Balanced Charity Art Fair in Aid of It’s Good 2 Give

So why would a Physiotherapy and Pilates clinic decide to run an annual charity art fair?

Judith Paterson, Co-Director of Balanced tells us in this blog.

“I have been a fundraiser for It’s good 2 give for many years and more recently rewarded the title of Charity Ambassador which I am very proud of.

Fundraising is tough, even targets of a few hundred pounds take a lot of time, effort and perseverance. Nobody wants to pester people for money, especially at the moment. So I was looking for a way to raise a significant amount of cash, while at the same time giving people something back - we all know it’s good to give!

The event I was creating needed to be enjoyable and with a variety of donation options so people who were not so cash happy could still attend and enjoy the evening. By introducing an entry fee it meant if we sold 100 tickets, the charity would definitely get £1000 and everybody would feel they had made a contribution. I also wanted to do something that could involve the local community, as well as our clients who were really keen to support the charity too.

Now the big question- why an art fair? Well funnily enough, both my dad and my business partner Ben’s dad are artists!

Ben’s dad, John Brown, is a very successful professional artist and had a former career as an art teacher. My dad started painting at the age of 70, on the back of a cornflakes box and now at 81 continues to sell commissions to friends and neighbours. Both their art work is a pleasure to look at and they get great fulfilment from creating it. Art brings joy, joy boosts your feel good hormones and your feel good hormones reduce pain. Therein lies the connection between art and a Healthcare clinic!

Last year our first ever art fair raised an incredible £7000 for It’s good 2 give!

That will be an incredibly tough target to beat just now so we plan to top up with other challenges like marathons, taking part in the Zip Slide over the Clyde, and Kiltwalks. Hopefully by the end of the year we can pass this sum.

So what can you expect from this unique, pain relieving art exhibition?

Well our Pilates studio at the Royal Burgess will be decorated from floor to ceiling with the most breath taking works, all from local artists. You will find dramatic seascapes, rolling hill landscapes, environmentally friendly modern art and joyful local scenes from professional artists (and a few amateurs to mix things up). The amazing artists have so kindly agreed to donate 50% commission on all artwork sold on the night- so a big thank you to them.

In addition to this we have a beautiful piece of garden art donated by our charity friends at Art Fe. The ‘punk rose’ has been fully donated so 100% of the sale will go to our favourite charity. You can also purchase locally made jewellery and pottery mugs plus the ever popular Ariska candles, reeds and soaps in the It’s good 2 give signature scent of lemon grass and ginger (still to find somebody who doesn’t love it).

Entry to the event is £11 via Eventbrite or £10 cash in either of the Balanced clinics at Stockbridge or Royal Burgess .

Numbers are limited, but if we have any spaces left we will take payment on entry. This includes dopamine, endorphins, a glass of something fizzy and your entry into our raffle. The event starts from 4.30pm and you may wish to know that such a fun time was had last year that people were literally thrown out the door at 10pm!

We look forward to seeing you for some art therapy on Friday 9th June 4.30pm- 8pm (and yes that was the event closing time last year too!).”

We would like to give a huge thanks to Judith and her team for all their hard work in putting on this event and for continuing to support It’s good 2 give.