Hello February!

As always, we are a hive of activity here at West Studios.

‘Firecracker Art’ by Denise Glover

The first thing to mention is the beginning of Denise Glover’s ‘Firecracker Art’ exhibition beginning on 8th February. Much of Denise’s work is inspired by her travels around Africa. A self-taught artist, she creates with a passion and drive that is infectious. Her drive has recently seen her reach the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro just last week! Goodness me, I’m tired just thinking about it! This exhibition runs from 11th February until 1st March, with a private viewing on Saturday 9th February - to which the public is invited. More details here on Facebook.

New Month’s Resolution?

Yes, that is a thing! If stopping smoking was on your list of things to do this year and you feel like you may need a little more support, we have free drop-in clinics here on Wednesday afternoons with Live Life Better Derbyshire. For more information, please contact: Freephone 0800 0852299 and book your appointment.

Do you need a gift?

We have plenty of unique, handcrafted and unusual gift ideas in our Gallery Shop. We also have some new stockists and new stock from existing stockists.

New Stockists:

Bec Ashford - Bec is a henna artist that has branched out into making her stunning, usually temporary, patterns more permanent. We now have a range of keyrings, coasters and prints in stock.

Laser cut keyrings and coasters from £4.99 in our Gallery Shop.

Another new stockist is Adrian Scothern. Adrian designs and makes beautiful stained glass pieces using age old techniques to create the painted on designs. He told me, “the designs will not rub or run off in the weather. The paint (I use) is called Reusche, best black paint and these are traditional glass painting techniques that have not changed very much in the last 800 to 1000 years.
The paint comes in powder form and I have to mix it with gum arabic and water, or sometimes, just the paint and an oil such as Glycol. Once the illustrations have been painted onto the glass , it is then placed in my kiln over night and fired to a top temperature of 665 degrees centigrade and allowed to cool in the kiln. Once the painting has been kiln fired, it is permanently fused into the glass.” Below is Adrian’s ‘Man in the Moon’ hanger.

We also have some very cute little jute bags and pencil cases from Jo’s Crafts and Bags featuring little motifs. There are Valentine’s themed ones, Easter themed ones… come and have a look. Perfect for keeping your lunch together or for your little one!

Jo’s Crafts & Bags, Pencil cases and Jute Bags from £5

We also have our Monthly Edit online now with beautiful pieces specially picked out for Valentines Day. Click here to have a little looky at the February Edit. Whether you’re in to ‘all that love stuff’ or not, our Gallery Shop also has other beautiful items, some cracking snacks, tea and Fairtrade filter coffee… and radiators! Come and warm up with us!

Community Choir

Every Thursday morning the beautiful sounds from the community choir fill West Studios. There is currently a waiting list to join the choir, but if the choir is something that you would be interested in, come down and have a chat with Andrea from about 9:45am before the choir begins to put your name on the list.

Life Drawing Class with John King.

One of our tenant artists, John King holds tutored Life Drawing classes here a few times a month. John is a Visual Studies Lecturer and is supported by a wide range of highly regard life models. You will get use of a high quality studio easel and A2 drawing board. You will also be able to explore a wide range of media and techniques within a limited size of class for better teaching support. He has three different versions that you can sign up for.:

The first Tuesday of each month, 6:30pm - 9pm - tutored session for £17.50 (Student concessions available)

The third Wednesday of each month, 6:30pm - 9pm - tutored session also £17.50 (Student concessions available)

He has also begun a non-tutored session for more advanced artists that are beginning on Wednesday 13th February for £12.50 also with a student concession available. Please contact John on 07795804793 or john@wallspacevisualarts.co.uk to book your spot and avoid disappointment.

More Creative Courses…

Throughout the year, Chesterfield College in conjunction with West Studios run a variety of creative courses in our fantastic teaching studios; Silversmithing, Ceramics, Photography, Photoshop, Fashion and Garment Making & Printmaking. We post about many of these courses with their start dates and prices on our Facebook Page or Instagram. Hit ‘Like’ on the page to keep up to date. Alternatively, there will be a new blog post coming soon with more details.

This month, Silversmithing has two courses beginning:

Tuesday Mornings 9am-12pm for 7 weeks for £175 OR

Thursday Evenings 6pm-9pm also for 7 weeks for £175

Also, a Ceramics course begins:

Monday Evenings 6pm-9pm for 6 weeks for £175

Next month we have Studio Photography and a Screen Printing short course. You can register your interest by emailing us or calling on (01246) 500799. Get those creative juices flowing!

Work Experience at West Studios

Being part of Chesterfield College gives us the opportunity to guide students in their Work Experience. At the moment we have Lewis, who is a Business student, lending us a hand. He wrote a short blog about his time here. He also wrote his own take on our Monthly Edit! I loved seeing which items in the shop drew his attention. Click here, if you’re intrigued to find out which pieces he liked!

If you are a student at Chesterfield College, or know anyone who attends here, get in contact with us if you would like to come and join us for a while!

News and Updates from Our Tenants

Like I said before, West Studios is a veritable hive of activity all of the time. This vibrant and dynamic environment makes for busy people! Here is a quick breakdown of what our Tenants have lined up for February, leading into March…

Helen Rowan Photography has an exciting opportunity for parents who have good cameras that would like to know how to make the most of them and get a better understanding of all those buttons and to stop using the ‘Auto’ function! Basically, to help you to take great photographs of your kids and family. Helen is also launching her ‘Bluebells Mini Sessions’ early next week for sessions to take place at the end of April/early May. These book up fast, so head over to her booking page here.

Hazel from Creative Colours is offering 50% off the price of her Wardrobe Edit service. Click here for a few more details and to contact Hazel to book your appointment.

Vicky from Tilly Fudge will be standing at Ringwood Hall Wedding Showcase from 1-4pm on 3rd March with her beautiful, bespoke wedding stationary. Also, she will be launching a new range of printable stationary on Etsy. Keep an eye out for announcements!

Future Foundations are starting recruitment for the 2019 NCS program. Search the vacancies here. Would you like an adventure this summer?

Sparky Ink Studio are holding many different workshops and events. They have their regular Story-telling/Multimedia Workshops that are held thoughout the week for all ages. Tell your story digitally thorugh film, animation or digital gaming and learn industry-transferrable skills such as editing, story-boarding and the principles of animation. Also, the Animation & Multimedia Workshops run on the second Saturday of each month. Places for both of these workshops are limited so pre-registration is required for all Sparky-Ink events. To book your place email: ginger@sparkyink.co.uk or on their website www.sparkyink.co.uk

Their next events are: ‘That Animation Morning’ (ages 9+) Saturday 9th February 10:30-12:30 £20-25 adm.

and ‘That Animation Afternoon’ (ages 5+) Saturday 9th February 1:30-3:30pm £20-25 adm.

Autism Friendly 8-Bit Evolved Gaming Events are held on the last Saturday of every month. These are social events and give gamers the chance to make new friends, share conversation and generally talk about everything ‘gaming’. Sparky Ink sometimes film these events for You-Tube (but let Jane know if you’d rather you didn’t appear on the footage'). Again, pre-registration is essential for all of Sparky Ink’s events.

The next events of this nature will be raising money for Special Effects Gaming Charity: Mini-Gamers 8-Bit Evolved Gaming Morning (9-15yrs) Saturday 23rd February 10:30am-12:30pm £8 adm. Gaming Event (16+) Saturday 23rd February 6:00pm-9:00pm £10 adm.

Drop Jane a line on ginger@sparkyink.co.uk if you’d like to attend any of these events.

That’s All Folks!

Well, I think that is everything! Come down to see us on Sheffield Road. We’d love to see you.

Take Care and have a great February!