Taking time for drawing and experiment.
I have spent some of the winter and early spring year making time for some drawing. A 6 week course “Mindful Drawing” with Jo Hatty has been an opportunity to try different mediums and techniques. The Royal Drawing School’s digital studio provides online courses andworkshops. I tried “Drawing Canines”. The image above is from that event. I have even managed a couple of days at the beach in between the wind and rain!
Safehands project
In February I took part in North Down Craft Collective’s Safe Hands Project, The project is being run as part of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls government initiative and has been funded by the executive Office NI. It was delivered in collaboration with North Down and Ards Women’s Aid and Castle Espie WWT.
Over two Saturdays young adults studying Art & Design were able to try 12 different crafts through 50 minute taster workshops with the theme being “respectful relationships”
We hope to be able to procure further funding to continue and expand this project into 2026, so watch this space!
Back to Massingham for a Spring Residency
I am happy to say that I will be getting a second visit to Massingham Heath in April. Landowner Oliver Birkbeck inherited the estate less than ten years ago, and set to work restoring former heathland and establishing species rich meadows on adjacent marginal land as part of his vision to help create a nature corridor on the farm. his initiative has seen amazing results in just eight years, with a remarkable number of plants returning from the dormant seed bank just waiting to germinate.
The Society of Wildlife Artists is conducting an ambitious year long project to document the heath through the seasons. There will be a publication produced, hopefully in time for the Society’s annual exhibition at the end of September.
You can read more about the project here
In between all this, I also shipped a box full of birds to the Ulster American Folk park for sale in their shop, a great development for me.
Meanwhile, there are a few events starting to be scheduled. Here are a few, starting this Friday evening at North Down Museum..
Arts Night at the Museum
Step into an evening of creativity at North Down Museum as the historic building comes alive with colour, texture and imagination. I will be there with some colour your own paper birds!
Friday 20 March 2026, 6:00 – 9:00pm
Coffee Cure will be open on the evening for light refreshments and there will be some live music to add to the vibrant atmosphere.
Celebrating Spring in the Walled Garden
Join us in the Walled Garden, Bangor for a range of demonstrations and activities to celebrate Spring.
Saturday 28th March 11am – 4pm
Boom Studios artists Nodo Craft, Caitie Beth Design, The Dirty Painter, Adele Pound, Messy Mornings and Jenni Robinson will be popping up eco activities for you to try, including:
Eco– Craft Workshops; Seed Bombs; Mud Painting; Insect Drawing/Painting; Flower Craft Headbands; Acrylic Paint Filtration usingClay.
Late Night Art, Bangor
Join us in Boom for the opening of the Studio Mates Spring Exhibition!
Thursday 26th Mar 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Late Night Art Bangor is an initiative that aims to share Bangor’s amazing arts and cultural venues and showcase the creatives who live and work here. On the last Thursday of every month from 6-9pm you can enjoy open house across the city centre.
The Sketch Book Library is back for 2026
This project has been inspired by The Brooklyn Art Library. The Sketch Book Project and has been made possible with a kind contribution of sketchbooks from Christopher Murphy.
The aim of the project is to create a small library of sketchbooks that can be viewed by the public in the project space at Boom Studios during the Autumn.
If you would like to participate, please order your sketchbook on the link below. There is a contribution of £10 towards programme costs. Sketch books are soft-back and A5 size, so easy to pack on the go! Multiple sketchbook submissions are welcome. I have already made a start on mine!
