Grantown Grammar School
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.
Daily walk task 1
A Magical tree
With the group unable to meet at the school just now, Angus plans to share some of his lockdown lessons over the next few weeks. Called The Daily Walk, these will build pencil drawing skills and lead to the creation of a bigger piece.
Attached is the first lesson, where we will draw a close-up of a tree. Have a look at the work of an artist called Mark Frith, in particular “A Legacy of Ancient Oaks”, or Dina Brodsky‘s “Secret life of Trees” for some inspiration. (Do this after you’ve watched my wee film so my drawing looks less lame!)
Here’s some source images to get you started, or feel free to take a walk and collect your own. Looking forward to seeing the results.
Fizzing with flower power
This week saw the return of our group painting night, which is always full of colour, fun and laughter. It was also great to see some of our associate members joining in.
Members split into two groups and played a few rounds of ‘Pictionary’ to begin, using chalk, charcoal and then paint. This quickly got very competitive.
Everyone also got the chance to use implements to make marks on the paper. This included a choice of items from the art department, including leaves, string, toy cars and a Dr Marten. Member Viv also brought some cardboard tubes that got cut up to make flower shapes. These were really effective as you can see from the pictures in the slideshow.
Finally, as is now tradition, the paintings got names: Flower Power and Fields of Fizz. You can see the fantastic results in the slideshow. Thanks to everyone who took part.
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.
Making a show of ourselves!
You cannot escape the Spey Art Group this month: we’ve got work in two prominent Highland galleries!
The main show is at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness, where you can see our epic exhibition, Consequences, for the second time. If you missed it in September last year, then this is a chance not to be missed.
And it’s on show throughout February so there’s really no excuse!
AND! You can also catch members’ work at the Iona Gallery in Kingussie this weekend (until Feb 5). Before Christmas we did a workshop on decorating masks – resulting in our famous group shot. Angus has arranged that these unique creations – and those done by some of his pupils at Grantown Grammar – are being exhibited for the Food on Film Festival.
This well-known event is celebrating its 10th year with lots of events and films over the weekend so making a trip down the valley is highly recommended.
The Pagoda
Anyone who fancies a nose around the refurbished Pagoda in Grantown should round there for the open day from 2pm-5pm. It’s had a chequered past but is now back in use and available for the community as well.
Yesterday’s launch night was busy, including a speech from local MP, Drew Hendry. Artwork from local artists looking good on the walls.
And watch out for the works by two budding your artists, Hannah Nelson and Gaby Meskauskaite, both students at Grantown Grammar School.
A sunny start to the year
Great to see so many members at the first Wednesday night of the new term – particularly with the lure of a perfect summer evening and the Olympics competing for your attention.
As well as the familiar faces, we welcomed two new members. And they were treated to a pretty perfect Spey Art Group experience.As well as getting a glimpse of the new banner, there were new Spey Art Group aprons for everyone present.
And with the atmosphere in the art room being so stuffy, a few of us went up on the school roof (for the second time this year) where the cool breeze was very welcome. The views were glorious and members enjoyed the challenge of sketching the Cairngorms.
And then there was cake, thanks to birthday girl Kerstin. Could all our Wednesday nights be this good this year?
Sunshine on Grantown
With the glorious sunshine shining down on the town, we were to have the chance to get onto the roof of Grantown Grammar (after the appropriate risk assessment and trip hazard warnings!) on Wednesday night.
A small group braved the stiff breeze and enjoyed lovely views of the Cairngorms and the Cromdales – as well as an exercise class, tennis players and football training. The atmosphere was even topped off by the skirl of pipes!
Building works
You’ll have to walk around the carpark to get in via the girls entrance. If you go through the big gate, you’ll get trapped in the builders compound FOREVER! (or until you walk through the wee green gate and go around the big fence)
Building works
The front door will be closed next week but art group is still on. Use the door round the side, next to the lift on the side of the big building.
Spey Art Group 