I always love October and this year the month has not disappointed. The colours have been stunning and there have been plenty of sunny warm days as well as the misty atmospheric days which make October what it is.
Pumpkins have been a big feature of the month for me. I’ve hosted two fantastic sessions focussed on drawing and painting pumpkins, one for families and another for adults. The participants learnt to draw the form and shape of pumpkins as well as to use wet on wet watercolour techniques to paint the mottled colours and textures. The results were brilliant – all so different and demonstrating a good understanding of the techniques.
I also love the whole pumpkin spice fever of October and both sessions also featured some form of pumpkin cake or pie. I’ve found that steaming pumpkin leaves it less wet and perfect for use in baking. This recipe from Sally’s Baking Recipe’s makes a really delicious moist pumpkin cake that I would really encourage you to try. There was even enough pumpkin left over to make a proper pumpkin pie – though it was a bit of a cheat because I used shop bought puff pastry. It still tasted delicious though!
I’m now looking forward to November’s workshops which will focus mainly on printing and, with the beginning of the festive season, mince pies!
Here’s a round up of what’s coming up this month!
Adult Art Club at Dungworth Village Hall
Thursday 28th November, 7-9pm
At Art Club this month we’re going to have a play with printing techniques to create repeated patterns. You will learn how to carve a small rubber block to leave a relief image. You will then use this to create a range of different patterns using rotation, varied spacing and colours. We’ll be using ink stamps so it will be relatively clean and will allow us to focus on creating a range of different patterns.
This is a great technique to create Christmas cards and gift tags which could be a focus for this class if you want – or you could just play!
The group is very friendly and open to everyone with or without prior experience. Why not come along and give it a go?
Family Festive Printing Workshop
Saturday 30th November, 9:30-12:00pm
Join me for a Festive Family Printing Workshop at Dungworth Village Hall. This festive morning event is perfect for families with children aged 5 and up. You’ll create foam print blocks which you can use to produce cards, place settings and gift tags.
Just £10 including mince pies and mulled wine or juice.
Other great things to do in November!
- Get out after dark – The clocks have gone back now which can feel like it suddenly gets dark much earlier in the day but that doesn’t mean that you have to stay inside. Bonfire night is one of my favourite celebrations of the year as it is chance to hang out in the dark with a roaring fire enjoying the warm glow on my face and watching the sparks fly and dance.
- Visit Sheffield Print Fair – Printing is a really ingenious art form which involves lots of pre-planning and a mixture of art and craft techniques. It also covers a huge range of different approaches and styles from lino to wood block to monoprinting. The Millennium galleries hosts the Sheffield Print Fair on 9th November where this rich variety of art will be on display.
- Enjoy the trees – 25th November to 3rd December is National Tree Week when we are encouraged to appreciate these wonderful natural beauties. Though many will have lost their leaves, their shapes will be visible and it is a great tome to plant a tree if you have the space.
- Paint or draw this – I took this picture outside the Crucible in Sheffield last week after I’d been to the theatre. It was a particularly foggy evening which gives a real atmosphere to the scene. I was thinking that it could be very successfully drawn in pencil or perhaps chalk. Why not have a go?
Thank you so much for reading this and supporting me! I really hope to see you at a workshop soon. If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter and want to stay in touch with upcoming workshops, ideas and tutorials, please add your email below to subscribe!
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