UKCPS at Art Materials Live

The UKCPS information stand at the Art Materials Live

Earlier this month, UKCPS was at the Art Materials Live at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. This post reports on what happened and provides photographs of the stand and three of the demonstrators

Peter Weatherill demonstrating

UKCPS activities at the NEC helped us to:

• promote coloured pencils as an art medium. The artwork on display and our demonstrators showed visitors the range of different ways that coloured pencils can be used to produce different types of artwork
  
• boost the profile of the Society amongst those visiting the exhibition
  
• increase UKCPS membership - a number of people visiting the stand enrolled for full membership
• identify that Coloured Step by Step Guides (prepared by UKCPS members) are hugely popular with both UKCPS members and other visitors to the stand. Indeed some sold out before the end of the exhibition! They have the potential to generate a lot of revenue and UKCPS is now planning to collect a basic range of these for use and sale by the society. Those still available for sale can now be found on the UKCPS website.
  
• generate a profit after expenses - although the aim of this event was to promote our medium rather than worry about maximizing profit.
• and last but not least, this event enables us to reinforce our relationship with the pencil manufacturers who so generously support and sponsor our exhibitions and events.

Peter Woof demonstrating

Rachel Stirling, the UKCPS Events Manager, comments on our activities this year.

UKCPS has had another successful year at the Art Materials Live show and we have again shown the art world the great variety in artwork which can be produced using coloured pencils.

A big vote of thanks to all who supported the UKCPS this year - demonstrators, workshoppers, sales people and all those members who just dropped by to say "Hi". A particular thank you to those demonstrators who were inexplicably left off the entry list of demonstrators by the ICHF organisers and yet still demonstrated.

We provided a formidable range of work in terms of art on display, demonstrations and activities. I for one am grateful for those demonstrators who put in the hours despite being in a large room full of cut price art supplies! Paper, canvas and prepared boards were all available as supports for work and generated a great deal of interest

We always listen to what people visiting the stand have to say and we received several very interesting ideas and suggestions from visiting Society members.

Members indicated that they would like to have better information at a much earlier stage about which day Demonstrators will be demonstrating so that they can better plan their visits according to their interests. As a result, we'll be working on how we can improve our communication in this respect for next year.

Finally, I'd like to offer my own personal thanks to everyone involved and to all the members who make the UKCPS what it is. Here's looking forward to next year.

Brian Casey demonstrating