

Rebuild continues

The rebuild at Metal Peterborough is coming together nicely , it's been a bit challenging due to the size of the space to fill , a 50m2 show garden is going into a 150m2 plus size space add to this no digging down and needing to keep large open spaces for audiences and the parking of a couple of cars . Then to add to this a very minuscule amount of money left in the pot to see it through. 

I like a challenge though and we've come up with all sorts of solutions . The oil drums have been invaluable we are using them as foundations for the pavilion and as a base for the oil drum feature wall . The gas pipes we used for the pavilion supports are too long ( at the show they were fixed into the ground , now they sit on top , so the first job of the day was for my dad Owen to cut the bottom flanges off and reweld them back on at the desired height. Brian went off to collect the cement and post mix needed . Ruth , Mark , myself ,and dad got started on the roof frame , when Brian got back and helped with the finishing off. It was so good to finally have a structure in the garden , while dad and Mark carried on with the roof , Brian and I got to work on the oil drum feature wall , Sarah was busy painting the inside of drums ready for planting up with our beautiful plants . It's been a really productive day even Cam and Indi pitched in and helped . What better way to finish the day off than a visit to the spa with some friends ! Arh bliss

So much plasma cutting to do but so much fun !

Since the totally brilliant and awesome RHS Hampton show . I've been busy catching up with clients garden designs , re building the "A space to connect and grow" garden at Chauffeurs and plasma cutting the recycled drums for wall hung outside/ inside art , I've developed a way to hang them on the wall with a decorative fixing that is part of the drum ,

it works really well and looks good too. The orders are coming in now which is wonderful , I've got four to make at the moment and the art in the heart gallery want some more because the one I took in sold within the week ! They are currently selling for £195+ postage so if you would like one please email me at jenicairns@btinternet.com .

 Better get back out there and get busy. 

Rebuild is starting to come together

We have been busy over the past few weeks putting the " A space to connect and grow " garden back together but in a new way in a new location . What was a packed out and full 8m x6.5m show garden is being installed in a 11m x 30m walled out door space at metal in Peterborough . It's a beautiful out door space that has been used as a car park with bright green astro turf floor. The brief called for bringing nature into an urban space creatively with flexible planters , a stage , lots of recycled materials and creating spaces that can be used for entertaining , performing , eating , holding workshops and meetings not to forget growing fruit, vegetables and  herbs . Phew that's quite a brief . We have had some great help from our brilliant  volunteers - Gareth , Maddie , Jean , Liz as well as Sarah, Mark and Ruth from Metal and then Brian , Sophie ,and myself it's really starting to take shape although there's still plenty to do yet . The grand opening will be on the 5th, 6th  and 7th of September where there will be  a real mixture of activities , workshops and performances . 

Southwold

For years and years I've wanted to go to southwold well we finally made it on Monday (you should always get to do what you want on your birthday) we arrived at southwold pier it was quite cold and windy but I was transfixed by the amazing work of multi talented artist and engineer Tim Hunkin ( I bet he's got a plasma cutter) in my own work I have been experimenting with ways to use kinetic movement and light and sound . The trouble is there is so much to explore and try , I get totally carried away with ideas and there are only so many hours in the day. Any way Tim Hunkins under the pier show is totally brilliant , with gems such as "rent a dog ", "fly drive" and "is it art"  . It's all so brilliant and funny I wanted to spend more time and go on everything (well make Brian and the kids go on them mostly) . I would love to learn from him ! www.timhunkin.com www.underthepier.com

Southwold is so beautiful full of lovely seaside cottages and cute nooks and crannies I could stay for a week drawing and exploring I will definitely be back soon . 

Garden museum london and gridlock Sunday

I have just spent a lovely chilled out day at the garden museum London, they hosted an artist and makers fair in the beautiful church, there were lots of different stalls and something for everyone ,it was also really good to have a look at the exhibits such as Gertrude Jekyll's desk and vintage seed packets. after the fair finished we thought we would drive into Central London and have a wonder about and grab some food before heading to Colchester to our hotel. That was probably a mistake , so many road were closed all offer Central london and it was gridlocked , it didn't seem to matter which way we went we got stuck . Eventually we parked up and and went walk about , it was really crowded and none of us were having a good time, so we called it a day and headed back to the car . Things got so much better once we got to the hotel and had the best nights sleep .