Long Eaton Carnival

Last Saturday, 25th June, four of us from the Art Room headed down to West Park to the Long Eaton Carnival. The Carnival started at 11am and to begin with things were quiet due to the weather....

Once the sun came out though, so did the crowds and our stall proved very popular. Below are a couple of the staff, Gary and Amy, enjoying the calm before the crowds descended.....

It was lovely to catch up with some of our regular customers but just as great to meet so many new faces. There were a variety of craft activities on offer, felting bangles, painting a pot and fabric painting glove puppets or dolls. All the activities proved equally popular with the carnival goers and we were thrilled when we added up our takings and realised we had raised £106! Thank you to everyone who came by to say hello and have a go at one of our activites.

Look forward to seeing you at next year's Carnival.

Josie, Kate, Gary and Amy

Quilling Guild Workshop

On June 11th, I held one of the Quilling Guilds quarterly workshops at the Long Eaton Art Room.  A varied group with different quilling abilites attended including two newbees, who were all soon quilling away merrilly.

My wonderful assistant Diane provided good advice and helpful hints to all the attendees. This inspired several of the throng to take on the challenge of the suggested activity, making a quilled brooch and some amazing examples were produced, from a filligree effect to one brave attendee making a replica of the strawberry badge example.

A great time was had by all, fuelled by lots of tea and coffee and my homemade treats. Here are some more photos of the colourful pieces produced on the day.

 The next Quilling Guild workshop will be held on 10th september, all are welcome. For further information on the workshop or quillng, feel free to drop in and chat to me at the artroom on thursday evenings between 6pm - 9pm. or contact me by email at cas31078@msn.com.

Cas Whitworth , local Quilling Guild representative and Long Eaton Art Room volunteer

Derbyshire Open Art Exhibition at Long Eaton Art Room

As part of the May Bank Holiday, down at the Art Room we had a free art exhibition. Four local artisans took part, all working in different and unique ways to create some stunning works of art. There was a good turn out for the exhibition and lots of positive feedback about the pieces on display.

Josie Harrington was selling her handmade ceramics and homemade jams and chutneys (which proved popular as they all sold out). Mary Graham was there with her unique knitted wire and porcelain jewellery. Helen Hallows was selling her distinctive collage pictures and ceramics. Claire Roberts brought along her unusual photographs and portraits.

The visitors who braved the storms for our open studio enjoyed a variety of exhibitions and many stayed to have a go at one of the craft workshops on offer or just to enjoy a cup of tea and a cake. Helen ran a design a tile workshop, Josie did a needle felting workshop and managed to teach and convert Claire! There was also a spinning demonstration courtsey of Mary Graham, Mary also did an impromtu crochet teaching session for Helen.

All the exhibitors sold some of their work and we even recruited a couple of new volunteers.

Here are some photographs from the exhibition for you to enjoy, if you were able to come along thank you for your support and if you couldn't make it then hope to see you next time.

Half Term Kids Workshops

Most of next week we will be running a variety of half term kids workshops, each workshop costs £6.50 per child, which includes all materials needed and refreshment. So if you are stuck for ideas on how to entertain the kids over half term, come on down to the Art Room for some crafting fun. All children must be accompanied by a responsible adult and booking is advisable, spaces are limited so call us on 0115 9461661.

Tuesday 31st May:
10am - 12pm  Canvas Painting
1pm   - 3pm    Paint-a-Pot

Wednesday 1st June:
10am - 12pm  T-Shirt Painting (bring own t-shirt)
1pm   - 3pm    Play with Clay

Thursday 2nd June:
10am - 12pm  Fabric Goody Bags or Pillow Painting
1pm   - 3pm    Canvas Painting

Fri 3rd June:
10am - 12pm  Felted Bangles and Balls
1pm -   3pm    Paper Mache Piggy Banks

Lots of variety and fun crafting to be had, so book your places today!

Happy Crafting
The Long Eaton Art Room Team

Derbyshire Open Arts at Long Eaton Art Room

We are very excited to be part of this year's Derbyshire Open Arts Event.  It is the third year running that we are involved and it is happening on the May Bank weekend.  Artists will be opening their studios to the public and there will be free exhibitions taking place across the county on the 28th, 29th and 30th of May, so check out their website Derbyshire Open Arts and make a note in your diaries!

We have lots going on at the Art Room, over all three days there will be a collaborative exhibiton displaying the work of four talented local artisans. Mary Graham creates unusual designs from hand knitted wire and porcelain.

 












Josephine Harrington has produced stunning textured ceramic pieces inspired by nature.

 



















Claire Roberts will be showing her original art work including illustrations, portraits and photography. In addition we are thrilled to have Helen Hallows joining the exhibition, Helen uses a range of techniques to create unique pictures but also uses her art to decorate ceramics and produce a beautiful collection of porcelain.

Welcome

Welcome to the Long Eaton Art Room blog. This will be the space to drop by and find out what has been happening and what events are coming up.

So to kick off let's introduce you to the backbone of the Art Room, the hard working staff who run the place and make it such a chilled environment for all the members.

Josie Harrington is the Project Manager who keeps things running smoothly. She can turn her hand to everything crafty but is most passionate about pottery, photography, felting and taking the world over one craft at a time! Josie is never happier than when she has clay in one hand and a chocolate bar in the other.

Nathan Garrod is officially the Art Room administrator but in reality his real talent lies in top notch customer service, doing all the jobs that Josie never has time to do, not to mention that he makes a mean cup of tea and is ideal for reaching all those high places no one else can....
In his spare time Nathan loves to relax at home in front of Smallville, in the company of his beloved Yorkshire terrier Trixie.

Last but by no means least, Gary Hough is the Senior Studio supervisor and resident craft wunderkind, who can turn his hand to anything except doll making, a fact that created some joy and relief amongst the other staff. His current crafty interests are pottery, origami and pyrography but he is also a talented artist. In Gary's ideal world all crafting would be done to a backing track of Iron Maiden or possibly Guns n Roses.








Over the next few weeks we will also introduce you to our team of Art Room assistants and dedicated Volunteers.