A MESSAGE FROM LESLEY 3RD APRIL 2024
1. The annual subscription is due, for anyone who has not yet paid.
2. A reminder that the Show and Tell for ‘Looking Up‘ is now less than 3 weeks away.
3. The Summer Exhibition will be at the United Reformed Church in Diss June 13-16. Entry forms should be submitted by the end of the winter programme, 25th April. These are available both electronically in an email from Harriet, and as hard copies in the file on Thursday mornings.
4. The summer programme is done and will be published on the website.
2. A reminder that the Show and Tell for ‘Looking Up‘ is now less than 3 weeks away.
3. The Summer Exhibition will be at the United Reformed Church in Diss June 13-16. Entry forms should be submitted by the end of the winter programme, 25th April. These are available both electronically in an email from Harriet, and as hard copies in the file on Thursday mornings.
4. The summer programme is done and will be published on the website.
CHAIRMAN'S PROJECT 2024
Following on from the downbeat, and even apocalyptic results of the last project, 'Where on Earth are we going?' , Lesley has set 'Looking Up' as the title for this year's Chairman's Project. Presentation of your work will take place on 25th April 2024, the last meeting of the Winter session. If you are new to the Guild, look back through the Archives of the Blog at previous Aprils, and you will find some lively descriptions of previous presentations.
From LESLEY BUCKWELL, 5TH OCTOBER 2023
Welcome back to the bowls club and the 41st annual general meeting of the Eye Arts Guild.
Thanks for coming - it’s you that makes the guild so friendly and successful .
We now have 33 members, with one person on the waiting list.
Welcome to our two new members: Bea Murrie and Judith Howard- Rees
2022 marked 40 years of the EAG,
So it seemed natural that the Christmas party should have a 40th birthday theme.
As well as games and a Christmas miscellany, June, our only original member spoke of the guild’s early years in the Guildhall in Eye. We also had a show and tell of the Chairman’s Project, ‘40 ‘of which the highlight for me was Sally L’s skit on the lubricant wd40 : EAG “ is the only solution you will ever need” which had everyone in stitches.
The last Winter programme
We had two very successful workshops:
Oil landscapes in November – due to have John Shave, who unfortunately was seriously ill but his friend James Powell stepped in at very short notice. The Good news is that John is fully recovered and will be leading a workshop next April.
In February we learnt how to paint dynamic seascapes n acrylics with Denise Allen.
The last session of the winter programme was usual, a show and tell of the project I set at the Christmas party . The Subject ‘Elements’ inspired a wide range of responses, including the periodic table, earth fire, air and water, architecture, and the elements in producing a piece of art.
Summer Programme 2023
This summer the programme had a good mix of towns, boats, private and public gardens, the coast at Southwold, Aldeburgh and Sizewell, though sadly bad weather meant we didn’t make use of the swimming pool at Old Hall Hemingstone!
In July we had our summer exhibition in the United Reformed Church in Diss. 16 members entered 57 works, slightly less than last year. Poor Sales possibly reflected the hard economic times, with only two pieces sold, although cards sold well.
As a result of this and a low footfall members questioned the venue. So a survey of members opinions of exhibitions was undertaken and an Exhibition working party set up to analyse the results This met twice and has now led to the creation of a small group (Frances, Angela and Sally L) who are looking into how and where we will exhibit in the future.
More of this later on in the meeting, agenda item 9.
Our Website is Going from strength to strength, thanks to the efforts of Noreen and Hannah.
I must Thank Noreen- who’s stepping down. Avril and Sally L have agreed to become Hannah’s assistants.
Blog – continues to be a lively and informative way of recording the activities of the guild and members work, though not everyone contributes. Please remember to email photos work into Hannah at the end of each session.
The website is now our main method of keeping members up to date- do check the stop press and ‘more’ pages.
We’ve had a good year and that the Eye Arts Guild is going from strength to strength!
Lesley
Thanks for coming - it’s you that makes the guild so friendly and successful .
We now have 33 members, with one person on the waiting list.
Welcome to our two new members: Bea Murrie and Judith Howard- Rees
2022 marked 40 years of the EAG,
So it seemed natural that the Christmas party should have a 40th birthday theme.
As well as games and a Christmas miscellany, June, our only original member spoke of the guild’s early years in the Guildhall in Eye. We also had a show and tell of the Chairman’s Project, ‘40 ‘of which the highlight for me was Sally L’s skit on the lubricant wd40 : EAG “ is the only solution you will ever need” which had everyone in stitches.
The last Winter programme
We had two very successful workshops:
Oil landscapes in November – due to have John Shave, who unfortunately was seriously ill but his friend James Powell stepped in at very short notice. The Good news is that John is fully recovered and will be leading a workshop next April.
In February we learnt how to paint dynamic seascapes n acrylics with Denise Allen.
The last session of the winter programme was usual, a show and tell of the project I set at the Christmas party . The Subject ‘Elements’ inspired a wide range of responses, including the periodic table, earth fire, air and water, architecture, and the elements in producing a piece of art.
Summer Programme 2023
This summer the programme had a good mix of towns, boats, private and public gardens, the coast at Southwold, Aldeburgh and Sizewell, though sadly bad weather meant we didn’t make use of the swimming pool at Old Hall Hemingstone!
In July we had our summer exhibition in the United Reformed Church in Diss. 16 members entered 57 works, slightly less than last year. Poor Sales possibly reflected the hard economic times, with only two pieces sold, although cards sold well.
As a result of this and a low footfall members questioned the venue. So a survey of members opinions of exhibitions was undertaken and an Exhibition working party set up to analyse the results This met twice and has now led to the creation of a small group (Frances, Angela and Sally L) who are looking into how and where we will exhibit in the future.
More of this later on in the meeting, agenda item 9.
Our Website is Going from strength to strength, thanks to the efforts of Noreen and Hannah.
I must Thank Noreen- who’s stepping down. Avril and Sally L have agreed to become Hannah’s assistants.
Blog – continues to be a lively and informative way of recording the activities of the guild and members work, though not everyone contributes. Please remember to email photos work into Hannah at the end of each session.
The website is now our main method of keeping members up to date- do check the stop press and ‘more’ pages.
We’ve had a good year and that the Eye Arts Guild is going from strength to strength!
Lesley
message from Sally Procner, 29th November '21
Dear EAG members
I hope that you are well and keeping warm and safe from colds and nasty bugs!
Life seems to have landed in the fast lane again and I seem to be whizzing here there and everywhere! Or is it more that I got use to a slower pace of life?
I thought a letter is long overdue and now is the time to let you know how the EAG is hoping to run! This will still all depend on how things progress in the world regarding the dreaded COVID-19 especially as we are hearing about the new variant…. Omicron! We will be keeping a close eye on this so please be aware and understanding as we may have to alter things at short notice!
The committee met last Thursday afternoon at the Bowls club.
We have decided that the Thursday sessions will now include both figure drawing and own still life up until the new year. The kitchen will still be out of bounds for the time being. We may be asking some of you if you would sit for the figure drawing.
The Christmas social on the16th December will be a small affair this year. We will draw and paint until 11.00 a.m. There is a special guest that will be sitting for us! Heavily dressed in red! This will be followed with tea, coffee and mince pies.
In the New Year we will introduce a timetable similar to previous years. We will have a table for a small still life to be set up, a table for doing your own thing and figure drawing at the bar end of the hall. We will also be opening the kitchen. This will be worked differently from before due to COVID and space! There will be a list up for two people each week to volunteer to be in charge of tea and coffee and the washing up and clearing away after. You will all be expected to take your turn!This will hopefully stop the gathering of too many people in the kitchen.
Can I remind you that you do need to wrap up warm as we do need to have open doors and windows for ventilation.
After the session could you please put your chair away. If you are unable to do so please ask someone to help.
Can I also remind you that you must have floor covering. We have been approached by the Bowls club over dropped charcoal and mess not cleared up.
We have still decided not to bring in outside artists this winter but we are hoping there might be some themed sessions if we can get volunteers from within the group. (Please contact Lesley about this)
Gosh! I’ve just read through what I’ve written so far and it does seem to look a bit like a lecture! Sorry!
On to other news.
The winter programme has been well attended. Numbers have varied from 11 to 17. This may slightly alter now that we are bringing the sessions back together. We will keep an eye on this and if there is any concern with Covid we will act accordingly.
Finally, it is with sadness that I have to tell you that Tom died last week. He was a long-standing member of the group who helped run themed sessions ( many of us will never forget how to draw a boat!) and he was on the committee for many years, taking on the role of treasurer. We don’t know any more details about his funeral as yet but we will let you know via the blog or at the Thursday sessions. Or if you can’t access these please feel free to phone me and leave a message and I can get back to you when I have more information.
As there is less than a month until Christmas I shall finish by wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year. I hope you are all able to see family and friends over the festive season and enjoy yourselves.
Regards
Sally P
I hope that you are well and keeping warm and safe from colds and nasty bugs!
Life seems to have landed in the fast lane again and I seem to be whizzing here there and everywhere! Or is it more that I got use to a slower pace of life?
I thought a letter is long overdue and now is the time to let you know how the EAG is hoping to run! This will still all depend on how things progress in the world regarding the dreaded COVID-19 especially as we are hearing about the new variant…. Omicron! We will be keeping a close eye on this so please be aware and understanding as we may have to alter things at short notice!
The committee met last Thursday afternoon at the Bowls club.
We have decided that the Thursday sessions will now include both figure drawing and own still life up until the new year. The kitchen will still be out of bounds for the time being. We may be asking some of you if you would sit for the figure drawing.
The Christmas social on the16th December will be a small affair this year. We will draw and paint until 11.00 a.m. There is a special guest that will be sitting for us! Heavily dressed in red! This will be followed with tea, coffee and mince pies.
In the New Year we will introduce a timetable similar to previous years. We will have a table for a small still life to be set up, a table for doing your own thing and figure drawing at the bar end of the hall. We will also be opening the kitchen. This will be worked differently from before due to COVID and space! There will be a list up for two people each week to volunteer to be in charge of tea and coffee and the washing up and clearing away after. You will all be expected to take your turn!This will hopefully stop the gathering of too many people in the kitchen.
Can I remind you that you do need to wrap up warm as we do need to have open doors and windows for ventilation.
After the session could you please put your chair away. If you are unable to do so please ask someone to help.
Can I also remind you that you must have floor covering. We have been approached by the Bowls club over dropped charcoal and mess not cleared up.
We have still decided not to bring in outside artists this winter but we are hoping there might be some themed sessions if we can get volunteers from within the group. (Please contact Lesley about this)
Gosh! I’ve just read through what I’ve written so far and it does seem to look a bit like a lecture! Sorry!
On to other news.
The winter programme has been well attended. Numbers have varied from 11 to 17. This may slightly alter now that we are bringing the sessions back together. We will keep an eye on this and if there is any concern with Covid we will act accordingly.
Finally, it is with sadness that I have to tell you that Tom died last week. He was a long-standing member of the group who helped run themed sessions ( many of us will never forget how to draw a boat!) and he was on the committee for many years, taking on the role of treasurer. We don’t know any more details about his funeral as yet but we will let you know via the blog or at the Thursday sessions. Or if you can’t access these please feel free to phone me and leave a message and I can get back to you when I have more information.
As there is less than a month until Christmas I shall finish by wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year. I hope you are all able to see family and friends over the festive season and enjoy yourselves.
Regards
Sally P
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT AGM 7TH OCTOBER 2021
Dear EAG
Eye Arts Guild, Forever Moving Forward.
Welcome to our AGM and welcome back to the bowls club after such a long break due to the continuing Covid-19 pandemic! The winter programme 2020 started briefly before the country went back into a national lockdown in March and we had to close our doors…….again….. but only to the bowls club! The group was kept very much alive by the help of the hard working committee and a few other members.
Firstly, we had The Blog. A big thank you to Noreen and Hannah for keeping this running in such a friendly and lively manner. It has worked really well with everyone who was able to participate posting their work by Thursday afternoon. The numbers who looked at it each week were good to high. Many of us eagerly awaiting to see what each weeks work produced. For those unable to go on the summer outings, photos were posted for them to work on for the following week if they wished to or work on their own piece. This worked well. Thank you to everyone involved.
We were also very lucky to have Avril who suggested running a Zoom meeting each Thursday during the winter sessions at the time we would have been showing our work to each other in the Bowls club. This was well attended. It was a great way of staying in touch, showing work and being given help and guidance when stuck on a painting. There were even a few impromptu tutorials of a sort! We were also able to hold committee meetings via this. So a big thank you to Avril for setting this up and running it.
We managed to run a couple of projects throughout the winter. The first being the patchwork picture. It needed a little bit more organising but was very successful. Thank you Hannah for your help with this. And what a cheerful picture it was for these times.
The second project, for those wishing to, was to produce a self portrait 10”x10”. Not as easy as it sounds! There was great hilarity on the Zoom meetings as some showed their work, the disasters as well as the successes. Some participants having 4-5 attempts! Again, this can be seen on our wonderful website.
We have also been writing letters throughout the year as a way of keeping everyone involved, especially for those who don’t have access to the Blog, an email or who were unable to join in on the Zoom meetings. There has been a lot of positive feedback from these and so I will try to keep them going for people who are unable to join us at the bowls club.
We were finally able to meet up in May of this year for the summer programme of 20 sessions and what a joy it was for all those able to come along to the venues. There were longer than normal coffee, lunch and tea breaks as there seemed to be so much to talk about, including art! There has been many compliments regarding the choice of venues. We do our best to make sure there is something for all tastes. The weather was variable but not one was cancelled due to bad weather. Numbers varied from three to 12 partly due to weather and partly due to other commitments.
In July/August we had an exhibition at The Bank where we sold two pictures.
Due to the COVID situation the committee decided unanimously to allow a free years membership to all as a thank you for your support and understanding during these times. It’s not been an easy time for so many!
I feel really honoured to be a part of this group as I’m sure many of you do too. It’s firstly about art but there are many sides to this group that make it as great as it is. So thank you to all of you for your part in it.
Finally a huge thank you to the committee Sally T (deputy) Ian (treasurer)Maggie-Anne (secretary) Noreen and Hannah (website) Harriet( membership secretary) Lesley (chief programme organiser) Jackie, Les B and Richard. All of them Guiding me and helping to run the Eye Arts Guild.
Sally Procner
Chair
Eye Arts Guild, Forever Moving Forward.
Welcome to our AGM and welcome back to the bowls club after such a long break due to the continuing Covid-19 pandemic! The winter programme 2020 started briefly before the country went back into a national lockdown in March and we had to close our doors…….again….. but only to the bowls club! The group was kept very much alive by the help of the hard working committee and a few other members.
Firstly, we had The Blog. A big thank you to Noreen and Hannah for keeping this running in such a friendly and lively manner. It has worked really well with everyone who was able to participate posting their work by Thursday afternoon. The numbers who looked at it each week were good to high. Many of us eagerly awaiting to see what each weeks work produced. For those unable to go on the summer outings, photos were posted for them to work on for the following week if they wished to or work on their own piece. This worked well. Thank you to everyone involved.
We were also very lucky to have Avril who suggested running a Zoom meeting each Thursday during the winter sessions at the time we would have been showing our work to each other in the Bowls club. This was well attended. It was a great way of staying in touch, showing work and being given help and guidance when stuck on a painting. There were even a few impromptu tutorials of a sort! We were also able to hold committee meetings via this. So a big thank you to Avril for setting this up and running it.
We managed to run a couple of projects throughout the winter. The first being the patchwork picture. It needed a little bit more organising but was very successful. Thank you Hannah for your help with this. And what a cheerful picture it was for these times.
The second project, for those wishing to, was to produce a self portrait 10”x10”. Not as easy as it sounds! There was great hilarity on the Zoom meetings as some showed their work, the disasters as well as the successes. Some participants having 4-5 attempts! Again, this can be seen on our wonderful website.
We have also been writing letters throughout the year as a way of keeping everyone involved, especially for those who don’t have access to the Blog, an email or who were unable to join in on the Zoom meetings. There has been a lot of positive feedback from these and so I will try to keep them going for people who are unable to join us at the bowls club.
We were finally able to meet up in May of this year for the summer programme of 20 sessions and what a joy it was for all those able to come along to the venues. There were longer than normal coffee, lunch and tea breaks as there seemed to be so much to talk about, including art! There has been many compliments regarding the choice of venues. We do our best to make sure there is something for all tastes. The weather was variable but not one was cancelled due to bad weather. Numbers varied from three to 12 partly due to weather and partly due to other commitments.
In July/August we had an exhibition at The Bank where we sold two pictures.
Due to the COVID situation the committee decided unanimously to allow a free years membership to all as a thank you for your support and understanding during these times. It’s not been an easy time for so many!
I feel really honoured to be a part of this group as I’m sure many of you do too. It’s firstly about art but there are many sides to this group that make it as great as it is. So thank you to all of you for your part in it.
Finally a huge thank you to the committee Sally T (deputy) Ian (treasurer)Maggie-Anne (secretary) Noreen and Hannah (website) Harriet( membership secretary) Lesley (chief programme organiser) Jackie, Les B and Richard. All of them Guiding me and helping to run the Eye Arts Guild.
Sally Procner
Chair
From Sally P. 9 September 2021
Dear all
I hope that you are well and enjoying the sun that has finally come out. Let’s hope that it lasts for a few days at least!
The summer programme has been running successfully and enjoyed by those who are able to come along. I think it would be fair to say that the coffee, tea and lunch breaks have been slightly longer than in previous years but the work is still plentiful and of a high standard. Thank you to all of you who have contributed to the blog during this time. A great success!
Hopefully this will be the last letter I write before we meet up in the bowls club.
The first session on Thursday 7th October is the AGM followed by the showing of our work ‘The Pleasures of Life’ that was set two years ago! So hunt it out and dust it down or quickly paint a new one! ( I bet this has changed for most of us during this time!) Please do try to come along. It will be so lovely to see faces that we haven’t seen for so long. You will need to bring your own drink but biscuits will be provided.
You will be receiving a winter programme that we have, at this moment in time, only planned until Christmas. You will notice that we are trying to work to a safe environment. After a few of the sessions have run we will evaluate and plan the programme for the new year. We know it might not be to everyone’s liking but at this moment in time it seems best for safe distancing. ( Please believe me when I say that the committee have spent many hours deliberating over this!). We do hope eventually to get back to how it was before the pandemic arrived but just feel that we need to tread slowly and safely towards that! There will also be an attachment regarding COVID safety rules. There is a slip at the bottom that we would like you to reply to either by email, snail mail or phone. My telephone number is 01379 669073.
Our exhibition at The Bank finally came down on 30th Aug. We sold two pictures…… well done Diana and Frances.
The committee have decided to not hang another exhibition at The Bank at this time due to poor results at this and previous exhibitions. We are looking into two possibilities for next year and will let you know as and when we have made progress.
Fingers crossed for October.
Regards to all
Sally P
I hope that you are well and enjoying the sun that has finally come out. Let’s hope that it lasts for a few days at least!
The summer programme has been running successfully and enjoyed by those who are able to come along. I think it would be fair to say that the coffee, tea and lunch breaks have been slightly longer than in previous years but the work is still plentiful and of a high standard. Thank you to all of you who have contributed to the blog during this time. A great success!
Hopefully this will be the last letter I write before we meet up in the bowls club.
The first session on Thursday 7th October is the AGM followed by the showing of our work ‘The Pleasures of Life’ that was set two years ago! So hunt it out and dust it down or quickly paint a new one! ( I bet this has changed for most of us during this time!) Please do try to come along. It will be so lovely to see faces that we haven’t seen for so long. You will need to bring your own drink but biscuits will be provided.
You will be receiving a winter programme that we have, at this moment in time, only planned until Christmas. You will notice that we are trying to work to a safe environment. After a few of the sessions have run we will evaluate and plan the programme for the new year. We know it might not be to everyone’s liking but at this moment in time it seems best for safe distancing. ( Please believe me when I say that the committee have spent many hours deliberating over this!). We do hope eventually to get back to how it was before the pandemic arrived but just feel that we need to tread slowly and safely towards that! There will also be an attachment regarding COVID safety rules. There is a slip at the bottom that we would like you to reply to either by email, snail mail or phone. My telephone number is 01379 669073.
Our exhibition at The Bank finally came down on 30th Aug. We sold two pictures…… well done Diana and Frances.
The committee have decided to not hang another exhibition at The Bank at this time due to poor results at this and previous exhibitions. We are looking into two possibilities for next year and will let you know as and when we have made progress.
Fingers crossed for October.
Regards to all
Sally P
For previous messages in 2021 from our chairman, Sally P., please see under "messages from members"
Chair's Report 2019
As musician Elvis Costello once sang...... ‘It’s been a good year for the roses...’ and I think that we, The Eye Arts Guild, have also had a good one. We have a full membership and 3 on the waiting list. Two spaces became available and we have offered these to Elaine Phillips and John Walters. They will be attending a couple of sessions before they finally commit to the group or choose to go elsewhere.
We continue to flourish and evolve and are always looking for new inspiration and ideas that we like to try out. Some we take on board, some we don’t. But we’re prepared to have a go.
With this just said, we are going to try a new format for the winter sessions. We will be having one larger Still Life table, a smaller table for free choice and the usual end for figure drawing. The reason being that we have noticed that several people each week like to bring in their own work. This will lighten the workload for the person setting up.
Winter programme
There were 28 indoor sessions, the first one being the AGM and a show of work, then 5 themed mornings run by members, 16 model and still life sessions and 4 day long workshops. Unfortunately, two of these had to be cancelled due to problems from the tutors side. But not to be wasted, we made use of the days by everyone bringing their own work. In fact it was such a success that we are purposely bringing a free session into the programme. Finally, the chairman’s project - there was such a great show of work. Always a joy to see and find out how people got to their final piece.
Christmas Party
This Christmas there was a change to the format due to the playwright being indisposed. Instead of ‘The Panto’ we had a series of small sketches, poems, stories and songs which was warmly received along with the usual Quiz, Patchwork picture and a new challenge that went down a treat. Remember the reindeers, and of course not forgetting the lovely feast that you all helped to provide.
Coach trip
The changeover from winter to summer is marked by the coach trip. A natural break in the programme. The coach was not filled this year but those of us who went had a very enjoyable day and we were blessed with good weather...again. There is always plenty to do and new exhibitions to see along with the old favourites.
Summer programme
There were 22 summer sessions this year. We tried to make sure that more were local but we still like to include the sea, water and even a swimming pool! The average numbers for the summer was about 8-9. The first session at Gazes, was a bit on the cool side but in fact, what kept people away this year was the extreme heat! One particular session, at Angela’s, my parked car read a temperature of 48* at 3.30 and only went down to 36* as I drove along!
We do encourage car sharing on the further afield trips which allows more people to be able to attend.
Exhibitions
We still have our rolling exhibition at the Wetland Centre which is running well. We are quite the envy of some having this facility. So far we have sold 6 pictures there. It is a free exhibition space and just 15% commission for each picture sold.
We had an exhibition at The Bank in Eye over Christmas where we sold 6 pictures. We will be having another one this coming year.
There were two exhibitions at The Swan in Harleston. Although not a great success, we did sell two pictures. Sadly there was not a great deal of foot fall.
We have now stopped exhibiting at The Eye Surgery. This is by mutual agreement. Both parties feeling that it had reached the end of its course.
Thanks
I would like to thank ALL the committee members who work incredibly hard behind the scenes to make this club the success that it is. Organising the summer and winter programmes, the exhibitions, the web page, the Christmas party, the treasurer, the secretary and membership secretary, publicity and even for the tea and coffee provided each week. A big thank you to Jackie, who is stepping down from membership secretary after 10 years.
Thank you all for setting up fabulous still life and figure drawing scenes and for your input with suggestions and ideas that we try to incorporate into the programme. Also with help setting up, tidying away and all the little extras that do get noticed and are appreciated.
And finally thank you for all managing to put up with a year of me.....one down two to go!
Cheers
Sally P
We continue to flourish and evolve and are always looking for new inspiration and ideas that we like to try out. Some we take on board, some we don’t. But we’re prepared to have a go.
With this just said, we are going to try a new format for the winter sessions. We will be having one larger Still Life table, a smaller table for free choice and the usual end for figure drawing. The reason being that we have noticed that several people each week like to bring in their own work. This will lighten the workload for the person setting up.
Winter programme
There were 28 indoor sessions, the first one being the AGM and a show of work, then 5 themed mornings run by members, 16 model and still life sessions and 4 day long workshops. Unfortunately, two of these had to be cancelled due to problems from the tutors side. But not to be wasted, we made use of the days by everyone bringing their own work. In fact it was such a success that we are purposely bringing a free session into the programme. Finally, the chairman’s project - there was such a great show of work. Always a joy to see and find out how people got to their final piece.
Christmas Party
This Christmas there was a change to the format due to the playwright being indisposed. Instead of ‘The Panto’ we had a series of small sketches, poems, stories and songs which was warmly received along with the usual Quiz, Patchwork picture and a new challenge that went down a treat. Remember the reindeers, and of course not forgetting the lovely feast that you all helped to provide.
Coach trip
The changeover from winter to summer is marked by the coach trip. A natural break in the programme. The coach was not filled this year but those of us who went had a very enjoyable day and we were blessed with good weather...again. There is always plenty to do and new exhibitions to see along with the old favourites.
Summer programme
There were 22 summer sessions this year. We tried to make sure that more were local but we still like to include the sea, water and even a swimming pool! The average numbers for the summer was about 8-9. The first session at Gazes, was a bit on the cool side but in fact, what kept people away this year was the extreme heat! One particular session, at Angela’s, my parked car read a temperature of 48* at 3.30 and only went down to 36* as I drove along!
We do encourage car sharing on the further afield trips which allows more people to be able to attend.
Exhibitions
We still have our rolling exhibition at the Wetland Centre which is running well. We are quite the envy of some having this facility. So far we have sold 6 pictures there. It is a free exhibition space and just 15% commission for each picture sold.
We had an exhibition at The Bank in Eye over Christmas where we sold 6 pictures. We will be having another one this coming year.
There were two exhibitions at The Swan in Harleston. Although not a great success, we did sell two pictures. Sadly there was not a great deal of foot fall.
We have now stopped exhibiting at The Eye Surgery. This is by mutual agreement. Both parties feeling that it had reached the end of its course.
Thanks
I would like to thank ALL the committee members who work incredibly hard behind the scenes to make this club the success that it is. Organising the summer and winter programmes, the exhibitions, the web page, the Christmas party, the treasurer, the secretary and membership secretary, publicity and even for the tea and coffee provided each week. A big thank you to Jackie, who is stepping down from membership secretary after 10 years.
Thank you all for setting up fabulous still life and figure drawing scenes and for your input with suggestions and ideas that we try to incorporate into the programme. Also with help setting up, tidying away and all the little extras that do get noticed and are appreciated.
And finally thank you for all managing to put up with a year of me.....one down two to go!
Cheers
Sally P