Courses and workshops
Autumn leaf printing
With Autumn in full effect, it’s a great time to have a go at printing using natural materials.
Our lesson on Wednesday night provided the chance to experiment with this monoprinting. This can be a quick way to produce a beautiful and unique print.
One method is to apply ink to a board and draw into it with tools or material, removing some of the ink. A piece of paper is then pressed onto the board to create the picture.
Another method is to apply ink to materials then use them to print onto paper, producing wonderful results. There are so many different leaves on the ground and they hold ink perfectly.
Here are some of the pictures produced on Wednesday night.
Exploring Watercolour workshop
Anyone looking to improve their watercolour skills or just learn a bit more about the medium might be interested in this workshop next month.
Jana Emburey will help participants to experiment with watercolour, which we all know can be tricky to control. See the poster below for more details.
Spaces are limited so be sure to book your place quickly.
Painting with nature
Anyone looking for an arty activity for a May weekend should look no further than The Cairngorms Nature Big Weekend.
Dava School House will host “Painting with Nature”, a morning workshop with award-winning artist Morvan MacEwan on Sunday May 12.
The day will involve exploring the local woodland and moors, collecting items to be used in a new piece of art. Materials and refreshments will be provided.
The workshop runs from 9.30am-12.30pm and costs £15 per person.
You can book your place and get more information by visiting the event website here.
Or click here for a look at the poster: Painting with Nature Event Poster 2
Workshop with Rona
Places are still available for a two day workshop with our member, Rona Smith.
Activities include:
* Using printing and stencilling techniques on gelli-plates;
* Painting on silk;
* Making different types of books using folding and binding techniques
The workshop will be held at Nethy Bridge Village Hall on March 16-17, running from 10am-2.30pm each day. Refreshments will be provided.
The price is £80 for two days, £45 for one day.
Contact Rona for more information by emailing ronas4@btinternet.com
Blooming Lovely!
Feast your eyes on some of the lovely colourful spring like artwork from the Eleanor White workshop on Saturday 21st April. Great work from everyone, feel free to share!
Watercolour -it’s easy!
According to Stewart Potter, watercolour is easy. To be honest he did make it look easy until we tried to follow by his example and realised its maybe not quite as easy as we were led to believe!
Thanks to Stewart we had a fab day at Nethybridge community centre on Saturday 27th January. Puddles was the word of the day as Stewart demonstrated puddles of colour (always mix enough) and the rain poured down all day creating puddles outside too.
We learned about the best paint, paper, brushes (Rona!), skies, clouds, hills, trees, bothies and sheep and the importance of Payne’s grey…and all in a day. Thanks to both Stewart and Rona for organising the event and giving us so much fun on a dreich winters day.
Creative Stitch Class
Ally Wardlaw’s creative stitch workshop at Nethybridge community centre is currently waiting for confirmation re dates for the group to meet.
Selected dates at the moment are;
Sat. 2nd Sept.
Sat.7th Oct.
Sat.4th Nov.
Sat.2nd Dec.
Time.10am-2pm.
The intention being that the group would meet to share ideas, learn from each other, and pass on techniques old and new to one another. Ally is happy to demonstrate some processes etc. to those unfamiliar with textiles but hopes the group will all work together creatively.
Please contact Ally direct to find out costs.
Sewing the seeds of new skills
The opportunities for building new skills are coming thick and fast this month!
Fast on the heels of silversmithing, pottery making and the SBSA art extravaganza comes something completely different from anything the group has taken on before.
Our member Ally Wardlaw has organised an embroidery workshop for Saturday May 6 at the Nethy Bridge Community Centre.
She’ll be teaching two or three different stitches (with a contemporary twist!) that you’ll be able to use to create some unique artwork. Ally will provide some materials, including backing material, threads, beads and needles but participants should bring their own scissors, threads or material scraps they wish to use, and an embroidery hoop if possible.
The workshop will run from 10am-3pm and the cost is £20 per person. The community centre has disabled access, kitchen and toilets. Bring you own lunch!
Spaces are limited to 10 so please contact Ally by email to let her know you wish to come.
And a wee reminder that we’re back on Wednesday for a new term. See the Summer Term page for a provisional timetable.
Perfect your pottery at this new workshop
We had a blast trying to throw pots last term. The laughter coming from the room of pottery wheels was testament to this (see this blog post for evidence).
Anyone who missed it, or who wants a refresher of the basics, can now get their chance.
Angus is teaching a new weekly pottery workshop on behalf of the Cairngorms Learning Partnership next month. He’ll be covering the basic skills, including using the wheel, handsculpting and glazing.
The class will run at Grantown Grammar School every Thursday night (from 6-8pm), starting from May 11, for five weeks. The cost is £65.
More information on the course and how to book is available here on the CLP’s website.
Spey Art Group 