A week of firsts

Its been a busy 'ole week here in Glittering Shards land. We have had dear friends visiting all week and this weekend too.

I have finished another mosaic piece for an exhibition - will post pics in the week - and have started on a beautiful, delicate commission for a 40th wedding anniversary.

Workshops continue apace - 3 a week at the moment - with students (all beginners) launching into some pretty exciting projects.

 I am also in full preparation mode for 2 more community art projects which I am really looking forward to.

In the midst of all this activity, a week of firsts:

...the first day of going out without a coat or jacket

...the first opportunity to hang the washing out to dry...

... our first day back at our lovely community farm after the winter break and the first lawn mow of the year. Oh the smell. Bliss. Yup, spring has definitely sprung in London town. Blossoms are out in full force. I feel like sitting under the candy pink blossom in our neighbour's garden for hours just to take it all in before it goes (which it does all too quickly).

 
To round it all off, I am now into week 4 of the 30 day vegan workshop and doing great. Have got  the whole family drinking green smoothies - we are bouncing full of sunshine and happy vitamins! Hope sunshine and goodness is reaching you too.

Experimental photography fun!

This pic of the girls taken by Moyra from Creating My Life

Here's some images from a great afternoon out on London's Southbank with a gorgeous bunch of girls who have all done Amelia's Experimental Art e-course (she has opened bookings for the Spring course people! So head on over and be tempted as its a great course for re-discovering and deepening creativity).

 

I loved the freedom of walking around with others, click-clicking away with my gorgeous new Nikon D3100 (I just would not have felt quite so free taking shots in funny angles on my own!).

An added bonus was stumbling upon a fantastic exhibition of children's art in the basement at the Royal Festival Hall. The theme was children's feelings and response to adversity, put together by the awesome Kids Company whose work with traumatised children's I respect enormously. Well worth a visit (and its free!).

This ceiling of lights was genius - each lamp made from tissue paper and (what seemed to be) coloured PVA glue to make words and pictures about feelings. Love it and its given me an idea of what to do with a lamp we have that has lost its shade...

And a nice coffee and natter with the girls to finish a lovely afternoon..!

Look what people are making...! (and a note about garlic!!)

Welcome to my regular round-up of work by my mosaic students!

As always, I am relishing the buzz of seeing people fall in love with the mosaic medium, getting totally absorbed in the process and feeling energized to create. Its such an honour to facilitate this.

Hard at work at the Artyard taster workshop

As is my style, I don't expect beginners to just stick to the basics - so on my current courses (the 7 week Glittering Shards course, my weekly drop-in's and the short taster course at The Artyard) people are doing some great experimental stuff - including glass stacking (totally spontaneous - how cool is that?!)

Here's some pics of works in progress. Before you browse, I need to digress wildly.

If you read my recent post on making Busy Mama's Garlic be aware that there are health reasons why you should not keep (home made) chopped garlic in oil for more than one week in the fridge (and a couple of hours at room temperature) as you can get serious food poisoning. So if you have been tempted to make your own stash of pre-chopped garlic in oil, read this! Thanks to Brigit from Maine for letting us know this (she is a garlic expert - so wonderful!)

The following mosaics are all beginners, works in progress so yet to be grouted. Enjoy the mosaic eye candy and Happy Thursday!

 Kirsteen's moonlit glade

Judith's mosaic nude emerging

Anthea's gecko

spot the glass stacking!

Rachel's grass

Kate using glass nuggets cut in half - lovely!

 

A bit of love to finish - Happy Valentines!

South London Mosaic Workshops & Exhibition...its all happening!

Apart from my dear family, ALL else except my mosaic world is being very neglected in the last few weeks (including writing and reading in blog land, I know I know).

As soon as I get back from dropping the kids off at school, I close the front door, put my head down and walk straight to the studio without looking at all the housework piling up. This is what cheerios look like after a day....!

 

I have taken part in lots of exhibition over the last few years, but never a solo show. I am told that this intensity of working on a solo exhibition is very normal... Here is my grouting production line, ready for me (I love grouting, saving it all up!).

And my work for the next couple of weeks:

 

In the midst of this intense making, its wonderful to have started the next lot of mosaic workshops - they take place every Tuesday evenings in blocks of 7 weeks, in addition to my mosaic-maker drop-ins twice a week.

 

New students, new ideas, possibilities unfolding. Love it! I have also taken part in a whole day of demonstrating mosaics at the wonderful Artyard, encouraging adults to re-discover their creative selves.  A truly great place.

This Thursday also sees the culmination of several weeks of working alongside the volunteers, young people and parents of the Klevis Kola Foundation (which supports refugees). 25 mosaics have been completed and we are going to get messy on Thursday, grouting them all before I mount it into a giant patchwork mosaic which will feature at my forthcoming exhibition.

I will post full details of the exhibition in the next couple of days...hope to meet some of you lovely blog readers. Promise to be back in the middle of the week...and here's a question for you to ponder between now and then. What smell evokes in you happy childhood memories of making stuff with your hands?

PS. Talking of childhood memories... I have been searching for a childhood game for years. Today, my dear husband packed me off for 2 hours away from the house in order to 'switch of' (ha ha!) and I was mooching in the local shops and I FOUND IT! I almost cried and kissed the shop assistant! I have such happy memories of playing this game with my mum and brothers when we lived in Italy... Anyone else used to play Jack Straws? And as Christmas is coming, any ideas of really good family games?

A creative space...near you?

 

I was contacted a few weeks ago by a lovely lady, Debra, who runs a place nearby in East Sheen, called the Artyard, asking if I was interested in running some mosaic workshops. I clicked on the Artyard website and immediately started doing internal skips and hops of excitement! One real time visit yesterday with my little Toby and I am now hooked.

Artyard is a space that every community should have. It is a creativity zone for children, for children and their families and for adults. The physical environment is evidence of the much fun that has clearly been had over the years, as well as a testament to clever design and the spirit of re-purposing and upcycling. The programme of creative work offered, from Family Making sessions (popcorn provided!), box art workshops, print making and seasonal events to mother and tots craft sessions and "Cocktail and Canvases" on Friday evenings (mmmm....make mine a mojito!).

 

Artyard is going way beyond 'Paint Your Own Pottery' cafe's for children. It is combining the community spirit of Stitch and Bitch with creative classes in a fantastic, centre of town setting. Do you have anything like this in your community? Please do share...

Imagine if every community had a  creative space like this - where using your hands and your heart  where a normal way of spending your free time, socialising,  developing as a person and dealing with the ups and downs of life. Think arty parties for grown ups (not just for children!), a place to help to you celebrate and mark big events (with a special creation to take away at the end). Think self-help for individuals and groups. Think soothing of the soul during tough times. An alternative to the TV, the bottle, the anti-depressant - all those things we as a society use to numb our souls instead of making them come alive and sing.

Yes, I think the Artyard and other places like it are more than just a bit of fun (well, a lot of fun by the looks of it!). I think they can be the kind of places that create community, well-being and a whole bunch of humans that are fully alive, skilled-up and developing.

If you are in London or in the Southern home counties, why not consider Artyard as a place to go, not just with children, but for yourself - for some 'me time'. Artyard is having an Open Day between 11am- 8pm on Thursday 4th November. Check it out and if you are a London blogger - please do spread the word.