Exhibitions, hard work and Alice in Sunderland

Art Studio Sunderland

News update: 

We have an exhibition of pinhole photography in Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens Open Gallery Space from November 7th 2015 until January 24th 2016. For more information click on our page headed 'Pinhole Photography'.

Exhibition poster (Click to enlarge)

We will be showing work with Alice150 in their exhibition in Sunderland University Design centre from November 16th 2015 until November 23rd 2015. With one of our members due to collect a prize in the competition. 

Tanya Howat, Harlequin Elephant Teapot, Alice150 Competition

Alice150 Competition Photography group entry

A raging success!

Invite image for the Private View
by Jo Howell

Our Oriental Museum exhibition opened last night to a great response. There were over 130 people in attendance which is one of the best turn-outs that the Museum has seen for one of their private views.

Over the course of the last year, the members in The Art Studio have created an abundance of artworks inspired by Oriental culture- in particular India and the Himalayas. The work has been wonderfully varied incorporating ceramics, painting, printed works and video.

The members from the studio who worked tirelessly all week should be very proud of the final look of the show. Several members travelled to back and forth to the Museum to oversee the set-up. This included mounting the large silhouettes, labelling, hanging the work and organising the cabinet displays.

The exhibition will run at The Oriental Museum in Durham until 18th April, so if you couldn't go to the private view you still have plenty of time to go across yourself.

You can access our write-up in the Durham Times here.

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 the town red.....

Our painting workshop has been a great success! The members enjoyed learning all about colour mixing, and they produced some great work through the exercises that our lead artist set them.

The final workshop was definitely a bit of good fun- painting cupcakes which the members were then able to eat. All of the painting workshops were centred around the use of acrylic paints, so we are hoping that in the future we could branch out into oils and water colours with another round of workshops.

Cupcakes painted by two of The Art Studio Members
Photo by Jo Howell Photography

Alongside the painting workshops, the guys have been continuing with their own works. Mick has been working very hard across a number of mediums- print, ceramics and photography. This man has so much energy!

Mick creating his wishing well with Cath
Photo by Jo Howell Photography

And, finally we are just starting our very ambitious project in response to our visit to the Oriental Museum in Durham. The members are very excited about the project which is inspired by the new Indian Exhibition space at the museum. The members can create their own responses but we have also devised a project that will involve everybody in the studio.

You'll have to watch this space for more information on that though!
Follow us on Facebook or check out our website....

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

Follow us on our Facebook page for more regular updates about whats going on.

Eggsellent work and drawing classes....

The Art Studio Drawing workshop
Photo by Karen Dodsworth

The Art Studio Drawing workshop
Photo by Karen Dodsworth

Well, time has flown over and Easter is upon us. Our fantastic drawing classes have finished. Everyone had a great time and they learned so many new things with our local artist Michael.

They tried drawing with various materials and tried new ways of seeing or mark making.

Hopefully, we will get Michael back in to do more workshops in the future.

We have also had a fun little competition creating painted easter eggs. Some of them are very interesting but I will only post the winner here:

The winning egg!

Well done Andy!


Follow us on Facebook for more photos!

Flying the flag (kite) for The Art Studio

The Art Studio Kite Arch
Photo by Pauline Taylor

Infinite Arts Kite Project- Malaysia Tour

Pauline Taylor from Infinite Arts did a wonderful workshop with The Art Studio members about creating their own kites.

The kites created were beautiful and very varied, with the vast majority of the members taking part to create a kite. The kites were then taken on tour around Malaysia and displayed together in a floating arch alongside other schools and groups.

The members are very proud to have taken part and are excited to now be internationally displayed artists!

The Art Studio Kite Arch
Photo by Pauline Taylor

Pauline has now returned from Malaysia and we are very happy to be able to share her photographs of the work with you all here. The work looks wonderful floating so gracefully in the sky, and all of the people at the festival look like they are having an awful lot of fun!

If you would like more information on Pauline's international kite flying project or any of the workshops/projects that she is currently running or taking part in, then please click into this link for Studio Infinite website.

The Art Studio drawing workshop
Photo by Jo Howell

The Art Studio drawing workshop
Photo by Jo Howell

Ex Boxer gone a bit sketchy drawing
Photo by Jo Howell

               The Art Studio Drawing Workshop

                    Every Saturday in the month of March, The Art Studio has been running a fantastic drawing workshop for the members.

A local artist has been working with the guys to progress their skills and confidence in both mark making and drawing.

Each session has been learning something completely new. They have been running round the table, drawing with pencils, pens, charcoal and even with inks!

A member of staff even modelled for life drawing (not nude), and some really amazing drawings were created showing off the level of talent in The Art Studio. You can check out some of the other pictures that were made by clicking here.

Finally, the drawing workshops have encouraged the members to make their own drawings at home and to explore new techniques.

Everyone has been getting thoroughly into creating their own work using the new skills that that they have been learning through the various different workshops.

Oriental Museum

A couple of weeks ago we also had an outing to the Oriental Museum in Durham, where we got to handle a few of the artefacts from the museum collection. This was a rare opportunity and we were very happy to take part. We will now create our own responses to the objects that inspired us the most. Watch this space for more info!

Artefact from The Oriental Museum Durham
Photo by Jo Howell

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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Or check out our website. 

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.

Click here for the website

Click here to follow on Facebook

Mono Printing outreach session….

Mono printing outreach session 20/11/2013
Photo by Jo Howell

Mono Printing outreach session 20/11/2013
Photo by Jo Howell

On Wednesday 20th November 2013 between 1pm and 4pm we took The Art Studio up to the library.

The outreach session went really well in the library education room in Fawcett Street. Lots of wonderful Sunderland themed mono-prints were created.

Some of our studio members attended as well as a couple of people from Sunderland who really got stuck in to creating some fantastic prints.


The session was very simple allowing for people of all ages and skill sets to take part. You could create a mono print in multiple colours or stick to one.

There was some great experimentation which created works with a very interesting aesthetic.

If you missed the session on Wednesday, then don't worry we are having another one on Saturday afternoon, same bat place, same bat channel. Click here for more information.

So we look forward to seeing you all this coming Saturday, you can bring down your own resource images if you have something particular in mind, but otherwise all materials and resources will be provided.

For more information follow us on Facebook or check out our website.

Mono prints created at the outreach session 20/11/2013
Photo by Jo Howell

Studio-ing along...

Prints in the Print workshop at The Art Studio
Photo by Jo Howell

The craft fair at the Arts Centre Washington was a great success. We managed to speak to the people of  Washington about all of the great projects and the work that The Art Studio Sunderland does for people with mental health problems.

We also made a few sales of the studio members work which will go back to the members and back into new art projects. So we would like to say a big thank you to all of the members who worked so hard to create the products for the stall, a big thank you to the guys who manned the stall, and another big thank you to all of our customers who came along to support The Art Studio.

If you missed the craft fair but would still like to purchase a limited edition Art Studio calendar for £6 each then please contact us by email or phone. (Details available on the website, see link at bottom).

Hand building ceramics by Art Studio Member
Photo by Jo Howell

Having finished the craft fair the guys are now working on a number of projects across different mediums with our resident artists.

There has been a lot of print work going on, with members working on some large scale lino cuts that are really impressive! I'll show you some photos of the final work as the guys get further along with it.

In ceramics the guys have started working on hand-building their own bowls, and have begun a decal project where they are learning to apply printed decals to ceramic blanks. It should be nice to wind down ready for Christmas, with only our respective Christmas parties to enjoy before we start one earnest again in the New Year.

Decal application by Art Studio Members
Photo by Jo Howell

Its not quite so quiet for our resident artists at the minute who are preparing to do some community outreach mono printing sessions next Wednesday 20th November and Saturday 23rd November at the library in Fawcett Street. The session is free to attend and is for people of all ages. Click links for more information.

Thats all for now, follow us on Facebook for more updates or check out our website.

A bit of publicity...

Way back in May the Sunderland Echo published our excellent news about receiving funding from the Big Lottery Fund. You can read the full article by clicking on this link.

But, here's a small excerpt for you to enjoy in the meantime...

Screen shot from Sunderland Echo 28/05/2013

A grand day out...

On Friday 25th October a group of our studio members went for a wonderful day out to the National Glass Centre.

Photo by Mick Hodgson (Art studio member)

We spent the afternoon taking in some contemporary glass art in Jeffery Sarmiento's solo exhibition, where we saw a combination of print techniques with glass. We also had a brief tour around the museum area to learn about Sunderland's historical connections with the material.

 Then we went to watch the daily glass blowing exhibition which was fantastic and gave a few of the members some new insight into how glass is created.

Photo by Mick Hodgson (Art studio member)

After soaking up all of the culture we had some teas, coffees and cakes in the cafe before heading home.

Fingers crossed we get more great days where we can get the members out into Sunderland to enjoy the array of crafts, arts and history that our city has to offer.

For more information check out our website or find us on Facebook!

Time for some new ideas...

Art Studio member plays keyboard synthesiser
Photo by Jo Howell

The craft fair items are nearly completed, by the end of next week the guys will be raring to go. There will be a mixture of handmade ceramics, hand printed items like cards and much more for you to get your family members for Christmas. The craft fair will be at Arts Centre Washington on November 2nd 2013 from 10am until 4pm. So come on down to see us and bring your purse/wallet!

Gargoyle (work in progress) by Art Studio Member
Photo by Jo Howell

Sketch by Art Studio Member
Photo by Jo Howell

Having a reprieve from creating the craft fair products has allowed a lot of the members to finally tackle some of their own works again. As you can see from the following photos there is a lot of talent here that spreads through a variety of mediums.

Remember to keep up with us via facebook or check out our website if you want to get in contact with us.

Exhibitions and calendars...

The Art Studio Sunderland Exhibition wall in Virgin Money, Gosforth
Photo by Jo Howell Photography

The first exhibition of our members work is now installed in Virgin Money, in Gosforth. Hung in the true salon style (a bit higgidly-piggildy and crammed in) but commanding a lot of attention from everyone who passes the work in the busy corridor.

The guys worked really hard on the final presentation of their work and went the extra mile to get them framed-up. I think that they should be extremely proud. The work is for sale and will remain on show until the beginning of November.

The first show has shown us all a lot, and we've learned a few things for the future. The members want to have more curatorial control, and a bigger space to really show-off what they can do next time. So keep your eyes peeled for a much more ambitious show in the future!

The Art Studio Sunderland Calendar £5.99 with all proceeds going towards future projects, events and exhibitions
Photo by Jo Howell Photography

In other news, we have just received our calendars from the printers and they look fantastic!

The calendar has been beautifully designed to promote the wonderful work that we do here at The Art Studio Sunderland. As an Arts and Mental Health Charity we believe that we can help to ease the burdens of mental illnesses through art, and the calendar is a great way for us to show how that works in real terms. Each page has a gorgeous photograph of an Art Studio member's piece of work, showing the wide range of the activities that we cater for. If you would like to support The Art Studio Sunderland by purchasing a calendar then please contact us via our email to arrange to pick yours up.

www.theartstudio.org

The Art Studio Sunderland email:  theartstudio@btconnect.com

New promotional materials...

The Art studio promotional bookmarks
Photo by Jo Howell

The Art Studio promotional banner
Photo by Jo Howell

Today is the AGM at The Art Studio which is a great chance to show off all of our new promotional materials which were delivered on Monday! Exciting times :)

In other news, as part of the relaunch of The Art Studio we have organised some outreach sessions on Wednesday 20th November and Saturday 23rd November 2013 to be held in the education room, in the library on Fawcett Street, Sunderland. In the session participants will be invited to create a mono-print of Sunderland- all materials will be provided so all you have to do is turn up.

Everyone is welcome to take part in the activity and we have ordered some special bookmarks, and a lovely banner to show-off what The Art Studio can do.

The members have been continuing to work really hard getting handmade craft items ready for the Craft Fair at The Art Centre Washington (2nd November 2013). Things are ticking along quite nicely and the guys have made so much work that the studio currently looks like a factory production (only with better products!)

Once we have done the outreach sessions and the craft fair we will be looking to start a film project with the group, and we will be continuing to look for new partnerships or project ideas. So if you would like to work with the art studio on a voluntary basis or on a particular project please contact us via the website.

Christmas Decorations made by The Art Studio
Photo by Jo Howell

Or for more updates you can follow us on Facebook by clicking here.