January is always a time for thinking about the year ahead. It's often about reassessing and taking stock. This year will be a little different for me as I have taken the decision not to participate in some of the events which would normally shape my working year. This doesn't mean that I won't be working. However it will take the pressure off certain points in the year and allow me a little more freedom to make whatever I like.

I would usually be looking forward to participating in some of my regular shows like  Bucks Art Weeks in June. There are many reasons for taking a break this year but primarily, I hope it will give me the time and opportunity to build a body of work.

I am still really pleased to be part of the Buckinghamshire Craft Guild and I will continue to regularly demonstrate at the guild gallery (see diary section for details). If you haven't visited since we moved to our lovely new gallery space last year, you will find it is filled with high quality, beautiful work by over 34 local Buckinghamshire based artists. This year we are already planning several special exhibitions, kicking off with our Spring exhibition starting on the 24th February. It will feature some lovely new work from our membership including some of our new members whose work we are excited to share with you. Later in the year we will have an exciting themed show in the autumn but more on that nearer the time.

More details about all these things to come. Keep checking back if you're interested to know more.

Thank to everyone who came along to this exhibition at the Courtyard Art Studio in the beautiful setting of the Claydon Estate, Buckinghamshire where I was showing work alongside Barbara Shaw who produces collaged pieces using fabric like paint.

The exhibition was a great success and Barbara and I thoroughly enjoyed demonstrating our working processes and techniques throughout the show and meeting and chatting to so many lovely, interested visitors.

At this time of year I am always looking ahead to what I have booked in the diary and this year is already shaping up to be an exciting one. I already have a very successful Longwick Artshow behind me and I'm starting new work this week for Bucks Artweeks coming up on the horizon. June will be here before we know it and there is a lot to do before then.

Barbara creates her pieces by hand stitching small scraps of fabric together in layers to produce unique collages. Her subjects are often based on her impressions of the natural worlds well as local scenes and buildings. As you will see from the image below she has a unique style which is very different to mine yet essentially we are both using very similar materials. The stitch in Barbara's work is mostly functional and sometimes not even seen, allowing the fabric scraps to be the real stars of the show.

We are both excited about bringing this exhibition to Claydon Estate which is the most beautiful setting, with fantastic independent shops and a gallery in the courtyard. There are beautiful gardens to explore and the National Trust property Claydon House adjacent, as well as The Pheonix tea rooms which offer a convenient pit stop for tea and cake or a light meal. There is plenty of parking and the site is wheelchair friendly.

Ever since we moved to the area, one of my favourite places to spend time has always been Waterperry Gardens. I particularly love the gallery there which is always beautifully presented, peaceful and filled with inspiring work.

So I am very excited to announce that I will be having an exhibition of my work at the Art in Action Gallery at Waterperry in November/December this year. It is such a privilege to be able to show a collection of pieces in such beautiful setting.

I'm working very hard towards this show which will be un-themed but will feature work inspired by land and seascapes, wildlife and other subjects. The show runs from Nov 17th through until the end of the year and the gallery is open every day 10-5 so if you get the chance please do pop in and see what I have been up to. It's an easy 5 minute drive from junction 8a (Oxford Services) off the M40. OX33 1JZ

The Gallery itself is housed in a restored 18th Century barn and is full of beautiful contemporary art and craft work, so it's well worth a visit and with the wonderful gardens, plant centre, gift barn, farm shop and tearooms all on site, it is a great destination to spend a couple of hours.

I'm excited to have an article included in the winter edition of Through Our Hands, the online magazine devoted to all things textiles: http://issuu.com/laurakemshall/docs/tohmagwinter2015

I hope you enjoy it.

At the end of the summer holidays, I had to begin work on a commissioned piece which had been sitting in my virtual 'in tray' since the beginning of the year. Luckily my client is patient and was happy to wait.

So with the help of some photographs, I set about the task of sketching an image out onto my calico canvas. It became immediately obvious that this piece was going to be an incredible challenge. After some time, my arm was aching and I began to realise that the success of this piece would be 'all in the detail'. There were so many windows, doorways and characterful details in the buildings and then, there were the reflections in the water.....this was going to be a small embroidery which would take an awfully long time to do.

As I started stitching I became quickly immersed in the piece, concentrating my efforts on small areas at a time, sewing for hours and then pausing to sit back and assess my progress only to find that the piece had hardly grown at all. Although a little disheartened by the painfully slow progress, I did at least feel happy with how it was going. I don't think I have ever changed my top thread or my spool thread quite as much as I did on this piece. People often ask me if there is some trick to getting so many colours in each piece. There is no magical answer....it is simply being prepared to change those threads as often as it takes. I'm actually pretty sure that I could thread my machine up with my eyes closed. On this particular embroidery it was vital to capture the many pastel colours of the buildings and the endless reflections in the canal.

After many hours of head ache inducing concentration I finally finished and gratefully collapsed into the nearest armchair. There is no doubt that this piece was incredibly challenging and also in many ways a lot of fun. Above all though I came to truly appreciate and understand that old expression we all use 'the devil is in the detail'.

So this is the embroidery I've been working on the last couple of weeks. It's not particularly big but the detail involved has meant it has been slow going at times. The faces of the owls were particularly tricky. I always think facial expressions and especially eyes are vital to the birds looking right and being convincingly real.

I love Barn owls. They're a subject matter I've tackled before and no doubt I will again. They're so elegant, statesmanlike, beautiful and graceful.

This piece was inspired by a photo on twitter (hence the awful blog title...sorry!) I never thought I was the kind if person to enjoy social media. In fact I still haven't been tempted by Facebook (am I the last?) However twitter has sucked me in and I have found there, a community of artists, creatives and people who simply just enjoy art. I find that I get a buzz from sharing my progress as I work, through twitter and that the response is warm, encouraging and supportive.

Unexpectedly I've come to the conclusion that I would really miss my twitter community and that I'm actually very lucky to have them.

It was a great delight to me to be told by a National trust Ranger on twitter that I she really loved my barn owls embroidery and since she works closely with them, I felt particularly encouraged by her comment. It's interactions such as this that I find really valuable. As an artist working at home alone most of the time it is helpful to have an audience to share and discuss with and I'm am honoured to be asked my opinion of other people's work too.

This piece began with twitter and now it is finished, I've been seeking help with a title for it from my twitter friends too. So it also ends with twitter and the chosen title 'Do you see what I see?'

Ok...so I know what you are thinking...'she's gone completely mad'.
Well, you could be right but little red dots are a joyous thing believe me! When you are an artist, there is a great buzz of excitement to be had when a little red dot appears on your work at an exhibition or show.

This weekend was one such time for me. It was Longwick Artshow, a local primary school event run by a parent and fellow artist, where artists from all over the local area are invited to submit work and sell it with a percentage of the profits going to the school.

It's a show I've taken part in for about the last five years and having missed the private view on Friday night I was keen to get along there on Saturday to see the show for myself.

To my delight I arrived to discover that all 4 of the embroideries I had submitted had little red dots adorning them. It's such a great feeling to sell work at any time but it was particularly satisfying to sell everything!

To know that people are parting with their hard earned cash to buy something I've made makes me very happy.

A good friend of mine is always telling me that I need to remember all the years of training and experience I have done when I decide on prices for my work. She tells me that every hour at college, every sketchbook page, every discarded piece which didn't quite make the grade...all of that has helped to make me the artist I am today and it is time and experience that just cannot be calculated when pricing work. She is right of course but until I become super famous and can charge whatever I like for my work I'll happily settle for the thrill of the little red dots.