Things may have been a little quiet here lately but beneath the surface Norfolk Artists & Makers (NAM) has been busily working away on many exciting plans and projects. One of these is N Art 2, a project NAM is involved in helping set up with local artist Vanna Bartlett. It is based in the NR2 area of Norwich and is an informal group to act as a focal point for local artists and crafters. The group plans to have regular meetings and hold events for the local community. The first event to raise awareness of the group and also benefit a local community centre is an Easter Arts & Crafts Show the basic details of which are displayed above.  

As well as stalls where a wide variety of artists and crafts people will be showing and selling their work, there will also be a number of demonstrations. These include pyrography, linocut, sewing, bead weaving and pastel demonstrations where visitors will have the opportunity to chat with the artists and makers and find out more about their art. There will also be some demonstrations where visitors can get more involved if they want to with pottery making and crochet lessons. As well as all this, an area will be set aside as a craft circle in the coffee lounge of the centre.  Visitors are encouraged to bring along their latest knitting, crochet or sewing project to work on here while chatting and swapping hints with other like minded crafty people over tea and cake.

Volunteers from the Belvedere Community Centre will be on hand serving teas, coffees and delicious home made cakes the proceeds of which will be going towards the centre itself.

If you would like to find out more about N Art 2 Easter Art & Craft Show visit the N Art 2 website here. We look forward to seeing you at the Show.

The Norfolk Artists & Makers Christmas Fair in Wymondham was heralded opened by a 10 piece brass band on Thursday evening. With delicious cups of mulled wine in hand, the crowds had intricate handmade crafts and beautiful artwork to enjoy, it was a wonderful evening.

We look forward to seeing you in the new year, check back for spring events.

We wish you a very

Merry Christmas

from all of us at Norfolk Artists & Makers

The Norfolk Artists & Makers Christmas Fair held at St Margaret’s church in Norwich last weekend was a wonderful event. The atmosphere was laid back and friendly and visitors bought a wide range of some of the finest locally produced arts and crafts (some of which are pictured belown) as well as enjoying some delicious home made cakes and mince pies.

Jewellery by Jane Sayers

 Raku pottery by Karen Kavanagh

 Textiles by Jo Couldrey

Entertainment was provided on the Sunday in the form of the beautiful and ethereal music made by Paul Jackson and Viv Cairns as well as that of Lauren Pincher on the ukulele.

 A customer in the cafe enjoying the music. Paul Jackson also entertained visitors with his amazing playing of the Kora:

Fear not though if you didn’t manage to make it to the fair and missed out. Tomorrow evening sees the second Norfolk Artists & Makers event which will be a Christmas Craft Fair to be held in the Wymondham Arts Centre in Becket’s Chapel, Church Street, Wymondham. The fair will be open from 5pm until 8.30pm as part of the Wymondham Dickensian evening so there will be plenty of other events taking place in the town centre to make a fun night out. Once again there will be a fine array of arts and crafts on offer and you will also be able to meet and talk to the artists and makers and order extra special bespoke gifts. Admission to the fair is free. A list of participating artists and makers can be found here.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

The first day of the Norfolk Artists & Makers Christmas Fair has been and gone. It was a great success with visitors enjoying the wide range of arts and crafts on offer as well as the delicious home made cakes and mince pies.

If you didn’t make it to the fair today there is still time to come along tomorrow for the final day and buy something special such as items like this piece of beautiful raku pottery by Karen Kavanagh:

As an added bonus, there will also be some live music to entertain you as you shop so don’t miss out.  

Open Sunday 10.00am to 4.00pm.

I find the Autumn and Winter a good time to get down to painting, with not so many outdoor distractions!  I have recently had two paintings accepted for the Norwich Art Circle Exhibition in The Forum, Norwich, 21st to 27th November, 2011. These small dog paintings are part of a series of quirky animal portraits I have been working on over the last two years. If you would like to see more examples like the one below, come to the Forum next week and of course, the Christmas Fair at St. Margarets.

Sarah Cullum

“Innocence”

As the seasons change throughout the year, we still like to be reminded of happy summer days. My latest dabbles are with acrylics, and reflect the summer mood, with bright colours to cheer up the dreary winter days. I have been experimenting with the versatility of the acrylic medium, which lends itself to the techniques of traditional watercolours and oils, as well as applications in contemporary and dimensional use.

Liz Reed

http://liz-reed.co.uk/

“Poppies and Wheat”

Paintings and pottery by Liz Reed will be available at the Norfolk Artists & Makers Christmas Fair in Norwich on the 26th and 27th November and the Norfolk Artists & Makers Chritsmas Craft Fair in Wymondham on the 1st December.

In this the first Artist Focus, Norfolk Artists & Makers Christmas Fair exhibitor Vanna Bartlett talks about her current work.

Seasonal Change

With the changing of the clocks and the decreasing daylight leaving less opportunity to paint, now is the time that I like to look back through my sketchbooks and find ideas to turn into linocut designs.

My winter studio transforms into a printmaker’s workshop, cluttered with all the paraphenalia of the craft – blocks of half-cut lino, gouges, rollers and pots of block printing ink crowd the shelves while the floor is strewn with half finished prints and others hang suspended from a network of strings like some mad, messy spider’s lair.

Dry days give me the opportunity to go out and enjoy autumn’s brief, fiery colours and the chance to look out for the harbingers of winter – flocks of Fieldfares and Redwings, Lapwings and wildfowl, congregating Rooks and, hopefully, the odd Waxwing or two.

My latest linoprint, “The Cutty Wren”, will be available at the Norfolk Artists and Makers Christmas Fair in Norwich on 26th and 27th November 2011, along with other prints and a wide range of cards.

Vanna Bartlett
http://www.vanna-art.co.uk/

“The Cutty Wren”