I have been running art classes in the Caterham and Croydon area for the last five years, as part of a franchise. They have proved very popular, and my team and I have many loyal and happy customers. However, an exciting change is on the horizon!
We love running the classes, but we think we can make them even better and offer a wider variety of options without the constraints of having to stick with someone else's course structure and curriculum. We're grateful to have had the opportunity to teach hundreds of people to draw and paint, but we're now looking forward to using the experience we've gained to offer something fresh and exciting.
Art for all
From September we will be operating under a new name: Art For Life.
We chose that name because we believe art is a skill that anyone can learn and use for life, and because art brings you life while you're creating it, especially when doing so in the company of lovely people!
We will be offering 10-week daytime courses for adults of all abilities, plus a five-week Introduction to Art course for those who feel nervous about joining a class, or just know they need to start right from scratch. So, whether you're a confident artist or you feel a bit 'artistically challenged', there's a place for you on one of our courses.
Workshops
In addition, we'll be running occasional workshops, such as life drawing, printmaking, acrylic pouring, clay shaping, photography, plein air painting, cartooning and fabric painting. At the moment, these will take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Some will be workshops for children and teens, so you can enrol your kids, nephews and nieces or grandchildren if you want a couple of hours' peace! The great thing is that we will now have the flexibility to respond to customer demand, so if there's an arty skill you'd like to learn, get in touch: if there's sufficient demand, we'll run a workshop on it!
For those who are occupied during the daytime, we will also be running art evenings when you can come along to paint a picture, with wine (or soft drinks) flowing, and music playing. These will take place on Friday evenings initially, and are a great way to enjoy art with your friends. As we build our team we'll be able to run more of these on different days, and in a variety of locations.
Celebrations for charity
And finally, we'll be holding an annual summer charity exhibition, with proceeds going to a different good cause each year, chosen by our students. This will be a celebration of all the work that has been produced over the year, and an opportunity to meet the team and students behind it.
We're really excited about all the possibilities that our new venture holds. We just want to share our passion for art with as many people as possible, and would love Tandridge Independent readers to be part of that.
All of the courses and workshops are bookable via the Art For Life website, and you can follow Art For Life UK on social media to keep up to date with what's happening. If you have any questions you can contact me via hello@artforlife.uk or 020 8407 2384.
