Julie and Keziah of the First Avenue Collective

Now we’re back with the wind and rain, it’s hard to believe that Sunday was actually a really nice day. So, a week after my planned excursion to Hove, I was on my way. First stop was just before the border controls and Embassy Court (venue 18) to check on my print being displayed there. Then it was off inland to Cross Street Workshops (venue 20) for their Christmas Boutique. It’s amazing how much great stuff can be crammed into one small room! There were quirky ceramics by Katie Brinsley, great value pop art screenprints from Patrick Edgeley and free badges from Mary Moox. Ken Eardley was on duty, right next to his stylish functional pots.

Joyce Moore's temari balls

Next up was Boxbird Studios, 14 St John’s Road (venue 16). Now if anyone still thinks that Open Houses are all about elderly dowagers showing their crochetted tea cosies, then Boxbird will banish that thought for ever. Inside the stiffest door in Hove is the most amazing display of contemporary screenprints, mainly Graham Carter’s, but also by a host of other YBAs -Young Brighton (and Hove) Artists.

In the next road along, at 15 First Avenue (venue 15) I stumbled upon AOH first timers Julie Clark and Keziah Wilkes in their lovely spacious flat. Julie is a painter and Keziah is a sculptor in stone and bronze. It’s always a quandry when planning an Open Houses tour: do you stick to your old favourites, or take a chance on somewhere you’ve never been before? Coming across the beautiful work of the First Avenue Collective demonstrates that it’s always worth taking a punt if you spot an new Open House.

Then it was back on my bike and heading north. I was making for Lorna Road, and I’m afraid I missed the two venues on Wilbury Road – which goes to show that you must make your venues visible – with banners, bunting, whatever it takes. At 38 Lorna Road (venue 30), ceramicist Tessa Wolfe Murray let me use her loo (very important when you’re trekking through Open Houses all day!) and then plied me with more mulled wine (donations to Amnesty) before pointing out Joyce Moore’s amazing temari balls. These are tiny exquisite feats of embroidery, and I had to have one. Tessa also recommended I visit 34 Bigwood Avenue (venue 31), which was very well signposted, with posters with arrows on many a lamppost.

Terri Bell-Halliwell

I was saving my tea stop for Chanctonbury Road and Terri’s delicious yet gluten-free cakes, but couldn’t resist a 10p cupcake made by Sarah Jones’s six-year old daughter. Sarah’s prints of Brighton (and Hove) hung alongside paper cuts by Sylvie Howitt and Liz Turner’s Peter Blake-like collages on wood.

By now I was wilting so I pressed on back over the Brighton border to 15 Chanctonbury Road (venue 28) for my tea break. Unfortunately, David Halliwell’s kitchen cafe was chokka, so I had to look at the art instead. I found Terri Bell-Halliwell in their bathroom installation (bathrooms seem to be a theme of this year’s AOH) by Catherine Grimaldi, a child-friendly, please-touch environment (many more photos on Flickr). After a chat with jeweller and xmas decoration maker Janie Jones upstairs, surrounded by the photographs of Jerry Webb, I returned to the steamy cafe for a nice sit down and a slice of apple, err, slice (and a slice of apple strudel too). I was all cultured out by now and was happy to pedal through the dark down Old Shoreham Road and home.

Remember to check your brochure or this website if you’re planning to visit Open Houses next weekend – not all of them will be open!