Chat and Craft

Spring is in the air at Kirkgate Studios and Workshops and the Chat and Craft group are knitting these adorable little sheep to help with our fundraising efforts.

If you would like to get involved, the Chat and Craft group meet every Monday afternoon from 12 noon.  Anyone is welcome to drop-in and have a go at a craft, or you can bring your own project along. 

Pop in this Monday if you would like to have a go at needle felting.

Local Colour

This six week hands-on course is for anyone who would like to know more about the natural colour we see around us everyday.


We will:

• Learn about slow colour and sustainable methods of making art in our local environment.
• become more attuned to the colours that emerge through the seasons and how this can enhance our well-being.
• focus on a different colour each week.
• learn about the history and cultural associations of different colours.

The course will include visits to the KS&W allotment and other local green spaces. Hands-on workshop-time making and using natural paints, pigments and dyes from locally sourced materials.

For more information or to book a place please email claire@ksandw.org.uk

The course is part of the KS&W Ecominds funded Out There project. As part of the Big Lottery Fund's Changing Spaces programme, Mind has funded 130 environmental projects in England to provide a range outdoor of outdoor green activities that enhance well-being.

Fundraising Cookbook

New Exhibition

It's January and we have a new exhibition up in our Windowsill Gallery. Authors of The Brightside Magazine, LOL comic and members of The Construction Club have displayed their fantastic sculptures, photographs, drawings and a diorama. All the work in the exhibition has been made by members of the homeschooling community here in Bradford. The exhibition runs until 10th February.

 

Thanks to Will Blake Photography for the images.

End of Year Review: Courses

This has been a very successful year for our learning program. Both our WEA classes and our free Community Classes have done really well. It will come as no surprise to anyone who saw the queue in August that the courses booked up really early. 

Two of our classes were so well received that we put on new ones. Angels and Acrobats was a weekend raku course that we ran in September, focusing on figurative ceramics. such was the positive response that we decided to put on a full 10 week course. Starting on 29th February, the new course will run from 10 - 12 on Wednesday mornings. After an introductory session there will be three weeks of life drawing with a live model, to aid people increase their skills in representing the human form. This will be followed by six weeks of ceramics, culminating in the ever exciting Outdoor Raku Firing!!! Costs are £69 full and £16 for people on a means tested benefit.

Another resounding success was our Sculpture class. Originally scheduled to run in the first term only, this had such a long waiting list that we were able to put on another term.

Christmas Dates

Christmas Wreath made by Heather in our Ecominds class

We will be closing for Christmas and New Year at 12pm on Friday 23rd December and reopening at 9.30am on Tuesday 3rd January.

Before that it's our annual Christmas Party on 21st December from 1pm-4pm, everyone is welcome.

WEA and other classes recommence week beginning 9th January.

End of Year Review

With 2012 approaching at an alarmingly rapid rate, I thought it might be a good idea to look back on the high points of KS&W's year. There have been quite a few, so it would be difficult to know where to start if we hadn't had such a massive refurbishment of the building during the summer months.

Community Arts Manager Joy Hart started the work off with some striking lump hammer work, on 24th July, beginning what was to be a spectacular make over. The work continued throughout July and August, culminating in painting week, when loads of our volunteers brought lots of laughter and enthusiasm to the job of repainting inside and out.

Luckily the weather was so nice we were able to have some lovely al fresco lunches.

We're all pleased that the changes have been so warmly welcomed by our students and drop in users, especially now the cold weather is settling in and the new heating system is proving it's worth.

The refurbishment was made possible due to a grant from Waste Recycling Environmental Limited (WREN) to whom we are very grateful.