After the success of the first year, I had to maintain standards. I did this by constantly changing the character of the exhibitions by producing a new collection of my work and inviting different guest artists or sometimes inviting past exhibitors with a new range of work. I have always explored new ideas in my work so it has always been important that my Open House reflects this.

In 1984 a second Open House appeared on the scene. Jane Arkwright who had already exhibited with me, opened her house in the Preston Park area. The idea of Open Houses continued to grow. In 1987, there were three Open Houses and this marked the beginning of a group specifically in the Fiveways area. We found by sharing the cost of publicity and contacts as well as management of the event, we could help each other. By 1989 the group was known as ‘Five at Fiveways’. From this time on the group grew annually as more artists living in the area opened their houses to the public and became known as the Fiveways Artists’ Group
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