September news
Spring has well and truly arrived, and, along with grass that’s riz and amorous birds, it’s an inspiring time of year to get involved and active in all things BARTS. If you’ve been in hibernation, this is your friendly nudge to come on out for creativity, connection and community and perhaps a biscuit.
Many BARTS folk have had a very busy winter, mind. Volunteers have been organising things for the upcoming October Open exhibition, installing the new kiln shed, landscaping the grounds, cataloguing the library, and running workshops and studio groups.
Three brand new evening Studio Groups were launched this Winter: Fibre, Small Sculpture and Acrylic Painting. These have been super popular, but don’t fret, there is still room for more participants in each of these groups. Take a squiz at the website for more info and the calendar for dates and times.
Carly at our Fibre group who meet fortnightly on Thursdays 4pm-7pm
We ran two Random Weave workshops which were a sell-out, and thoroughly enjoyed by those who attended. We are seeing an increasing appetite for clay, fibre and sculpture workshops. It’s exciting that so many members are getting into 3D, and it will be great to see what people submit to the October Open exhibition which, for the first time, welcomes 3D submissions.
Maeve and Kim creating at the Random Weave workshop
Here’s cheers to the volunteers!
Thanks to our volunteers Beth and Lisa, the Library will be open from Wednesday 11th. Books that have already been catalogued are available to borrow, and over time, as more books are catalogued the library will grow. Please follow the guidelines for borrowing.
Beth and Lisa working on our library which 're-opens' Wednesday 11th September
Big shout out to super-vollies, Ray and Steve. They’ve done the very hard yakka of pouring the concrete slab and erecting the new kiln shed. The electric cable will be laid in the coming weeks for the new kiln, so be mindful of the trench when accessing the studio.
Ray (legend!) has also completed the cutouts under the tables, so we can now sit in comfort on the stools.
Steve and Ray working on the kiln shed, our new kiln and Ray working on the cutouts for our studio tables
Everybody make sure your glasses and tea cups are charged, as we toast all our brilliant volunteers. BARTS is entirely run from the energy and dedication of volunteers. It’s what makes us a caring community. Helping out feels good, and hey - studies show that volunteering has benefits to health and well-being.
If you are a BARTS member and you’ve not yet volunteered, here’s an arm around your shoulder and an encouraging word. We’d love every member to chip in a bit of care and effort to spread the load - and to make the BARTS studio an even more wonderful place to be. Volunteering doesn’t just mean Big Projects. All the daily chores like emptying the bins, sweeping the floor, tidying up the kitchen, replacing the loo roll etc (you get the idea) it’s you volunteers who do all this too. Whatever you can do is appreciated to keep the BARTS engines running smoothly! Here’s cheers to the volunteers!
Last up, an update on the fence. Negotiations continue with the Council and our neighbours. These things move slowly, but we are getting close and it will be a beautiful space when completed.