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11289 Educators providing Art courses

Barkingside Art Club

barkingside art club

5.0(4)

Ilford

Our workshops have served as intense social learning sessions and therapeutic retreats to adults, and our children’s workshops have helped children express themselves and make large strides in their artistic endeavours. As reflected in our principles, all our sessions are inclusive of people with special education needs (SEN) and learning difficulties. We have helped children with SEN develop their confidence and become more involved in art. Our approach to teaching and learning is focused on using art to build a creative local community founded on principles of inclusivity. We provide a platform to showcase the work of our creatives via our Group Exhibitions - we also host and take part in national events such as The Big Draw and Lumiere London - the UK’s biggest light festival - and in local events like the Fabula Festival. We run pop-ups, co-operate with businesses alongside our workshops, and collaborate with non-profit organisations in addition to organising after school clubs with local schools. For more information on our past projects please do have a look at our News page! If you’re a business, charity, school or organisation and are interested in reaching out we are always open to collaborations! Please go to our Contact page and get in touch so we can send you a proposal package and plan a workshop for you (or your organisation)! Getting the community involved in art is always important - which is why we offer creatives the opportunity to run workshops. We welcome everyone that wants to volunteer their time and help others flourish; and as Eliyah once said, “the most expensive thing is time”.

Alison Burchert.

alison burchert.

Essex

Encouraged as a small child by an artistic mother, I always sketched family members and pets, being able to capture a good likeness. From school through to college, my ability to draw became apparent and was recognised throughout my home town of Colchester in Essex. I had taken to pastels after years of painting in watercolour. The transition happened when working on a portrait….. "With watercolours I couldn't keep the smooth texture of the skin and the more I worked at it, the rougher the 'skin' got. Frustrated, I picked up a box of pastels that I'd had from college and almost closed my eyes as I chalked over the face I'd been working on for hours, cringing with the fear of having to throw the whole picture in the bin…. I smudged it over with my finger. The result was amazingly smooth and definitely 'skin' like. I put away the watercolours and invested in many shades of quality pastels". In 1997 and keen to enter into the art world, I offered my services to organisations to produce promotional portraits which came with good media coverage and helped my business catapult within its first year. I was introduced to various artists and teachers and was offered a place to work alongside Royal portrait artist Richard Stone who had admired my work through the local press. In 2003 I took up teaching art within local clubs and private classes, holding exhibitions and encouraging 11 to 16 year olds to develop their artistic talents with workshops using different mediums. From 2008, I had the immense pleasure of working with Colchester Zoo in Essex when I became their Artist in Residence. From holding art classes in the Zoo and working with children during the school holidays to portray their favourite animals, one of my greatest adventures was to work closely with the Zoo's great managerial team on their 'Stand Tall' project for their 50th anniversary. This saw many local artists give up their time to design and create personal works of art on 2.5m giraffe sculptures. These were then displayed around Colchester and even took a tour to London's South Bank before they came back to the Zoo for auction. It was with much excitement to see one of my giraffes (Big Catrina) sell to the highest bidder at £6800. Developing very unique drawing skills, I have helped students from all over the world with many varying art abilities to accomplish their artistic dreams. With a limited palette of chalks, and a vast experience in pastel application, my teaching took me to places I hadn't even dreamed of. Constantly moving forward and learning new ways to pass on my skills, I would say that teaching students of all ages is in my blood now. It has become a passion to show others the beauty of this versatile medium.