A Creative Writing Masterclass

Have you heard the news? We’ve just announced a brand new masterclass with local published author Daisy Waugh!

Daisy recently completed a 4-week creative writing class for us and… although we know she’s fabulous, perhaps it’s best if you hear what one of our students had to say:

“I was so inspired by Daisy’s session today, I’ve already been working away on my book. I’m loving it! SUSAN (my heroine) is really taking shape… Exciting times ahead.”

During this 4-hour masterclass, Daisy will use simple techniques acquired through years of practise to demonstrate how you can access your imagination and powers of observation to create fully fleshed-out characters from all walks of life.

This class will occur in Barnes on Saturday 28th April and we’ll be publishing a venue soon – stay tuned!

Click here to learn more and book!

If It’s Good Enough for Vincent…

Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings immediately spring to mind when you think of his vast body of work: canvasses thick with paint, running riot with colour. His work is exciting, tangible, and firmly in the present.

But van Gogh drew almost as much as he painted. As this article by Colta Ives and Susan Alyson Stein for the Metropolitan Museum of Art explain, the artist was largely self-taught, and he believed that drawing was the root of everything. As a beginning artist, he drew to master his work before attempting to paint the same subject. There were periods when he did nothing but draw, perhaps enjoying the casualness and the freedom it afforded him. And with paints and their associated materials being expensive, sometimes a poor struggling artist had to weigh up the price of bread vs. the price of painting.

In fact, saving money was the impetus for his chopping off some nearby reeds when he was living in Provence, sharpening the tips, and dipping them in ink. Using a naturally hollow reed which he could sharpen with his own penknife gave him the flexibility to be spontaneous and artistic, yet still save his pennies.

This fascinating medium helped him produce most of his greatest drawings during the two years he spent working in Provence. We now know it today as his most prodigious and productive period.

Barnes Class is delighted to bring you a class where you can learn for yourself how to draw with a reed pen. Taught by our popular local expert Michael Ajerman, you’ll be introduced to this medium over a 4-week course. Drawing from reproductions by van Gogh himself and working from a live model, you’ll be able to explore the human form and gain new skills in a fun and casual environment at the OSO Arts Centre.

All materials will be provided for you, and don’t worry – absolutely NO SKILLS are required. This class is for complete beginners and you’ll be led along gently, with plenty of bracing coffee for sustenance.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know. And remember, if it’s good enough for Vincent, it’s good enough for you!

 

 

Daisy’s Top Tips to Start Writing the Book

Have you been aching to write the Great Novel you know is within you but are stuck getting started? Don’t feel alone – it’s a common problem.

So common in fact, that we asked Daisy Waugh, author of 8 novels and the expert delivering our upcoming creative writing class, to share the Top Tips for Getting Started with Book Writing which inspired her to begin. Check out the quotations which best inspired Daisy and keep her going!

Still hesitating?  Here are five pieces of advice, from five great authors, to get you started:

  • “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”  E.B. White
  • “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” Saul Bellow
  • “There’s no such thing as a writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write.” Terry Pratchett
  • “The first draft of everything is shit.” Ernest Hemingway
  • “The scariest moment is just before you start.” Stephen King

So … the worst bit’s already almost over… it’s time to WRITE THE DAMN BOOK!

Now that you’re fired up to start, don’t let anything hold you back. Book onto Daisy’s class beginning 19th January. We look forward to reading your work!

Rediscover Mindfulness in Your Life

To help better understand the benefits of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, we sat down with Barnes Class teacher, longtime yoga instructor and mindfulness coach Ali Gilling to learn more about her latest class.

Q. What is the connection between yoga and MBSR?

Having taught yoga and meditation for about 20 years, I wanted to give my students a better understanding of meditation, and arm them with some simple tools to help them learn to relax.

Q. What was your certification process like?

I did an 8-week Mindfulness course in 2000 in Oxford shortly after returning from India, where I completed my yoga teacher training course. I began to introduce some of these mindfulness practices into my yoga teaching through time.

Q. What made you decide recently to add MBSR to your offerings?

Over the last few years, I realised that absolutely everyone can benefit from learning these simple techniques to help manage stress, not just within the yoga classes or for people who regularly practice yoga. That’s why I decided to add on the 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme (MBSR).

Q. Tell about some of the benefits of MBSR.

This course can be life-changing and there has been a lot of research about mindfulness in students after undertaking the program. Reports have shown significant changes in brain pattern, behaviour and an overall positive affect on quality of life.

Q. What do you hope students take away from your class, or understand from your taster course?

I hope students learn how to manage stress better, which will ultimately leads to a happier and healthier life. I absolutely love teaching MBSR.

Sign up for Ali’s 8-week MBSR course beginning in October, or join us for a one-time taster class in September to see if MBSR is right for you.

 

Hear what some of Ali’s MBSR Autumn 2016 students had to say about the course:

“I went to Ali’s 6-week Introduction to Mindfulness course and found it so useful! I did not hesitate one moment to join the 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course. I think it was one of the best decisions I have made for a long time.”

“The tools that Ali teaches are, for me, life changing. I now have the capability to realise when my thoughts are running away, or when I am becoming anxious or stressed and bring myself back to a relaxed and calm state. It has enabled me to deal with any day-to-day problems head on, in a highly effective and relaxed way. This now happens so automatically, I wonder how I managed to become so stressed in the past.”

“The meditations and breathing exercises that Ali takes us through are so practical and helpful and I use them often during the day, without the need to take precious time out. My sleep is also much improved. In truth, my whole outlook in life is so much more positive and life has definitely improved.”

“I feel blessed to have these tools at my disposal and cannot recommend Ali and the MBSR course highly enough. Ali’s teaching style is wonderful and she herself is a very kind and approachable person. On top of that I feel so blessed to have made some wonderful friends on the course, we are in touch regularly and inspire and cheer each other along.”

 

Barnes Class Celebrates 2-year Anniversary with Brand New Classes Chosen by Student Vote

1 May 2017 – Local business Barnes Class has announced new classes to be offered in the spring, just in time for their second anniversary. The female-led team is celebrating two years of success for the startup program in May, which offers leisure and learning classes across subjects, all taught by local Barnes experts. From cookery to meditational yoga, they look forward to many more exciting, inventive, and engaging courses to come.

Throughout the year, Barnes Class has offered a myriad of choice designed to fit around the busy schedules of Barnes families as well as appeal to our more mature residents interested in learning a new skill. To that end, local artist Michael Ajerman returned with a series of his best-selling drawing classes, including an observational drawing course which just wrapped up this March. Ajerman utilised his years of experience as an artist alongside the exciting art scene in London to structure classes around exhibits or artists he admires. In May, he’ll return with a new offering of training students to perfect the technique of drawing faces, a tricky subject indeed.

A Barnes local and yoga teacher of over 20 years, Ali Gilling has continued to offer dynamic programming for those looking to keep fit and re-center. This year, in addition with her Mindful Yoga class which has become a student favourite, Gilling developed new courses like Yoga for Runners, an excellent cross-training tool, and an all new 8-week program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. This exciting new offering is taking place now through the month of May, and is designed to help students become more aware of the unhelpful thought patterns that can trigger and perpetuate stress.

Many new classes have joined the Barnes Class roster, in addition to many returning familiar faces. Flora’s Kitchen has again partnered with Barnes Class to offer tailored cooking workshops for beginners, teens, and even an all-men class. Social media expert Kathy Ennis brought her expertise to small businesses with a Social Media Marketing class, focused on bringing branding, networking, and content creation to companies, clubs and organisations. She returns in May with two new masterclasses, an introduction to both WordPress and managing a Facebook business page. A brand new Italian immersion class this winter offered students the chance to cook authentic meals while practicing their Italian language skills.

As part of a wider initiative to expand their timetable into new sectors and areas of expertise, Barnes Class polled former students to gain their valuable input into future classes and events. Although the new classes are yet to be formally announced, the team at Barnes Class are thrilled with the responses and fresh ideas and are investigating future classes in floristry, Spanish language and cookery, silk scarf painting, and even cocktail-making.

The Barnes Class team is passionate about engaging the local community with classes chosen by you. The polls are still open—let the team know what excites your passion for learning simply by clicking the link and sharing your feedback here.

Be sure to follow Barnes Class on Facebook for updates on new courses, fun local opportunities, announcements, and more.

About Barnes Class

Barnes Class organises fun and interesting classes run by local experts at great local venues.

People Say…

“I absolutely love my Barnes Class Drawing classes. They are my escape from the daily chores… I can totally recommend them” – Carina Vergopoulos, Chiswick

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