Welcome to our all-too-infrequently updated little blog about goings on at Art Van Go - art suppliers to the stars.

Friday 28 November 2014

In Residence - tomorrow




In Residence
29th November 2014  10.30-3pm
Clare Bullock
Lynda Monk


Sharon Osborne


This is the last 'In Residence' of 2014 so come along  and share
thoughts and ideas while you observe these inspiring artists working
in the gallery area.

Drop in any time to see the artists at work in their respective areas - 
feltmaking; thermofax printing; mixed media and stitch!
There will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions and exchange ideas with 
other visitors in this relaxed session.   
There might even be a mince-pie or two......
(if I can steel myself to buy mince-pies in November) 
but certainly there will be a cuppa!

As usual, there is no charge for the In Residence sessions - just pop in!  

Thursday 4 September 2014

New Exhibition - knot.just.stitch

We have a new exhibition in the gallery - 

knot.just.stitch

Jen Henley, Joan Noble, Celia Smith & Susie Stone

knot.just.stitch formed in September 2011, meeting monthly at Jen’s home in Ealing, London W5. They are four friends who met through workshops at Art Van Go. 

They say ..
"We wanted to develop our work with monthly workshops under the guidance of a tutor and were fortunate to have an outstanding tutor, Amarjeet Nandhra, agree to work with us. Amarjeet is a well-known textile artist who, with Dawn Thorne, runs the Windsor School of Textile Art in Bracknell.

As a group we have grown in confidence and are beginning to find our own voices.  Our work uses varied approaches and techniques, many learnt during workshops taken at Art Van Go.  Amarjeet challenges us, as we challenge ourselves. The diversity of our work, demonstrates an exploration of mixed media whilst trying to push our personal boundaries"

I don't have any images for you - but having seen the work of these textile artists in the past - come along, you are in for a treat!


Wednesday 20 August 2014

Summer Sizzler Exhibition

Just a small preview of the fabulous work that is currently exhibited in the gallery - all from the Tyttenhanger Painting Group,

Jill Rolfe -


Malini Croxson -



 Jenny Stratfold -



and  Donna Chamberlain -






The exhibition is on now and runs until 4th September.

Thursday 1 May 2014

Gina Ferrari Workshop

A few weeks ago, my friend Lynn, as mentioned in previous post, and I attended a lovely machine embroidery workshop entitled  'Stitches and Doodles' with tutor Gina Ferrari a few weeks ago.
(See more of Gina's work on her blog HERE)
(I did mean to post pictures of it straight away, but you know how it is.....)

Gina showed us examples of the things we could achieve with the machine 'doodling' technique she was showing us.  The notebooks would make fab gifts for arty friends -
Whilst for the more romantic amongst you -
and then for the Domestic Goddesses -
Or canvases to adorn your walls -

The students were wide ranging in Machine Embroidery experience - my friend Lynn, as a couple of others, had done little or no machine embroidery, and there were others who had done loads - but trust me, you always learn something new from Gina.  
Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of Gina demonstating Machine Embroidery - she must have been unusually camera shy, so I'll have to use this recent off-duty photo of her -
(Gina's the one on the left)
I did, however,  remember to take some photos of the samples and 'work-in-progress' that the students produced -
A record of the day -







Lynn took to machine embroidery like a duck to water (I nearly typed 'horse to water' but I think I was mixing my metaphors)
 - this is all her own work ....
and in fact, when I next saw her at AVG she showed the book cover completed
 
See what you can achieve at a Gina Ferrari workshop!  

Gina will be back at AVG on Tuesday 9th September, teaching another Machine Embroidery workshop using collaged fabrics.  If you look at her blog you'll see some brilliant bags that she has made with this techniques.  Make a note of this one - it's an addition to the Workshop Programme!

It would be lovely if you left a comment - then we'd know if anyone is reading this - thanks!



Sunday 27 April 2014

Angie Hughes workshop

On Thursday, my friend Lynn and I were lucky enough to attend an Angie Hughes workshop entitled "Inspired by Klimt"
Firstly, Angie showed us some examples of her work using the techniques she was going to be teaching us.
A panel, inspired by a Klimt Steamer
A bag in the making -
And another one - nearly finished -

Using velvet, bondaweb, transfoils, sweetie papers, glitter and sparkles we created a background.  Ironing has never been so much fun -

In fact, AVG regular, Pammie wasn't able to tear herself away from her iron for most of the day ....

Bless!  Maybe we should all rally round and drop our ironing off to her at home, just to keep her smiling?
After lunch, it was time for Angie to demonstrate machine stitching, 

Then we were let loose to embellish our own creations.  And her are some pictures of the results -









A lovely day, thank you Angie.  And for those of you who missed the workshop, Angie Hughes is back for a two day workskshop on Wed 24th and Thurs 25th September entitled 'Further Explorations in Velvet' - and don't worry if you haven't previously explored velvet - this course is suitable for beginners and for those who attend last years 'Exploring Velvet' workshop.