Manifesting your desires
There is no such thing as coincidence
It’s true that if you want and manifest something in life, you shouldn’t be surprised if it comes into being with the right people around you.
Gabrielles story
After the excitement of curating and exhibiting The Glass Garden at The RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May of this year, I was keen to keep up the momentum and stretch myself further.
During one of my monthly Zoom meetings with Lesley, I asked her what she thought my next steps should be. She immediately suggested Sussex Prairie Gardens. My research confirmed that this was, indeed a very good suggestion and a visit to Sussex Prairies resulted in being invited to exhibit some of my Chelsea work there. It was a dream come true and I was very humbled. Within the week I was back, pacing the garden for a suitable location for my sculptures. Pauline and Paul McBride, who own and run this beautiful 8-acre garden have worked tirelessly over the years, starting from a bare patch of ground to what it is today. As an RHS affiliated garden, the standards are very high, and both are very hands on garden designers. Sussex Prairies is a delightful garden to visit. You can lose yourself in the maze of huge brightly coloured plants and blooms, sit and gaze in contemplation at the well-stocked ponds and even bring a picnic or enjoy the hospitality of their own café.
Sussex Prairie Gardens
The idea for ‘Expressions of Nature’ came after my second piece of sculpture had been sold at Sussex Prairies. I went to collect it to deliver to a happy customer in Hove and Pauline kindly asked me to consider curating an exhibition for 2023. Apart from curating the glass garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, this will be my second event. It has been an organic realisation that although I love to be creative with glass in my studio at home, I also relish the collaboration with other artists, much missed during lockdown.
Working with other creative people passionate about their craft is quite refreshing and I will really enjoy getting to know and understand the creative processes of other artists. Curating sculpture in the garden is like story-telling, another of my passions. I am a blood hound for a good story and environmental issues are a big concern for us all at present. I see this as an opportunity to express yourself. It will be an art trail journey through the gardens, with beautiful vistas along the way. The work will be for sale, of course, so having an outdoor ‘gallery’ for four and a half months will give each artist a good chance of finding the right buyer. Doing a great job on the marketing and PR will be a joint effort. I am in exactly the right place right now with my background leading to this point. This RHS affiliated garden event will receive some excellent publicity by being promoted to 500,000 RHS members. It will feature in the RHS magazine, RHS brochures and online. Added to which, the BBC Children in Need Rickshaw Challenge is due to make a stop here just as our exhibition starts in June. ‘Safe in Sussex’, is the Sussex Prairies’ chosen charity for 2023 with additional events planned.
