Behind the Scenes of the Borough of Ealing Art Trail (BEAT)

Exhausted, Inspired and Very Happy

Opening your studio to the public sounds wonderfully simple: display your artwork, open the door and welcome people inside. In reality, preparing for an open studio event involves weeks of planning, making, cleaning, photographing, labelling, pricing and rearranging, followed by more rearranging when you decide that nothing is quite in the right place.

This year, it took me more than a month to prepare. By the end of the event, I was completely exhausted but also extremely happy.

The organisers of BEAT, all volunteers, started working on the September event, back in February!

Preparing My West London Glass Studio

As the artist behind both Polka Dot Cow Designs and Agata Henderson Glass Artist, I create a wide variety of work. My collection includes kiln-formed glass, stained glass, contemporary glass jewellery, suncatchers, sculptural ornaments, garden glass art and decorative pieces for the home.

Preparing for an open studio means bringing all these different strands of my practice together and creating a display that feels coherent. Each piece needs enough space to be appreciated, while glass also requires careful positioning to reveal its colour, texture and relationship with light.

Unlike many other materials, glass can look completely different depending on its surroundings. A stained glass panel comes alive when illuminated from behind. Iridescent glass changes as you move past it. Transparent pieces cast coloured reflections, while textured glass creates shifting patterns of light and shadow.

Creating an effective display therefore involved much more than simply placing objects on tables. I experimented with lighting, stands, window positions and backgrounds to show every piece at its best.

There were also practical jobs: finishing new work, polishing glass, attaching fittings, preparing labels, updating prices, organising packaging and making sure visitors could move comfortably through the space. Every time I crossed one task off my list, I seemed to add another three.

Nearly 200 Visitors

After more than a month of preparation, the doors finally opened, and nearly 200 people came to visit over 5 days.

That number still feels quite extraordinary.

Some visitors already knew my work, while others discovered my studio for the first time. Many were surprised by the range of techniques I use and were curious to learn more about how the pieces are made.

We talked about kiln-forming, stained glass construction, fusing temperatures, the unpredictability of glass and the different ways colour reacts to heat and light. I explained how some pieces require several firings, with each kiln cycle lasting many hours, and how even carefully planned work can emerge with unexpected details.

Those conversations were one of the greatest joys of the event.

Glassmaking can be a solitary activity. Many hours are spent alone in the studio, cutting, grinding, assembling and waiting for the kiln to complete its cycle. An open studio creates a rare opportunity to meet the people who respond to the finished work and to hear what draws them to a particular colour, form or technique.

Finding New Homes for My Glass Art

It was wonderful to see visitors choosing pieces to take home. During the event, I sold glass jewellery, colourful suncatchers, garden art, stained glass panels and decorative glass ornaments for the home.

Every sale is meaningful to an independent artist. It is, of course, an important part of sustaining a creative practice, but it is also deeply personal. Someone has connected with an object I imagined and made by hand, and has decided to give it a place in their home or garden, or to give it to somebody special.

I particularly enjoyed seeing how different people were attracted to completely different pieces. Some loved the delicacy of small glass jewellery, while others were drawn to bold stained glass panels or sculptural garden artwork. Some looked for vibrant colours; others preferred quieter, organic forms inspired by leaves, water and natural landscapes.

That variety of responses reminds me why I enjoy working with glass so much. It is an extraordinarily versatile material: strong yet fragile, ancient yet contemporary, and constantly transformed by its surroundings.

The Reality Behind an Open Studio

Events like this can look effortless from the visitor’s perspective, but there is a tremendous amount of invisible work behind them.

For the organisers of Ealing BEAT, work starts back in January, when they prepare the platform for submissions, followed by preparation of the merchandise, posters, catalogue and leaflets. It is a mammoth task with 250 artists taking part across 68 private and communal venues over 5 days.

For a small creative business, the artist is also the organiser, cleaner, designer, photographer, copywriter, sales assistant, stock controller and packaging department. Preparing for this open studio occupied most of my spare time for more than a month, alongside running my garden design practice and managing everyday life.

By the end, I was physically tired and creatively drained. My studio needed reorganising all over again, messages were waiting to be answered and I and displays needed dismantling for the night.

Yet underneath the exhaustion was an enormous sense of happiness and achievement.

Returning to the Studio Inspired

The most valuable part of an open studio is not simply the number of pieces sold. It is the direct connection between artist, artwork and audience.

Hearing visitors’ questions made me look at familiar techniques from a new perspective. Seeing which pieces caught people’s attention gave me ideas for future collections. Conversations about gardens, interiors, colour and light opened up possibilities for new glass panels, ornaments and commissions.

Most importantly, the event reminded me that handmade art creates connections. Each piece carries evidence of the process, the decisions, experiments, occasional failures and unexpected successes involved in making it.

Thank you to everyone who visited, asked questions, shared kind words, purchased artwork or simply spent time looking. Your interest and enthusiasm made more than a month of preparation worthwhile.

I finished the event exhausted, inspired and very happy, which is probably the perfect description of life as an artist.