Have A Fun Week

At this time of year we get rain, sleet, snow and half term. We should be able to keep the kids entertained by making pancakes but perhaps that's cheating as Pancake Day isn't officially until 8th March. So what can you do to keep the kids occupied this week. Why not take them for an arty fun day out? Here are a some family events happening in the north-east. Some are free with others making a small charge.

At Bowes Museum there is a Printing Workshop for Kids on Friday 25th February. Advance booking is required.

More about the Printing Workshop.

In Gateshead, the Shipley Art Galley and Museum has a variety of activities apart from the art shows. You could take them round the Sit Down: Seating for Kids exhibition, on tour from the V&A Museum of Childhood. On Thursday 24th February the kids can make a mini beanbag for their toys.

More details can be found in the PDF leaflet for the Sit Down Exhibition.

Head over to Mima in Middlesbrough for the Half Term Art Trolley event on 23rd, 24th and 25th February from 11am until 12 noon. Use a range of materials and equipment from the gallery's art trolley to make some art.

More on Mima's Art Trolley event.

The Station at Richmond, North Yorkshire is holding a Craft Day on Wednesday 23rd February from 10am until 5pm. Watch the blacksmith and woodturner or have a go at felt-making or pottery. There's always something interesting to see at the Station so if you can't make it on Wednesday, try another time.

More about the Craft Day at Richmond Station.

If you're in Northumberland, why not visit Cragside on Saturday 26th February from 1pm until 3pm where you can explore the forest and help to make a work of art from materials that the forest has provided. The house and gardens are also open free during half term.

More about Cragside House and Gardens.

Vicky,

Love Your Art.

Greetings To You All

Greetings cards come in all shapes, sizes and subjects. And looking in any card shop, you now find more and more often that some of these cards are based on paintings and other art.

Combining these cards with a cheap photo frame can give you a simple and quick way to decorate your walls with art for probably not much more than a fiver each. And if you pick up the frames for a pound or two in your friendly, local charity shop, you get even better value.

So we're always on the lookout for interesting greetings card on our travels. We already have a triple frame in our living room displaying a set of three cards from Sam Toft's Mustard family collection. And a couple of framed sheep scenes we found in a charity shop turned out, on closer investigation, to be the fronts of Christmas cards.

We have also recently discovered a series of cards with humorous pen and ink sketches by Glockwork. Drawn by Graham “Glock” Ashbridge, these cards include motorcycling, steam trains, life in the Yorkshire Dales and, to our delight, sheep (see picture).

So far, we only have one Glockwork card but we suspect it will form the basis of a mini-collection of these charming sketches. The cards are available in shops across the North of England (plus some South of the Humber) or on the Glockwork website.

Love Your Art,
Vicky and Vince