Artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog Visual Arts Organisation Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:06:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Newsletter – November 2011 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=739 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=739#comments Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:52:07 +0000 Steve@artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=739 November 2011 The end of the year is fast approaching, which can only mean one thing. Yep that’s right, Artblock will be officially 10 years old very soon. So to celebrate our little milestone we’ve decided to put on a rather festive little exhibition for all of our lovely Artblock friends. Artblock is inviting you [...]]]>

November 2011

The end of the year is fast approaching, which can only mean one thing. Yep that’s right, Artblock will be officially 10 years old very soon. So to celebrate our little milestone we’ve decided to put on a rather festive little exhibition for all of our lovely Artblock friends.

Artblock is inviting you to come along & help to celebrate the ending of their 10th year anniversary! Over the first weekend in December, Artblock’s creators and lead artists Stephen Coley and Diana Shepherd will be displaying their creative works and selling prints and original artworks to all who are interested. Laura Mossop will also be displaying her illustration prints, being the newest member of the ArtBlock organisation. Please come along and show you’re support. there will be warm mince pies and cream, as well as stunning views of the Arboretum Park, England’s first public park!

Struggling to find Artblock? We’re here on Google Maps.
Follow Artblock via…

Recent work…

Sarum Hall School

In October Artblock had a very early & dark start to the day, when they drove down the M1 to Sarum Hall School in Camden, London. Artblock spent a busy & lively day at the all girls school creating diwali rangoli tiles, with seeds, lentils, beans & pulses.

more info…

New College student’s art day

With the October weather being thankfully kind, Artblock spent a day working with a group of BA business students & staff from New College Nottingham. To help with their business course, the group spent a ‘creative’ day at Artblock’s new home on the Arboretum Park, Derby.

more info…

St. Alban’s Catholic School

Artblock was drafted into a Creative Partnerships project in June 2011 at St. Alban’s Catholic School, Derby. Initial plans were to re-paint an existing indoor mural, based on class & year group identities. This was soon scrapped in favour of an outdoor version as the school had indoor building work planned.

more info…

Brushwood Junior School

June saw Artblock hitting the M1 bright and early to visit Brushwood Junior School, Buckinghamshire, as part of the school’s Arts Week. Year 5 classes spent the day exploring the art of Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky and specifically the artist’s more abstract works

more info…

Future work…

So what’s on the horizon? Well apart from some more Fetival of Light work in Erewash, we’re hoping to tie up some mosaic work at Brackenfield School & Specialist College, Long Eaton, as well as a few Arboretum Park visits for the children of Pear Tree Community Junior School, Derby. Artblock has also secured a bit of Derbyshire & Erewash Council funding to run some family art & craft sessions across the region. Keep your eyes peeled, as we’ll advertise these throughout the coming months.

We’re also continuing with our Artist Residency Programme in the Arboretum Orangery, so if you fancy creating or exhibiting any artwork during 2012, do let us know.

As for the rest, well we’ll just wait and see what delights 2012 throws at us. As always, we’re happy to talk about possible projects, workshops or training. Just drop us an email or give us a call.

Finally, we’d like to wish you all a very happy Christmas & New Year and we’ll see you all in 2012.

All the best – Steve – Di – Laura

Contact: Stephen Coley – Diana Shepherd Email: art@artblock.org.uk
If you are receiving this newsletter when you’d really rather not then please reply to art@artblock.org.uk and we’ll manually remove you from the list… Similarly, if you know of anyone who would benefit from receiving this newsletter, please forward it to them.

 

]]> http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=739 0 Sarum Hall School – Rangoli 2011 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=709 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=709#comments Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:36:04 +0000 Steve@artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=709 In October Artblock had a very early & dark start to the day, when they drove down the M1 to Sarum Hall School in Camden, London. Artblock spent a busy & lively day at the all girls school creating diwali rangoli tiles, with seeds, lentils, beans & pulses. Throughout the day Artblock worked with foundation, [...]]]> In October Artblock had a very early & dark start to the day, when they drove down the M1 to Sarum Hall School in Camden, London. Artblock spent a busy & lively day at the all girls school creating diwali rangoli tiles, with seeds, lentils, beans & pulses. Throughout the day Artblock worked with foundation, reception, years 1, 2 & 3 children. Each child created their own rangoli tile and good fun was had by all. And as the school was also having it’s end of term Halloween costume day, we even had a few pumpkin rangoli designs, which is a first for us!!!

 

 

]]> http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=709 0 Erewash festival of light – Diwali 2011 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=707 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=707#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:00:44 +0000 Steve@artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=707 As part of Erewash Borough Council’s annual Festival of Light celebrations, Artblock was asked to deliver a variety of diwali sessions at schools across Erewash. The children of Kensington Junior School, Ilkeston created clay divas, the Ormiston Ilkeston Academy & Draycott Community Primary School spent a day creating large lotus flower lanterns, while children & [...]]]> As part of Erewash Borough Council’s annual Festival of Light celebrations, Artblock was asked to deliver a variety of diwali sessions at schools across Erewash. The children of Kensington Junior School, Ilkeston created clay divas, the Ormiston Ilkeston Academy & Draycott Community Primary School spent a day creating large lotus flower lanterns, while children & parents at Kirk Hallam Children’s Centre helped to create a large textile banner.

All of the finished artwork was later displayed at West Park Leisure Centre, Long Eaton as part of the Council’s diwali celebrations.

]]> http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=707 0 Trent College – Business students art day 2011 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=705 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=705#comments Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:02:30 +0000 Steve@artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=705 With the October weather being thankfully kind,  Artblock spent a day working with a group of BA business students & staff from New College Nottingham. To help with their business course, the group spent a ‘creative’  day at Artblock’s new home on the Arboretum Park, Derby. Encouraged to fully ‘explore’ & ‘investigate’ the many sights, [...]]]> With the October weather being thankfully kind,  Artblock spent a day working with a group of BA business students & staff from New College Nottingham. To help with their business course, the group spent a ‘creative’  day at Artblock’s new home on the Arboretum Park, Derby. Encouraged to fully ‘explore’ & ‘investigate’ the many sights, sounds & textures of the park the students spent the morning using photography, drawings, rubbings, found objects & text to fully explore the park & gather as much information as possible. The afternoon session was then dedicated to sharing what information had been collected and to creatively use & display some of the information that had been gathered.

]]> http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=705 0 Derby Feste – Lantern making 2011 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=703 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=703#comments Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:00:14 +0000 Steve@artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=703 As part of Derby city’s art Feste celebrations, Artblock was asked by Surtal Arts to create lanterns for a ‘Fire Garden’. The large flower lanterns were constructed using wire & tissue and were created in Artblock’s Arboretum Park studio. The lantern making sessions were open to members of the public who were invited along to [...]]]> As part of Derby city’s art Feste celebrations, Artblock was asked by Surtal Arts to create lanterns for a ‘Fire Garden’. The large flower lanterns were constructed using wire & tissue and were created in Artblock’s Arboretum Park studio. The lantern making sessions were open to members of the public who were invited along to help.

The finished lanterns were lit & installed in an ‘Enchanted Forest’ on Derby’s Bass Recreation grounds during the Derby Feste celebrations.

]]> http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=703 0 Creative Partnerships – St. Alban’s Catholic School 2011 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=700 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=700#comments Sun, 10 Jul 2011 08:21:34 +0000 Steve@artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=700 Artblock was drafted into a Creative Partnerships project in June 2011 at St. Alban’s Catholic School, Derby. Initial plans were to re-paint an existing indoor mural, based on class & year group identities. This was soon scrapped in favour of an outdoor version as the school had indoor building work planned. The new outdoor version [...]]]> Artblock was drafted into a Creative Partnerships project in June 2011 at St. Alban’s Catholic School, Derby. Initial plans were to re-paint an existing indoor mural, based on class & year group identities. This was soon scrapped in favour of an outdoor version as the school had indoor building work planned. The new outdoor version was painted onto large wooden panels & depicted a train plus carriages. One carriage for foundation children, one for years 1 & 2, one for years 3 & 4 and another for years 5 & 6. After discussing what kind of activities the children enjoyed, each year group was asked to submit drawn designs based on their particular year group. These designs were then incorporated onto the painted train carriages. Children’s written work was also added to the carriages as spirals of text. Printed text was used to create train & carriage wheels on separate panels.

This project wasn’t without it’s problems (we had a lot!!!), but it’s been a while now & it’s probably best to just forget about them and move on. The mural is now installed in the school grounds, it looks lovely & we were really pleased with the end product.

]]> http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=700 1 Brushwood Junior School – Kandinsky 2011 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=692 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=692#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:25:14 +0000 Steve@artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=692 June saw Artblock hitting the M1 bright and early to visit Brushwood Junior School, Buckinghamshire, as part of the school’s Arts Week. Year 5 classes spent the day exploring the art of Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky and specifically the artist’s more abstract works. Using a combination of smudged pastel, coloured tissue/card shapes and strong black [...]]]> June saw Artblock hitting the M1 bright and early to visit Brushwood Junior School, Buckinghamshire, as part of the school’s Arts Week. Year 5 classes spent the day exploring the art of Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky and specifically the artist’s more abstract works. Using a combination of smudged pastel, coloured tissue/card shapes and strong black lines/dots the children assembled their own pieces of Kandinsky inspired art.

The children created some excellent artwork & should be very proud of their achievements. Artblock had a thoroughly enjoyable day at Brushwood School and we would like to thank the children & the staff for being such a pleasure to work with.

]]> http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=692 2 Newsletter – June 2011 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=482 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=482#comments Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:52:50 +0000 Steve@artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=482 June 2011 As we move into a rather wet looking summer, it’s probably about time for another long overdue newsletter from Artblock. We mentioned in our previous newsletter that 2011 would mark a bit of a milestone in the world of Artblock. We’re 10 years old this year and so far our anniversary year has [...]]]>

June 2011

As we move into a rather wet looking summer, it’s probably about time for another long overdue newsletter from Artblock. We mentioned in our previous newsletter that 2011 would mark a bit of a milestone in the world of Artblock. We’re 10 years old this year and so far our anniversary year has proved to be an interesting one, in more ways than one… On the plus side, our new home on Derby’s historic Arboretum Park has opened up a whole host of exciting possibilities for school visits, artist exhibitions & residencies, family activities & corporate art sessions. More on that will follow. On the not so plus side, recent government cuts & the current economical climate has led to the closure of many Children’s Centres, cut-backs on funding and school budgets are now a lot harder to tap into. It’s been a tough time, but we’ve still here…

—————————————————————————————–

Follow Artblock on…        

—————————————————————————————–

Recent projects…

—————————————————————————————–

Brackenfield Special School

March2011 saw Artblock return to Brackenfield Special School, Long Eaton to continue working on the school’s new ‘sensory garden’. This visit was specifically aimed at creating bird-feeders & bug-houses for the garden.

More info…

 

 

 

—————————————————————————————–

Erewash Festival of Light

As part of the Erewash Borough Council Festival of Light celebrations, Artblock spent time working with schools & Children’s Centres across the region, delivering Chinese New Year workshops. Pupils at Ilkeston School (Specialist Arts College) created wire & tissue lanterns, while pupils at Brackenfield Special School, Long Eaton created decorative banners.

More info…

 

 

—————————————————————————————–

Arboretum Orangery Artist in Residence Programme

January 2011 saw Artblock launch an exciting artist residency programme on the Arboretum Park, Derby. Artists are given access to the park’s beautiful Orangery for 2 to 3 weeks to create & to exhibit work. First to take the plunge & brave the cold winter weather was artist Jayne Sanders.

More info…

 

 

—————————————————————————————–

Family sessions & Children’s Centres

The beginning of 2011 saw Artblock deliver a number of half-term family art & craft sessions at Children’s Centres across Derby, while during Feb & March Artblock ran a 6 week block of activities for parents & pre-school children at North Chaddesden Children’s Centre.

 

 

 

—————————————————————————————–

Future projects…

Artblock has just started working with St. Albans Catholic Primary School, Derby on a Creative Partnership mural project. In a few weeks we’ll be doing a spot of abstract painting sessions at Brushwood Junior School, Buckinghamshire and later in the year we have a project on the Arboretum lined up with Pear Tree Community Junior School. A lot of our other projects are still largely dependant on funding. We’re hoping to secure some funds to run some family activities in Derbyshire & Erewash, especially as previous family sessions have proved to be so successful & popular, so watch this space. We’ve also made a few enquiries with Elvaston Castle about future projects, but it’s still very early days with that one.

Our Artist Residency programme in Arboretum’s Orangery is now pretty much fully booked for the rest of the year. We’ll publicise & promote this as and when new artists begin their work, so just keep an eye on our Twitter & Facebook accounts for information. We’re already looking ahead towards 2012, so if you’re an artist who’d like the opportunity of working in the Orangery then drop us an email or phonecall.

One of our major aims for the rest of 2011 is to push & promote our teacher-training/consultancy work & our staff-training/team building work. It’s a line of work that we really enjoy, we feel it’s hugely beneficial and we now have 10 years of experience to share. We realise that art can be a rather daunting & sometimes frightening subject, especially if it’s not really your thing, but it can also prove to be a hugely rewarding & highly adaptable one as well. We now have the added benefit of facilities & work-space on the Arboretum, which enables us to run organised sessions & activities on the park if a school visit is not convenient. We’re currently formalising some literature/advertising for this line of work, which we’ll endeavour to send out asap. In the meantime if anyone wants any more information on specifically what kind of training we can offer, again, simply send us an email or phonecall.

And finally, here’s hoping you all have a happy summer (when it finally arrives!!!).

Steve & Di

Artblock – Grove Lodge, Arboretum Park, Derby – art@artblock.org.uk

Apologies if you’ve received this email if you’d rather not. Simply send us an email and we’ll take you off our list. Similarly, if you feel this newsletter could benefit others, we’d be grateful if you could forward this on to them.

]]> http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=482 1 Brackenfield Special School – Bird-feeders – 2011 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=479 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=479#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:20:41 +0000 Steve@artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=479 March 2011 saw Artblock return to Brackenfield Special School to continue working on the school’s new ‘sensory garden’. This visit was specifically aimed at created bird-feeders & bug-houses for the garden. After some research & after initial design work was created, the grounds of the school were then explored. Natural found materials were collected (twigs, [...]]]> March 2011 saw Artblock return to Brackenfield Special School to continue working on the school’s new ‘sensory garden’. This visit was specifically aimed at created bird-feeders & bug-houses for the garden. After some research & after initial design work was created, the grounds of the school were then explored. Natural found materials were collected (twigs, leaves, bark, feathers, cones, moss etc.) which were then used in the construction of the bird-feeders & bug-houses.

 

]]> http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=479 0 Erewash Festival of Light – Chinese New Year – 2011 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=477 http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=477#comments Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:14:37 +0000 Steve@artblock http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?p=477 As part of the Erewash Borough Council Festival of Light celebrations, Artblock spent time working with schools & Children’s Centres across the region, delivering Chinese New Year workshops. Pupils at Ilkeston School (Specialist Arts College) created wire & tissue lanterns, while pupils at Brackenfield Special School created decorative banners. All of the work created was [...]]]> As part of the Erewash Borough Council Festival of Light celebrations, Artblock spent time working with schools & Children’s Centres across the region, delivering Chinese New Year workshops. Pupils at Ilkeston School (Specialist Arts College) created wire & tissue lanterns, while pupils at Brackenfield Special School created decorative banners. All of the work created was displayed & paraded at the Erewash Chinese New Year event in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

]]> http://artblock.org.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=477 0