The 2014 Harwich Festival of the Arts is almost upon us, with the visual arts making a bigger contribution this year than ever before. Old Bank Studios, as the focal point of the “Art Quarter”, will be hosting the main exhibition, where you will have the opportunity to view over eighty original pieces, including one or two well known works; Harwich may not have a Maggie Hambling on the beach, but we do have one in the Bank! The exhibition launches on the evening of Wednesday 25th June when we hope as many of you as possible will join us for a drink and a sneak preview. The studio will be open every day throughout the festival, so why not take the opportunity to browse students work and pick up information on forthcoming events.
Hopefully all this art in Harwich will inspire you to unlock your creative potential with one of our upcoming, varied and exciting workshops.
Saturday 19th July – Turneresque Oils with Clive Rigg
Saturday 9th August – Line and Wash with Lavinia Hamer
Saturday 16th August – Weekend of Watercolour 1 with Sue Williams
Sunday 17th August – Weekend of Watercolour 2 with John Shave
Saturday 23rd August – Atmospheric Acrylics with Ken Kempley
Saturday 13th September – Still Life Flowers in Gauche with Kit Leese
Saturday 20th September – Pencil and Pastel Portrait with Lavinia Hamer
Saturday 27th September – Sunlit Trees in Vibrant Acrylic with Hashim Akib
Saturday 11th October- Impressionistic Birds with wildlife artist Brin Edwards
Saturday 15th November – Cityscapes in Oil, Acrylic and Pastel with Jamel Akib
Birds Return This Autumn
We kicked off May with Brin Edwards’ Impressionistic Birds, which captured the light and the imagination of our students, so
successful was it that we immediately booked him again for Saturday 11th October 2014. This day will be ideal for those who missed out the first time, but will also follow on and expand on the previous course; exploring techniques for back lighting with acrylics.
New for July
Beginners 6 Week Drawing and Painting class on Wednesday evenings. This is booking up fast, so reserve your place soon to avoid
disappointment.
And Sew On……..
Courses and workshops in the Textile Studio are as popular as ever and Alex Waylett’s machine embroidery is no exception; all the students were delighted with their custom made “Blingy Boxes” and are now looking forward to making their clasp bags (this is now full, but there is another running in 2015). Also repeating in the New Year is the Patchwork sample quilt, where the morning class will be making a colourful Amish style quilt. The dressmaking is now coming to an end, with garments nearing completion. Due to the success of this course it is being repeated in September.
If you’re quick there are one or two spaces still available on July’s Applique Cushions and Textile Art workshops.
Progression
This year’s Harwich Festival of the Arts exhibition is entitled “Progression”, rather fitting for us at Old Bank Studios as it reflects our journey from dilapidated former bank to buzzing art and textile studios and now Harwich’s main exhibition space. Not bad for our first year.