So a big heart felt thank you!

This all started with a conversation between Mel Hills and me as we were heading into our stalls at the Tasmanian Craft Fair in 2019.

While my initial ideas about artists and their creative small businesses being heard, found and supported seemed to have to be put on hold with the arrival of Covid-19, it turned out the time was needed for it all to come together.

Starting With Our First Art Exhibition

The first art exhibition was held at Art as Mania, Highland Felting and The Empire Hotel in 2020 under the name of Artist in Residence Trails Tasmania. 

It was just what the doctor ordered for artists all over the state, a chance to exhibit their work and express themselves creatively. Happily it was a success that led to another three exhibitions being shown in Deloraine.

Flailing to Answer to Good Questions

At the 2022 art exhibition I had a series of really interesting and game changing conversations with the leaders of various art projects about how they could be involved with Artist in Residence Trails Tasmania, and to be frank, I just didn’t have the answers. 

I could easily see the logic and motivation in their questions and I wanted to be able to say, “yes, this is how”, but I couldn’t.

The Power of Listening

By listening to what was being asked for I realised that my initial ideas of amplifying the voices and messages of makers and artists so they could be heard and found was always going to be the keys.

Because it is really difficult for a solo maker or even an artist collective to be heard in all the noise.

But by having a place to come together, allowing the voices to all sing together would allow the individual and the group to shine through and be heard.

It was also exceptionally clear that the silo styled organisations were missing so many opportunities in their approach of containment.

Whereas all pulling together, all supporting each other across the state, across a variety of mediums and techniques, the opportunities to flourish are exciting and vitally real. 

Practical Ways for Capturing Ideas

All of this resulted in a very large thinking hat coming into place for a number of months.

I started scoping out ideas on sheets of paper and really quickly realised this would do my head in having random notes on random bits of paper.

So I bought a spiral bound A4 notebook and started brain dumping.

Before long, I needed another notebook and the pattern continued.

I’ve ended up with a document with a table listing the notebooks, each with their own number on the front and a list of contents written in blue sharpie on the cover.

It’s even got to the point of writing Full on the cover when all the pages are covered in ink.

I’ve just started notebook number 26.

But, to be fair, I do have a dedicated notebook to just the art exhibition this year as it’s grown into it’s name and become a trail across five diverse and captivating exhibition venues, from the mountains to the sea. 

The Big Thinking Hat Phase for Art Trails Tasmania

During the big thinking hat phase I quickly realised that I needed to change the name. Artist in Residence Trails Tasmania wasn’t working well enough for me or anyone else. Nor could it encompass all that was needed. And I needed to do this before I built the website.

I struggled finding the new name, it needed to be descriptive, inclusive, easy to say and write, and fit for purpose while acknowledging the past.

And when the new name finally arrived, I was surrounded by water, the best way that ideas come to me. Art Trails Tasmania fitted it all perfectly!

The First Members of Art Trails Tasmania

The next morning I checked my email as usual and found I had my first member!

And then you just kept backing me and joining! 

I was literally dancing around the house in such joy.

I’d put so much work in, so many hours and to have such an instant response made me cry, multiple times.

And there have been several times in the last year where your support has brought me to tears. Good tears.

The thing was, while I knew I was launching with a lot more work do happen.

I hadn’t realised how much work there was still to do.

Also, I hadn’t reckoned on having so many members straight up and that I would be sharing so many Artist Profile stories. 

It took another six months of diligent work to feel like I was starting to come up to speed with all that was needed.

We All Make the Difference

It takes all of us doing our bit to have this happen, to have creativity flourish amongst us.

And your support of Art Trails Tasmania, whether that is by your membership, reading the newsletter, following us on Facebook and Instagram, buying the digital products, entering the art exhibition, becoming a buyer of art works in the exhibition, following our members on their socials, any and all of this, is game changing.

There is no massive big one thing that any of us do.

It is about the small things, the actions that each of us can take that makes the difference to whether we have a healthy, vibrant creative community or not.

Personally I find that really empowering.

Yes, I have built a pretty amazing website if I do say so myself (to be honest, I’m absolutely amazed by what this website has grown into with all of your stories!) but it has all happened bit by bit.

And it would have stopped many bits ago without you.

Your Support Makes Art Trails Tasmania Flourish

It’s your support, reading the stories, discovering the artists and going over to their pages to follow them, joining up and being part of this that is enabling Art Trails Tasmania.

So What’s Next for Art Trails Tasmania?

You know those multiplying notebooks?

Well there’s still a lot in them that needs to see the light of day, you’ll see some, like the ebooks, workbooks and online courses, others that will happen behind the scenes like listing on a bundle of SEO actions like listing on directories.

I need to connect with sponsors for the art exhibition so I can increase the prize pool and another very special project I have percolating away that I hope to have your feedback on too, once I’m a bit more organised with it.

There’s a lot I need to figure out about the Shop to get it looking and working as I imagine it to.

That will take the better part of a year’s constant attention, all step by step.

It is the Doing That Matters

I’m not one who believes in having things perfect before launching. In part because I don’t believe in perfection and mainly because it is the starting that matters.

If I was to be waiting for Art Trails Tasmania to be perfect she still wouldn’t be launched yet and here we are celebrating her first birthday!

And look how fabulous she is all in her own right.

I have, what I think is, a fabulous idea for promoting the workshops, exhibitions and events of the Artist Profile and Artists Ensemble members in mind. 

Learning How to Do Surveys for Art Trails Tasmania

I’ll be sending out a survey to members about it so I can refine it all, and I’m thinking a survey to the Community newsletter readers too as there’s over 900 of them and they are involved and engaged. So they’ll have great ideas and feedback.

Plus, I have ideas for three ebooks that I want to dive into.

The first one off the blocks will be a really practical, step by step guide for artists to set up and run their own successful email newsletter.

Writing all of this I’ve realised that I am as excited and daunted about my plans for the coming 12 months as I was back in November 2023 when I was formulating my tangled ideas for the website.

Thank goodness for notebooks!

A Massive Thank You for Your Support!

And a massively huge thank you to you for backing this, and for making it this far down the story!!!

We are a community of nearly 100 members and our Community newsletter is 900+ strong in just a year!

Our social media following is nudging 3,000 on Facebook (started in 2019) and over 650 on Instagram – now that I have figured out how to post from my laptop (constantly learning!).

Oh, and if you want to let me know your kindly thoughts, suggestions, insights, do please send them though.

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