Well done for surviving January. It’s felt like a long month, particularly with the snow and storms but we’ve done it! I’ll be honest, I don’t feel like I’ve achieved a great deal this month but they say that fallow periods are as important as the busier ones. That said, I have re-started the #52WeeksofNatureArt for 2025 albeit in a slightly more manageable way and I’m really pleased with how its going. You can check out my weekly updates on Instagram. I’ve also bought myself a rig for recording myself whilst I’m drawing, painting and making so I’ll be posting more short videos and reels to show you some of the processes I use and maybe inspiring you to have a go yourself.
My art clubs are up and running for Spring 2025. I have 2 after school art clubs running now – Mondays at Bradfield Dungworth Primary and Fridays at Nether Green Juniors. Both are open to those attending the schools only I’m afraid and whilst I’d love to run more after school clubs, it doesn’t make sense for me at the moment whilst my girls are still young. I do love running these clubs though as they give me chance to trial activities and see how children respond to them – and those responses are always so different and such a joy! I’m also going to start more regularly posting details of the activities that I plan for art clubs so if you are a teacher, parent or run any creative club with children, it would be worth subscribing get some ideas.
January has also been a chance for me to reflect on my own practice. I went to see the incredible David Hockney ‘Bigger and Closer not Smaller and Further Away’ exhibition in Manchester at the beginning of the month and it really inspired me to think about how I use colour and create a sense of time and space in pictures. I also attended a great workshop at Carousel Print Studios last weekend and learnt how to create drypoint and monotype printed landscapes. I loved learning new skills and using the etching press. I was also really pleased with the outcome. I feel that there will be more printing for me and my practice coming soon!
As we enter February, we are past the darkest weeks of the year and I notice little glimmers of hope like the fact it is getting light on my way to work and the daffodils are starting to raise their green shoots by the side of the road up Brookside Bank. It might be cold, it might be a bit grim but there are hopeful signs of warmer brighter days!
Here’s a round up of what’s coming up in February!
Adult Art Club at Dungworth Village Hall
Thursday 27th February , monthly, 7-9pm
This month we’re going to focus on those glimmers of hopeful brighter days by painting some early spring flowers like snowdrops and daffodils.
This group is very friendly and open to everyone with or without prior experience. The sessions focus mainly on drawing and watercolour painting techniques but I like to throw in other processes such as printing occasionally! Each week is a stand alone session so don’t worry if you can’t commit to each one but if you do attend regularly, you’ll really start to notice your skills improve over time.
I provide stimulus and gentle instruction so you don’t have to worry about knowing what to draw. I also provide paper, drinks and usually homemade cake! I can provide a sketchbook, graded pencils and watercolour paints or you are welcome to bring your own. Sessions are £9 each.
If you’ve wondered about 2025 being a good time to try something a bit creative, why not come along and give it a go?
Family Printing Workshop, Saturday 1st February, 1-3pm
At this workshop, you’ll learn how to create simple prints that can be used to make greetings cards. Everyone will learn to use sticky-backed foam to create simple print blocks which you will then have fun inking up with paint rollers to create multiple prints in a range of colours. Children over 10 and adults can also learn how to carve rubber blocks to create relief prints.
Other great things to do in February!
- Search for signs of Spring – They are there, or they will be soon! Look out fr those green shoots and before long you’ll start to see them everywhere!
- Visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park – I love the YSP and would happily visit anytime. Their site is huge and it will take a whole day to explore. I love how you come across unexpected sculptures everywhere. It’s also a fantastic place to take kids and they have Roger Hiorns’ ‘Seizure’ installation on display which I really need to see. It’s an old council flat which the artist filled with copper sulphate to create blue crystals on every surface. It looks completely mad!
- Listen to this – ‘I spent 30 years searching for secret to happiness – the answer isn’t what I thought.’ In this incredible personal account the BBC journalist Feargal Keane talks about his own battles with depression and PTSD and how he works every day to find simple happiness. As someone who has had their own battles, this account really resonated with me. You can read it but I would recommend listening to his beautiful Irish voice as he talks about the small things that make a difference everyday. What stood out for me was his account of seeing a flock of geese fly overhead. He says, “I felt a lightness inside, and such gratitude that I laughed out loud.” Noticing the beauty and wonder of the world around us in the small of the everyday helped him and has definitely helped me. Definitely worth 13 minutes of your time!
- Draw this – These are some lovely snowdrops that I photographed last year, my phone tells me on 16th February. Why not spend another 13 minutes (or longer!) drawing these. Or better still get outside and notice something that gives you a lightness inside and bring home your own photo of it to draw.
Thank you so much for reading this and supporting me! 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 and why not share this with friends who you think might also fancy something creative in their lives?!
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