What's been going on?

Photography

In the last few weeks we have been taking our chances when they occur and have headed out into the local vicinity to get some interesting photographs. Here are some of the examples from the members:

"Web" by William Heathway 2014

"Boat" by Conor Hanley 2014

The guys have been working on their composition within the frame. We have been looking at the rule of thirds and then trying to use it to create an aesthetically pleasing image. These photography walks have so far been around the area that the Art Studio is in Hendon and down towards the river.

"The Heaven" by Steven Gallagher 2014

Ceramics

In ceramics the guys have been working tirelessly to create their final piece for exhibition at The Oriental Museum in January 2015. They have also been learning how to coil build with our new member of staff, Lois.

Ceramic Hands by Jo Howell

Printmaking

In the printmaking workshops we have been creating some really lovely responses to Indian art, also for The Oriental Museum exhibition.
Our printmaker Karen has been unwell lately, so a lot of hard work has been put in by the members to ensure that the work is top quality.

Hand print by one of the members
Photo by Jo Howell

Working hard....

Oriental Museum inspiration
By Jo Howell Photography

THE ORIENTAL MUSEUM PROJECT

We have started the Oriental Museum collaborative project in earnest now. Cath, our Artist Coordinator and Ceramicist, has begun creating the moulds of each of the members hands to eventually bring together to create our final piece.

There is a lot of work involved in the creation of the ceramic hands.

Creating a hand mould
By Jo Howell Photography

 First we have to make a frame that we can use to pour the moulds of everyone's hands in. We made a 2 part mould for each hand out of plaster of paris.

The hands will be brought together to create a lotus flower, which was inspired by some of the objects that we got to see and handle at the museum as part of the new Indian exhibit.

The first person to the mould room was Mac. He was very patient as he waited for the plaster to finally set.

Mould making
By Jo Howell Photography

Whilst Cath is working on the creation of the hands, myself (Jo), Mick, and Barney (Studio Manager) will be doing our best to capture every second of the project so that we can make a wonderful film that we will broadcast online once the project is complete.

THE BEACH

The weather lately has been absolutely lush! (To use a great Sunderland colloquialism...) And, as the weather was so lush we thought that this was an opportune time to get the studio cameras out to take some photos.

Several members took the chance to jump in a taxi together and head down to the cat-and-dog steps at Seaburn beach. The studio provided us all a nice cup of tea or a soft drink, and the guys had great fun taking photographs.

We are going to edit the shots and share them via Facebook at a later date.

Seaburn Beach
By Jo Howell Photography

Remember for more info on projects and what the members are up to then you can check out our website or follow us on Facebook.

Kelp and seaweed
By Jo Howell Photograp

Painting Workshops in May...

Painting workshops in May 2014
Photo by Jo Howell

Painting workshops in May 2014
Photo by Jo Howell

Hi Everyone,

We have started running an evening course in painting for our members on a Thursday evening after our normal studio day.

A local artist is teaching our workshops, and its a great excuse to use The Art Studio building much more. At the moment these course are only for the members but we will be holding some workshops for the wider public in the near future, so watch this space!

Starting with basic colour mixing, today the members have been trying their hands at creating their own colours from the 3 primary colours.

(NB: For those who were not in the session the primary colours are RED, YELLOW and BLUE.)

Using a colour wheel to guide them the members used the primary colours to create the secondary colours- GREEN, ORANGE, PURPLE. Then after making the secondary colours they completed the colour wheel by creating two more secondary colours that were in-between the two.

This proved to be an interesting as well as challenging exercise for some and for others the evening served as an excellent refresher for basic colour.

Everyone came away having learned a lot about mixing colours. The course will run throughout May, and we are looking forward to learning new skills.

If you couldn't attend the evening course but don't want to miss out, you can have a go at home. Create your colour chart by drawing around a decent sized dinner plate, and then segment your circle into 12 sections. Start with YELLOW, RED and BLUE then try to build the rest of your colours in the wheel using only those 3. Good luck!

Painting workshops in May 2014
Photo by Jo Howell

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Drawing on our experience...

The Art Studio Sunderland Drawing Workshop
Photo by Jo Howell

For the month of March we are holding workshops in drawing on each Saturday for the members. The first workshop is actually happening right now and there are some wonderful expressions both on paper and on faces!

The Art Studio Sunderland Drawing Workshop
Photo by Jo Howell

The workshops are being conducted by a local artist who lives and works in the Sunderland area.

Todays session has been tackling the subject of lines and looking. Our members have been challenged in a fun and interesting way to use new drawing materials to explore new ways of mark making. A lot of giggles have ensued with portraits of each other drawn without looking at the page you are drawing on. Some interesting egg-like head and squiffy eyes, but immensely entertaining and great for encouraging expression.

We look forward to the coming weeks and learning new skills!

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The Art Studio Sunderland Drawing Workshop
Photo by Jo Howell

Welcome Back!

Bowl by Polly Cotterel
Photo by Jo Howell 

St Bede by Sketchy Boxer
Photo by Jo Howell

Hi Everyone,

We are back in full swing at The Art Studio in Sunderland. I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year!

Starting on Monday 3rd February 2014 you will be able to view a great selection of the Art Studio members works in an exhibition to be held at Bede's World, Jarrow. This exhibition is a great way for us to show what we can do in a new space with our new friends from Bede's World.

This is an open invitation for you all to come view our work in this beautiful historical setting.

We are also doing a Kite making project with Pauline Taylor from Studio Infinite. Pauline will be taking the kites designed by the Art Studio members on a tour of the Far East.

Skyline by Barry
Photo by Jo Howell

The kites will form part of a large arch and will be joining other kites as part of the tour. The guys have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the project and the designs that they have made are really ingenious.

Thats all for now folks, please get yourselves along to the exhibition if you can, and if you can't, please follow us on Facebook for more information about the daily activities that we are doing at The Art Studio.

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