Arts & Crafts

Art Improvement Workshop

Leader: Barbara Jackson
Contact point: Hazel Finn

Winter Etching © Barbara Jackson

The art improvement  group is for members who have painted before but want encouragement with their artwork.  Our tutor Barbara Jackson is an accomplished artist.  At present the group is full but we have a waiting list.

  • When: Thursday 2.30–5.00 pm
  • Location: Fellowship House, 136a Willifield Way, NW11 6YD
  • Frequency: Fortnightly

Bead and Jewellery Making

Leader: Monica Peiser

Strings of coloured beadsMonica was trained in jewellery at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. Her own work is mainly in precious metals. Monica taught her craft at The Institute for over 30 years and some years at Hampstead School of Art.  She has been fascinated by beads since childhood and has run many bead sessions.

Pierce earrings made of coloured beadsShe will be running a fun workshop using lovely glass beads where members will put colours and shapes together to create pretty necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Learn the tricky business of fastenings, choosing threads and wires and needles.

All you need is reasonable eyesight, some manual dexterity, patience and above all a love of beads! All materials provided.

  • When: Thursday 10.00 am – 12.30 pm
  • Frequency: Fortnightly
  • Location: Leader’s home in East Finchley
  • Cost: Contribution of £8 per session to cover cost of materials

Beginner Contemporary Art Class

Leader: Erica Lewis

Art for beginners with an emphasis on contemporary work.

  • When: Thursday 2.30–4.30 pm
  • Frequency: Fortnightly from 29 February
  • Location: Free Church Hall Annexe, Northway, NW11 6PB

Drawing for Beginners—Basic Techniques

Leader: Mary Whiting

A full-year course in drawing starting from scratch. Structured sessions covering the  essentials such as observation, perspective, shading and proportion, and including how to  draw plants, faces, figures, still lifes, and how to compose a good picture.

  • Weekly: Monday 11.00 am – 12.30 pm on Zoom

Drawing: Improvers

Leader: Mary Whiting

This course is intended for people who have completed Mary’s Drawing for Beginners course and want to carry on, or who have had some drawing experience elsewhere.

    • Monthly: Monday — 2.00–3.30 pm on Zoom

Learn how to Draw and use Watercolours

Leader: Shizue Takahashi

Watercolour of a tabby cat asleep

A course for absolute beginners.  Anyone can learn how to draw, according to Shizue Takahshi.  Through many years of teaching, she has developed a simple method based on 3 key principles: Proportion, Angle and Tone.  By understanding these principles, you will be able to draw pictures conveying a sense of light, space and depth. You will also learn how to create fresh/vibrant watercolour paintings.

  • Friday: weekly 10.00–11.00 am on Zoom

Outdoor Sketching

Leader: Bernd Marenbach

Meet outdoors at various venues to practise drawing and/or painting outdoors.

  • When: Wednesday mornings
  • Where: Varies

Photography in London

Leader: Myke Jacobs, assisted by Roger Cookson

Group photo shoots will resume in October, with members sharing their best photos on Zoom two weeks later.

It’s intended to be a fun-oriented group rather than a technocratic, competitive society.

  • Group photo shoots at various locations in London
  • Photo sharing sessions on Zoom
  • When: Wednesday 10.30 am – 12 noon
  • Frequency: Fortnightly
  • Number of places: 15

Sewing Circle

Leader: Diana Darrer

Expert needlewoman Diana Darrer provides members with 9-piece patchwork kits to sew for charity. This is a brilliant opportunity to learn and extend your sewing skills.

  • Restarting in-person sessions in February 2023
  • When: Thursday 2.00–4.00 pm
  • Frequency: Weekly
  • Location: Leader’s home in NW11

Stained Glass & Glass Mosaic

Leader: Sharon Cavendish

Designing, cutting coloured glass, and laminating it onto a clear glass panel. Sharon is assuming leadership of this group, which was previously run by Ruth Jacobson.

  • When: Wednesday 2.15–4.15 pm
  • Location: Free Church Hall, Northway, NW11 6PB
  • Frequency: Weekly

Tuesday Morning Art

Leader: Simon Hatchard-Parr
This group is for both complete beginners and more experienced artists working in the medium of their choice including drawing, water colour, gouache and acrylics but (due to practical considerations in rented hall) not oils.
  • When:  Tuesdays 10.30 am to 1.00 pm.
  • Location: Free Church Hall, Northway, NW11 6PB
  • Frequency: Weekly
  • Cost: £20 per term

Weird Antiques, Gadgets & Contraptions

Leader: Maish Collins

Clockwork Teasmade with alarm clock and copper kettle

Collecting unusual and eccentric artefacts over 40 years have led to an understanding of the history of the times through those items, the collection is mainly set in the Victorian and Edwardian period, and are, in the main consumer products, what people used, and the innovations that possibly made some wealthy and others, sadly, broke.

The idea of the series is to explore the products themselves, the people who created and developed them and to look at the way they were advertised and marketed in the context of the period, so from the clockwork 1903 Teasmade to the 3 at a time knife cleaner — all will be revealed.

  • When: Tuesday morning 10.00–11.30 am
  • Location: Elders’ Vestry, Free Church, North Square, NW11 7AG
  • Next meeting: Tuesday 20 February