School House Arts

New Workshop Programme

2009-08-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

Debs, Margaret, Nickie and Sharne have been busy arranging the next set of workshops for School House Arts. They are listed here. To register an interest in any of the workshops please email us at schoolhousearts@yahoo.co.uk
Work on the School House is almost complete so we should be using it before the end of the year.

Dabble Day

2009-06-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we held a very successful Dabble Day when we tried wet and dry felting and using embellishers. The ladies were great fun and they worked hard to produce the beautiful pieces pictured above.

We are really looking forward to our next workshop on July 11th when we have Pauline Verinder coming to do a workshop called "Boogie with Books". It should be great fun.

Silk Paper Workshop

2009-04-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a fun day making silk paper, at School House Arts. We used silk cocoon strippings to make the paper which was then bonded onto fabric, painted and sealed with acrylic wax. The ladies are then going to use the fabric to make jewellery, book covers, or bags. As you can see from the photographs everyone worked really hard, hardly stopping for refreshments. It was a good job Debs was on hand to keep us well supplied with tea, coffee and biscuits.

Here are some pictures of the fabric and some of the things the ladies have started to make.

We are looking forward to seeing the finished work.

Sharne is taking our next workshop on May 16th when she will be showing us how to make a travel journal.

This will be followed by a Dabble Day on June 25th when we will be covering different aspects of felting and needle felting.

On July 11th we are lucky to be having Pauline Verinder with us. She is going to take a workshop called "Boogie with Books" which is sure to be a fun day.

Pet Potraits

2009-03-01T05:40:00.000-08:00

A small but beautifully formed group collected together on a sunny Saturday to make 'Pet Portraits'
There were a few familiar faces but also a couple of new friends too which is always good.
We started off with piecing backgrounds and they were all encouraged not to plan too much but adopt a free approach. Some added a small amount of machine embroidery. June was delighted to discover that she had more stiches programmed into her machine that she thought.
Once backgrounds were done it was down to facing the fear with some Free Machine Stitching.
Many people are concerned when they first try this and it is often hard to persuade people that practise is all that is needed.
Then the applique could begin. Unfortunately time ran out before anyone was completely finished as it so often does.Where does that afternoon go ?? Everybody made enough progress that I feel confident they will all finish and hopefully bring them back to show us or send photos.

Thank you to all the ladies that attended for making it such a pleasant day.
And thanks to Margaret for keeping us well supplied with tea,coffee and biscuits.

Pauline Verinder Workshop

2009-02-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

Debbie Margaret, Nickie and Sharne are pleased to announce that Pauline Verinder will be coming to School House to do a workshop on Sat 11th July 10am—4pm. The workshop will be called "Boogie with Books"
The books created will all have a professional finish, but with a unique twist and originality which will appeal to anyone interested in bookmaking and embroidery. Experience with free-machine embroidery is essential.
To register an interest in this workshop please email us on schoolhousearts@yahoo.co.uk
Places will be limited so put your name down as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Pet Portraits

2009-02-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

Our next workshop will be held on Saturday February 28th, when Debs will show us how to make one of her lovely pet portraits pictured here. We still have places available so if you are interested in joining us please email us and we will send you details. Our workshops are held in a fun and friendly environment, where you will receive help if you need it and plenty of tea, coffee and biscuits to keep you going.

Happy Christmas

2008-12-23T13:08:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Good News! We have heard that we have been awarded a grant from Maldon District Council and we will now be able to start work on the School House in the New Year.
Debra, Margaret, Nicky and Sharne wish you all a very Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year and look forward to seeing you at our workshops next year.

WORKSHOPS FOR 2009

2008-11-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of some of our upcoming workshops. If you are interested in booking a place on any of them please contact us on schoolhousearts@yahoo.co.uk

Saturday January 31st 2009 -Memory Book -Tutor Sharne- cost £20 *

In this workshop Sharne will be showing you how to make a memory book with lots of pockets for photos, mementos and journaling.

Saturday February 28th 2009 - Art Quilt - Tutor Debbie cost £20 *

Debbie will show you how to make a small art quilt , embellished with a picture of a bird or a pet.

March 28th 2009 -Memory Postcards - Tutor Nickie £20 *

Discover how to make two very different "memory" postcards using the same techniques, predominantly using hand stitching and the embellisher to achieve these results, but as always a few surprises will be included. This workshop is for all levels.

April 25th 2009 - Silk Paper Jewellery - Tutor Margaret- £20 *

Learn how to make silk paper which can be embroidered and beaded and used to make jewellery.

June 27th 2009 Dabble Day-Tutors Debbie, Margaret, Nickie, and Sharne -Cost £20

Following on from the success of our first Dabble Day we plan to run another one. Come along and use more new materials and try out new techniques in small groups.
* There will be an extra cost for specialist materials which will be supplies by the tutors.

Dyeing Day

2008-11-24T13:55:00.000-08:00

Last week we held a dyeing day at School House. It was a fun day led by Debbie and Margaret with Sharne and Nickie helping out serving refreshments, clearing up and assisting. Debbie introduced everyone to the joys of procion dyeing using plastic bags. Everyone had the chance to mix primary colours to produce graduated dyed fabrics and threads.
Margaret then showed everyone how to use disperse dyes and they painted a range of coloured papers which were left to dry until the afternoon. This was followed by tearing wallpaper into strips and colouring the strips with brusho ready to make into pages in a book.
In the afternoon Nickie served everyone with home made rocks cakes and book covers were made by ironing the disperse dyed sheets on to craft vilene. Most people chose to take their fabrics home to wash so we are eagerly awaiting photos of the finished fabrics!

Here is some of the great feedback we had!
"We had a lovely time on Saturday. Thank you for all your expert instruction and for looking after us all day with coffee, tea, biscuits and rock cakes. You really spoiled us. You were also very generous with the materials and the packs/samples were very well put together. Thank you for all your hard work and pre-course preparation."

Mixed Media Postcards

2008-10-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

Another very busy and successful workshop at School House Arts .Nickie Kimber led the workshop ably assisted by Sharne Gregory. Margaret and Debbie were mainly on refreshment duty and helped out if needed.Nickie led the students through the processes required to make 2 mixed media postcards.Despite the students being of very mixed ability they all succeded with getting well on the way to completing their postcards.Nickie has asked the students if ,when the postcards are finished, they post at least one of them back to her.She will of course return them to their owners afterwards

Classes to come

2008-09-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

This Saturday sees a new class at School House Arts.
A mixed media postcard workshop tutored by Nickie Kimber.Looking forward to seeing what the ladies produce from this one !

Basic patchwork classes are continuing on alternate Wednesday afternoons tutored by Margaret and Debbie.Spaces still available
This week Margaret is covering half square triangles.
To come in future weeks is Cathedral Window
Foundation piecing
Applique
But not necessarily in that order!!

November 15th is a date to mark on your calender as this sees us holding a Dyeing Day
Using both Procion Dyes and Transfer Dyes learn how to create your own fabric to craft with.
Get booked up soon for this one.

Dabble Day

2008-09-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

Dabble Day

Another successful day at School House Arts

Nickie's dabble table with Sharne's in the background

Margaret's dabble tableLiz and Noella hard at it

Completed pages at the end of the day.Lots of new techniques tried out.

Dabble Day.This Saturday

2008-09-10T14:45:00.001-07:00

Four different techniques on a theme of leaves.You should be well on the way to making your own zig zag book by the end of the day

Debra's page

Sharnes page

Margaret's page

Nickie's page
Not going to say much else. Come along and try out some new materials and some old materials used in a new way.Spaces still available

We've Been Blogged

2008-08-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

Yes the wonderful ArtyAllsorts has been very kind to us on her blog after she came to our last workshop. Please give it a read. Artys blog

Upcoming classes

2008-08-05T06:23:00.001-07:00

Next workshop at School House Arts is what we are calling our Dabble Day on Saturday 13th September.
This will be an opportunity to try some materials and techniques that you may not have experienced before.
There will be 4 different activities and rather than going home with a pile of samples that you may never do anything with we are planning for you to put them all together in a book.
If you are interested in this day you can contact us by email at
schoolhousearts@yahoo.co.uk

Example of one of the pages you would be making on this day

Students Work

2008-08-05T03:15:00.000-07:00

Lynne kindly bought a finished piece from a previous workshop to show us.

This was a piece of work done at one of Nickie's Textured Surfaces workshops which Lynne has made into a book cover.Beautiful work isn't it.
We are always delighted to see completed pieces so please send us photos and we will post them on our blog

Big Bag Workshop

2008-08-05T02:45:00.000-07:00

Lastest workshop from School House Arts.
Margaret has designed this bag and tutored this workshop.
Gathered again at North Fambridge on a not so sunny day this time we were a group of very mixed abilities. Helen (I'm sure she won't mind me saying) is a real beginner and had barely had her machine out of the box.
Margaret had written excellent instructions so those of us that were more experienced could go at our own speed but there was plenty of support for those that needed it as we also had Nickie there acting as gopher and tea lady.
Deb in action

First attempt at sewing

Nickie, our helper and tea lady for the day, getting on, in between us being very demanding
Lynne head down and going for it

Margaret in charge of her coffeeShirley had chosen a beautiful turquoise fabric for her bag

Nearly there, a race to see who would finish first.

And finally proud owners of their very own big bags.Well done everyone

Cetic Tree Part 2

2008-07-21T12:31:00.001-07:00

Margaret had taken part in the previous Celtic Tree workshop and came back for another go using her own Daisy design. Very successfully I am sure you will agree

Celtic Tree Part 2

2008-07-21T11:57:00.001-07:00

More photos of Celtic Tree workshop

Celtic Tree Part 2

2008-07-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

A repeat of Nickies popular Celtic Tree workshop. A few people could not make the first class so this was a repeat to give them a chance to have a go at this challenging piece. Margaret took part in the first class and this time had a go at her own design with very successful results

2008-06-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

Still having trouble uploading pictures of our Textured Landscape workshop so have given up for now.Just wanted to post some comments from a participant

Seriously though, we had a super time and came home with a wealth of ideas and a lot more knowledge about the behaviour of various materials under the effect of a sewing machine and a heat gun. I am still trying to transpose mine from a dog's dinner to a feast for the eyes. I shall only get so far with that as I don't have your flair for subtlety (more of a 'love the bright colours and slap em on' person myself) but will send you a picture of the final piece.

I am interested in many of the other workshops and will try and get along to one or two. We are definitely interested in the dyeing one - I am particularly interested in natural dyes (madder, indigo etc) as I did a project on them for my BA. I am growing some woad.

I thought the workshop had a lot of momentum - never a dull moment. You kept up the pace. At the end of the day we felt we had made the most of the time available and had got a lot out of it. I appreciated the worksheets that you kindly provided as there was so much information to take in on the day. It was a good venue - lots of space and most importantly - LIGHT. All the cups of coffee, tea, biscuits and practical assistance were very welcome. Please thank the lady who makes the dolls for that.

2008-06-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

2008-06-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

2008-06-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

Spreading the pictures out a bit because they are hard to load.

Textured Landscapes

2008-06-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

A select few for this workshop.Made it quite a quiet day but my goodness we got through some work.
Nickie Kimber was our tutor and she introduced us to numerous mixed media techniques that could eventually be used to build up a landscape,bag or indeed a book cover.
So we painted, stitched , dyed, layered and distressed with heat!!

Big Bag

2008-06-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Bags are Big this season and here is your chance to make one for yourself.
Saturday 2nd August
Tutor Margaret Garrood
Contact us via email at schoolhouseartsyahoo.co.uk

And Yet More

2008-06-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday 19th July

Stitch to paint with Nickie Kimber
Another opportunity to experience this class which includes techniques not everyone will have even heard of.We can promise you a very busy and rewarding day as you try these new techniques and start work on your own Celtic tree.
contact us via email at schoolhousearts@yahoo.co.uk

More Classes to Come

2008-06-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Next Saturday sees us doing Textured Landscapes with Nickie.Spaces still available.Contact us via email schoolhousearts@yahoo.co.uk

2008-06-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

2008-06-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

Grungie Grannies

2008-06-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

Another great workshop at School House Arts.This time it was doll making.Margaret was our tutor this time and Nickie was 'Mum' keeping us supplied with tea coffee and biscuits throughout the day.
Grannies started from the boots up with most of the bodies finished by lunchtime.Up to this time we were quite a quiet group but this changed after lunch when we started on heads and faces.
Amazing how different they all turned out when we all started with the same pattern.Much giggling ensued when a head was attached back to front.
Many of us managed to finish our basic dolls just needing further embellishment at home.Hats and handbags to be made in some cases.A couple of dolls representing the red hat and purple dresses club. See if you can spot them

New Classes

2008-05-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

At last some new classes to book for.Hopefully there will be something here to interest you..

Diary of Events

All Day Workshops 10am - 4pm

Grungie Grannies £20 7^th June 2008

Limited to 15 places Make a fun small art doll and learn needle sculpting techniques for

the face

Textured Landscapes £22 14^th June 2008

Limited to 12 places Explore how to use of nets, sheers, snippets, cut threads and tyvek subtlety in your work and create your own mystical landscape

Stitch to Paint £22 19^th July 2008

Limited to 12 places You will have the opportunity to experiment with various paints and discharge methods, you will also start work on your own Celtic Tree

The Big Bag £22 2^nd August 2008

Limited to 12 places A chance to make one of this seasons “Must haves” the big bag.

Dabble Day £20 13^thSeptember 2008

Limited to 15 places Offers an opportunity to dabble in mixed media, paints, paper, l

lutrador, acrylic wax and maybe even boot polish!

Mixed Media Postcards £20 4^th October 2008

Limited to 15 places A progression of the Dabble Day but can also be booked as a stand alone, you will use mixed media to make your own postcard.

Dyeing Day £20 15^th November 2008

Limited to 15 places Dye your own fabrics with MX cold water dyes

Monday Afternoon Groups 1pm - 4pm

Limited to 15 places

Introduction to Patchwork

This course will run over six consecutive weeks, each unit is a stand alone course, if you wish to enrol for the full six weeks the cost will be £50 otherwise each session can be booked at £10 per unit attended

Over papers - 09.06.08 Log Cabin - 23.06.08 Crazy Patch - 07.07.05

Appliqué - 21.07.08 Flip and stitch - 04.08.08 Cathedral - 18.08.08

Introduction to Quilting

This course will run over six consecutive weeks, each unit is a stand alone course, if you wish to enroll for the full six weeks the cost will be £50 otherwise each session can be booked at £10 per unit attended

Hand quilting - 01.09.08 Machine quilting - 15.09.08 Italian quilting - 29.0.08

Trupunto - 13.10.08 Kantha - 27.10.08 Shadow - 10.11.08

Xmas Project £10 1pm - 4pm 24^th November 2008

Xmas Project £10 1pm - 4pm 8^th December 2008

If you are interested in any of these classes please contact us at our E mail address

schoolhousearts@yahoo.co.uk

Classes to come

2008-04-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

Our next class will be

Grungy Grannies make yourself a Grungy Granny doll Tutor Margaret

This class is on 7th June from 10 till 4 price £20 and places are still available. If you want to join us for this fun class email us at schoolhousearts@yahoo.co.uk

We are in the process of booking hall time and organising some more classes.
So coming up will be

Beginners Patchwork a series of 6 half day classes taking you through basic techniques of both hand and machine sewn patchwork
Textured Landscapes
Stitch to Paint another chance for those unable to make the first class and an opportunity for those who attended the first class to further develop ideas.
Big Bag workshop to make one of this seasons*must have* big bags.
Making Art Books
Beginners Quilting a series of 6 half day classes introducing both hand and machine techniques
Dabble Day come and try mediums and techniques that you may not have experienced before
Mixed Media Postcards
A Day to Dye for. Create your own unique fabrics using easy dyeing techniques.
Christmas project Days

Dates will be finalised shortly

If you are interested in any of these workshops please email us at schoolhouse arts@yahoo.co.uk
It would also be nice to recieve some comments on this blog
Thank you

More pictures from our first workshop

2008-04-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

Nearly ready to go

Sharne the able assistant

All hard at work

Still smiling !

Getting to grips with discharge paste

More pictures from our first workshop

2008-04-27T12:39:00.001-07:00

Stitch to Paint with Nickie Kimber

The very first workshop to be offered by School House Arts. And what a cracker.
Nickie, very ably assisted by Sharne, presented her workshop on Stitch to Paint.
11 students started the morning with experiments with discharge paste using freezer paper and masking tape resists and and also bleaching some fabric that had been stitched into.
Next we machine quilted a sampler piece with four different patterns and used a different medium on each to colour it.These included markal,emulsion paint, a rub on gold medium and lumiere paint.
Next was lunch!
We then moved onto what was to be the main focus of the workshop which was a Celtic tree piece.First we ironed on the leaf motif down the side then discharged the leaves and either painted or used markals to further enhance these.Using a freezer paper pattern we machined round the tree and then machine quilted the background to give texture which would later be either discharged painted or decorated in any of the ways that we had been shown.
At intervals Nickie stopped us to show more techniques ideas and wrinkles.
At this point I feel I should mention something that I feel will become a feature of School House Arts workshops
THE LEMON TIMER
Maybe I should explain.As this was the first workshop Nickie and Sharne had a run through and noted the time that things should take.Nickie had then written herself a timed running order and the timer was set accordingly.Needless to say we didn't always keep exactly to time but it caused much mirth and various offers of what we could do with this timer.
Everybody was really pleased with the results of their day and I know many of the students were stretched to attempt new things.
A great day and a great start of School House Arts

Launch day

2008-04-22T14:18:00.001-07:00

Launch Day
Dawned, cold and damp.But we were not going to be put off by the weather oh no.
A few very busy hours preparing and setting up and then sit back and hope that at least a few were going to turn up.
We were not to be disappointed.Over 70 people visited including many locals. There was lots of interest in the classes and a good few suggestions of other classes to run.
The free refreshments seemed to be enjoyed by all.
Bookings were taken for classes but there are still spaces on
Stitch to paint Sunday 27th April 10-4
Fabric Corsage Friday 16th May 7.30 - 9.30
Grungy Grannies Saturday 7th June 10-4
for details of these courses email us at schoolhousearts@yahoo.co.uk

School House Arts Launches 19th April

2008-04-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

School House Arts launches 19th April with an open day at North Fambridge.
Exhibition of work,meet the tutors,sales table free refreshments and an opportunity to chat with the tutors to tell us what kind of courses,day schools,clubs and classes that you would like to be available.
Initially we are offering three classes

Stitch to Paint tutored by Nickie Kimber Sunday 27th April Day class

Fabric Corsages tutored by Debra Sargeant Friday 16th May Evening class

Grungy Grannies (Doll making) Tutored by Margaret Garrood Day class

We will update this blog as soon as any other classes are arranged and with photos of classes as they happen so do keep checking back