Prom Art: A Review

Article Added: 13/05/2009 14:58:03
Article written by Jenny Lewis

“Prom Art got off to a really hot start this April with gorgeous sunshine, cloudless skies and a high tide which reached the prom walls in the morning – it couldn’t have been better.

The stage was set at 9.30am ready for the influx of visitors. The 80 artists and craftspeople who had booked in advance had set up their stalls and gazebos, and there was an air of anticipation as prom artists hoped to chat with the visitors and sell some of their work.

The stalls, as always, were overflowing with goodies – handbags and purses hand-dyed and felted, decorated with many sorts of embellishments. There were two stalls showing hand-made jewellery created from stones, beads, wire and semi-precious gems. Artists flooded the prom and there was a lot of genuine talent, especially in the acrylic art sphere. Many of the paintings showed the Lake District, while others were trendy, vibrant and very eye-catching modern art. One guy painted on slate, while another stood at the prom railings painting a finely detailed picture of London trams and traffic with incredibly accurate perspective. There were many home-made card stalls which proved to be very popular; a woman sold hand-knitted garments she had designed and there were many people selling prints of sold paintings – huge red lips, eyes and geometric forms. The sad thing was, that there was so much talent, so many hours spent and yet the highest price I saw for anything was £60.

The face painter was doing a roaring trade with the kids, and the Morris Dancers from the village of Crook in Cumbria added a festival atmosphere to the day; whoever designed their hats with amazing arrays of flowers heaped high, was very talented.

There was lots of interaction between visitors and craftspeople and the prom was busy with grannies, couples, kids, dogs, and scooters weaving precariously in and out between walking people. It was a great day for all.”

Prom Art takes place in Grange over Sands in Cumbria on the last Sunday of the month until September, so if you are in the area on any of those days then why not take a look at the event for yourself? If you manage to get along then we would love to hear your thoughts too – sign in to leave your comments below.