Barbara Gray Blog

#ClarityOpenDayFestival – The Team (Giveaway #5)

19th June 2021 Barbara Gray Comments 156 Comments

Hi there! Are we having fun yet? I’m imagining the Ditton Open Days LIVE now. Second day, Saturday, at its busiest around lunchtime, right? At the entrance are Jeannine and Sheila, giving you all a warm welcome as you come in … Glynis’s Pete there in the background – photobomb!! As you come round, there are those wonderful sisters, with their magical, slimming, non-fattening cakes – NOT !!!! Over to the right is Lou Withers, having a right laugh with…

Read More Read More

#ClarityOpenDayFestival – Barb’s Gone Pottery! (Giveaway #4)

19th June 2021 Barbara Gray Comments 209 Comments

Hi There! Good to have your company again on this fine Saturday morning. Day 2 of our Clarity Open Day Festival! What a great evening we had yesterday evening at the Pyjama Party Craftalong! What a fun way to spend a Friday evening! Definitely to be repeated! The Jackanory – What’s the Story – is also hitting the spot with many of you. It’s as I said in the SHAC-SHAC on Wednesday: remembering the story behind something – even as…

Read More Read More

#ClarityOpenDayFestival (Giveaway #3)

18th June 2021 Barbara Gray Comments 222 Comments

Hi there Well, the room is filling up now, and there is a lot of chirping, laughter and a friendly buzz. So many familiar faces. Let me introduce you to Elizabeth… You may have met this young lady, Elizabeth Finch. And if you haven’t you will certainly have heard me quote her many MANY times in the SHAC SHAC. I introduced her on the blog here a couple of years ago… She made a big impression on me when I…

Read More Read More

#ClarityOpenDayFestival (Giveaway #2)

18th June 2021 Barbara Gray Comments 193 Comments

Hi there! Time for another Giveaway, so I’d best get back up on the chair and try to grab your attention! How about a Large Lightwave bundle, complete with Groovi Grip, a perforating mat AND a zip up cover? All worth nearly £70! Lovely little giveaway – for parchers and stampers alike. Just tell us below why you really need a Lightwave panel in your life – and you will go into the prize draw xx Are we having fun…

Read More Read More

Let the #ClarityOpenDayFestival begin!! (Giveaway #1)

18th June 2021 Barbara Gray Comments 163 Comments

Hi there Happy Friday! Welcome to the start of our 4-day Clarity Open Days Festival! Today, under normal circumstances, hundreds of us would be hanging out together at the huge, lovely hall in Ditton near Maidstone. We would be welcoming our guests to our Clarity Open Days, the biggest annual event in the Clarity Calendar. It’s such a happy, joyous occasion! Anybody who has ever joined in will know how fabulous our Open Day gatherings are. Brilliant demos, talented artists,…

Read More Read More

A Warm up Giveaway. Ready, steady – GO!

17th June 2021 Barbara Gray Comments 145 Comments

Hi there. Thanks for popping in. What busy shows Paul had on the Craft Store. So glad you liked the Wrap around Heart. Very very useful little design, that! In case you missed it… And so on to the next adventure! What? Where? Who? Why? Well, read on… Here’s the Story, Jackanory… Tomorrow would be our fabulous Open Days in Ditton, near maidstone, but we didn’t think it was a smart idea – given all the restrictions, ‘elf n safety…

Read More Read More

What’s the Story, Morning Glory?

16th June 2021 Barbara Gray Comments 31 Comments

Hi there. Thanks for popping in. Day 4 of our Jackanory Week. So what’s the story, Morning Glory? I looked up the meaning of that expression, which I have heard and used all my life. It simply means asking a flower what their tale is early in the morning. Today’s story is about Linda Williams and a few good friends. If you read this blog often, you will know that Linda and I are firm friends. I often talk about…

Read More Read More

That’s Torn it!

14th June 2021 Barbara Gray Comments 11 Comments

Hi there Thanks for popping in. It’s Jackanory – what’s the story – again today. Since the weekend, we have been thinking about artwork we’ve created in the past which we are particularly pleased with, or which brings back good memories. Well, here’s one, a GelPress piece, which I did way back in 2014 – over 7 years ago. This piece reminds me of a couple of things actually…. It takes me back to when we first started making Clarity…

Read More Read More

OK. What’s new?

14th June 2021 Barbara Gray Comments 15 Comments

Hi there, Thanks for popping in. Leading on from yesterday’s blog, we’re in Jackanory-story mode this week. It occurs to me that the Orla Kiely Card I made years ago popped into my top 2 favourite cards ever, because it is particularly pertinent again. Not the card – not even Orla – but the business predicament. When a piece of artwork is created out of a situation or event, there is a story behind it, it had significance, meaning at…

Read More Read More

What’s the Story, Jackanory?

13th June 2021 Barbara Gray Comments 17 Comments

Hi there Thanks for popping in. Jackanory. Who remembers Jackanory? I LOVED it!! I would wait patiently, legs crossed, in front of the TV every afternoon after school, and wait for the story. Just for 15 minutes every day, wasn’t it. I’d rush home from school, just to catch the next chapter! You couldn’t miss it, because you couldn’t catch up or watch later. It was then or never. How times have changed. Back then, an adult – mostly a…

Read More Read More