News & Announcements

Happy new year everyone and welcome to 2012 - a year in which we hope that Hands on Art will go from strength to strength.

We have at least two exhibitions planned and have lots of new work to exhibit.

We hope to do some craft fairs and meet lots of new friends who want to learn some new skills.

Our classes begin this coming week starting 17^th January with 'Creative Inks'. This is a very popular course and I have done a new collection of work myself which I hope will inspire the students.

Melanie has launched an exciting new business Melanie's Studio Designs, which covers a wide range of design services including bespoke stationery. She is currently developing a website and hopefully will soon have a link to Hands on Art.

We have plans for an Easter school for our young artists and at least two Summer Schools since we hope to offer more young people the chance of joining us.

Keep checking the website to see what is happening, and happy painting everyone!

Rita and Mel

We have recently successfully completed our second artist residency at St Richards C. of E. First School.

This time we worked with a talented group of Year 5 children basing our project on a 1930s illustrative version of Alfred Noyes' "The Highwayman".

The children had previously produced some original writing based on these illustrations by Murray Kimber. During the project we took inspiration from Kimber's images and the Art Deco movement.

Children worked with unusual mixed media materials and produced some powerful images.

The arrival of Spring coincides with the opening of our new studio in Charlton. We are holding an informal opening morning on Saturday 14^th May from 10:30am to 12:00pm and everyone is invited to drop in for a coffee and see our new base.

Classes will continue to be small and friendly with space for up to five students. A new programme of classes and workshops for the year will be available on the day and also on our website.

Happy New Year to all! We are hoping to see the studio blossom this year as we prepare to move into our new space in Charlton. Unfortunaltey, largely due to the bad weather in November and December, we are a bit behind on getting the new studio finished, so all course and workshop dates are being moved back and are due to start in March. Watch this space for the new start dates! We hope to recruit some new students and try out some new arty things this year. So please keep an eye on the website for what's coming up!

Hands on Art is moving in the new year from Craycombe Farm to a new studio in Charlton, just down the road. We are continuing to run courses, workshops and other events and hope to welcome you to our new place soon. For more information please contact us.

Rita is exhibiting a collection of her paintings at the Evesham Arts Centre 'Reflections' is running from Friday 3^rd September to Friday 29^th October and showcases paintings based on two linking themes. One is Honfleur in France and the other is 'Café Life', both being linked by the refelctive nature of the subjects.

In August we ran a Young Artist Summer School for children aged between eight and twelve. The course, sponsored by Wychavon District Council, lasted three days and was based on the theme of Africa. It was fully booked early on and was a great success, with the children thoroughly enjoying themselves and producing some great work (photos will be on the website shortly). We hope to be running more courses like this one, so watch this space!

This June we're exhibiting some work at the Broadway Arts Festival. This year's festival runs from 11^th to 20^th June and is celebrating the work of John Singer Sargent.

I have created some 'Snow' landscapes which were inspired by the most amazing views of Snowshill in the snow!

Look out for Mel's stunning image of somewhere in the Cotswolds... You will know where it is when you see it!

We will post some pictures soon.

Mel and I have submitted work to Worcester Open which commences 28^th April. Our work is on display at the PITT Studio in Barbourne.

We have just begun a five-week course of 'Life Drawing'. We have five talented people on the course, and Hazel who is a brilliantly professional model.

The course is ably led by Mel whose approach is both refreshing and inspiring.

Look out for some work to celebrate!

Year three children from Church Lench First School really excelled with the work they produced for a presentation at Number 8 Community Arts Centre in Pershore on 31^st March. The focus of their work was 'Changing Faces'. Their work was part of an arts project supported by Wychavon Arts Council.

Hi everyone! Our course on 'Drawing the Human Form' is in full flow. The students are really producing some great work and are quick learners! It's great to see their confidence developing and also to share their knowledge about the artists they admire. One of our students is in Rome this week and I know she will be seeing works of art in a different way and hopefully be inspired by the work of the great masters!

Mel and I are working towards paintings for the Broadway exhibition this summer, the theme of which is 'A broad view of life in the North Cotswolds and the work of John Singer Sargent'.

We are making plans for our Open Day on 10^th April where we hope to offer you tea, coffee and inspiration! There will be a variety of courses on offer with discount gift vouchers to tempt you. Also some lovely hand painted glassware, some very individual cards and some demonstrations of what we do in our classes and a chance to have a go. Our gallery has artwork for sale by Melanie and myself.

We are really looking forward to our next course 'Drawing the Outdoors'. It's going to be a mix of site visits and studio work and we have some really inspirational ideas for you!

Rita and Melanie have now started an exciting new project with Year 3 and Year 4 children at Church Lench First School based on the subject of portraits, which it is hoped will culminate in an exhibition at Number 8 gallery in Pershore on Wednesday 31^st March.

The first session was great fun and we had a great time drawing each other and actually realising that "our eyes are not quite at the top of our heads" and that "old people look different "cos their faces are a bit crumpled."!

You can have a look at some of the work that Rita has done with Year 3 and Year 5 children of St. Richard's CE First School in Evesham by clicking on Primary School Work under 'Gallery' at the top of the page.

On Wednesday 13^th January a group of enthusiastic students braved the wintry conditions to begin their new drawing course at Hands on Art.

We had a lot of fun and I was impressed with the enthusiasm of my new group. There is a lot of talent to be nurtured I am happy to say!

Unfortunately I have had to postpone the evening course this week due to the weather conditions. Should the weather continue to cause problems for us, I will be arranging 'catch-up sessions' to compensate.

Fingers crossed for next week!

Our first Social Evening at the studio took place on Thursday 10^th December. Eleven of us shared mulled wine and mince pies and enjoyed a very interesting talk by friend and artist Patricia Jago who had brought along some wonderful pieces of her work to share with us.

It was lovely to welcome new people to the studio and gratifying to see that they are enthisiastic to try out some new skills. Their support for Hands on Art is encouraging.

Mel and I look forward to planning lots of new and exciting opportunities for students and visitors in the coming year

Saturday 21^st November saw the opening of our lovely, new studio/gallery at Craycombe Farm. Despite the dull November weather we were delighted to have so many visitors and we were encouraged by their enthusiasm for our venture.

Now that our studio is open we hope that many more visitors will drop in, share a coffee and a chat and be inspired to join us for classes, workshops and social events. We have a full programme of classes and workshops for the new year and places are going quickly. Our gallery is currently displaying an exhibition of Rita's work.