Welcome to Mrs Mosaic Studios Newsletter
Hi there, Nicola here,
What a summer! Some say the weather was rubbish but I felt pretty hot on occasions, how about you?
Firstly I want to welcome all the new subscribers with a picture of me so you can picture who is writing all this!
My last newsletter in June mentioned I would be at lazy days festival , which was a great weekend of live music festival-style in Priory park,.We were luck y with the weather, but not many people were interested in buying mosaics or crafts from the stalls, so we sat back and soaked up the atmosphere and the great music.
Old Leigh artist market on the last bank holiday weekend was a great, as ever. A lively atmosphere with lots of lovely visitors interested in artists' work. A fantastic way to end the summer, before classes resumed in my studio at the beginning of September.
My husband Michael & I have enjoyed a few nights abroad. In July we went to Torremolinos flying out of Southend airport and then onto Granada to visit the Alhambra, which was mind blowing for me! Here’s a few of my favourite pics!
At the end of the summer my daughter, Charlotte, organised, booked and paid her fare for us to visit Budapest! I’m not going to bore you with how amazing it was, but I’d love to go back, maybe in the Winter next time. I’m super proud of her hard work to earn this experience and grateful we could do it before she started her 3 year degree course at London Contemporary Dance School, the conservatoire based at The Place in Kings Cross, London.
Back to reality
So after an exciting summer, it's back to mosaic and stained glass classes for me in the studio , with a few other things that might be of interest to you all. There are quite a few mushroom workshops coming up, and as they’ve been so popular I hope to have some time over December to introduce a new copperfoil workshop in the new year.
Thank you everyone who has attended one of these workshops, everyone seems to have such fun doing them and they're really nice to teach, everyone leaves with a handful of vibrant mushrooms.
Looking ahead
At the beginning of October I am taking part in CAOS -which stands for Castle Point Artists Open Studio. My good friend Nicola Osborne has very kindly offered to house me along with her work in her home studio location. Here’s a flyer with all the details, I hope you can make one of these weekends.
I will be there on the 5th, if you’d like to see me and some of my work. This coincides with the exhibition centred at HOFS and the artist studios there will be open too. Various other artists also have opened their doors for times during this period. One particularly worth visiting aside from Nicola & myself is Natasha Davis a talented printmaker who also delivers a programme of children's art workshops at HOFS.
November
Besides the varied programme of workshops on offer from my home studio, I have increased my external programme this year. RHS Hyde Hall is a regular location where I deliver workshops and unfortunately the one in November is already full. But there are a couple of slots for a similar workshop in Old Bank Studios in Harwich on Sunday 8th December; a great location inside an old bank lobby with the most amazing hot lunch provided by the hosts Nigel and Bev Caleno, from the kitchen in the converted vault!
If Harwich is too far, my latest venture is more local to me in Hadleigh, Essex at Hadleigh Old Fire Station. It’s a nice big accessible hall, so much better access for those that want to do a class but might have mobility issues coming to my garden studio.
Sunday 17th November, 2-4pm.
It’s a Christmas themed 2-hour workshop making a beautiful mosaic star, which once grouted can also be put outdoors in the garden. It’s a first for me in this location and so I’m hoping it will do well.
For those of you who are interested I thought I’d do a special discount to my subscribers which runs till the middle of October. This will be a 10% discount of the advertised price of £40, but only if you book direct, not on the website. Email me if this takes your fancy, but hurry up as I visited HOFS yesterday with a poster and they think it will book up fast!
With all of this going on , progress on the membership area of the website has slowed somewhat but although you can’t see anything yet, there’s lots going on in my mind and behind the scenes. I recently joined the Southend Art Club and although I only managed to make one workshop of their summer programme, it was worth it just for that expereince. They exhibit twice a year, at Chalkwell Hall and their winter talks move from there to the Beecrfoft theatre. If your looking to enjoy more art I would recommend considering joining. Here’s a link,
Their winter exhibition is the weekend of Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November, so if you want to be blown away by some local artists both amateur and professional its really worth getting along there. In fact my husband got me the most wonderful piece by the artist Ann Lee of Riverworks and it gives my joy where I see it in the hallway everyday.
The Beecroft Open is coming soon, its always nerve-wracking entering work for it but this year it’s the 60th anniversary so I’m keeping my fingers crossed something gets selected. If social media is your thing I’ll probably post on there when I know. Fancy entering a piece, click the poster below to visit the website for further information.
A few notes for my students
I haven’t forgotten about the glass bargain packs…but they have been put back somewhat, I hope to address this over the October half term, but I’m pondering how to package them? I’m thinking I will group them in a £5 pack but I don’t want people swapping them about between packs, for safety sake mainly but also that it’s a fairly priced selection. Any suggestions?
As classes are getting busier and more often than not are fully booked , I may need to update my terms so that a refund isn’t possible if you cancel on the day, Your understanding on this matter is much appreciated.
If you know someone who might enjoy my newsletter, please feel free to forward this on.
See you soon & thank you for reading and for all your continued support.
Nicola
xxx
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