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.”

 

Facing Your Fears of Drawing Faces

Faces are notoriously difficult to draw. Its many features contain hundreds of tiny details which are very difficult to replicate when putting pencil to paper. Researchers believe that we always position the eyes in the wrong place because round shapes are hard to draw.

A 2012 paper published by University College London believes that practise makes perfect.

To that end, Barnes Class is delighted to welcome back local artist Michael Ajerman, who will help you face your fears of drawing faces. Students will work from a photograph of a family member or other source to perfect technique, and then progress to trying out their new skills by drawing from a live model.

The class will be held at the beautiful first floor room of The Bull’s Head and will run 2nd-23rd May, 9.30-12.30pm.

Book now!

About Barnes Class

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

People Say…

“All in all a pretty perfect way to spend a Friday morning in Barnes – looking forward to trying out some other classes! ” – Sally Stephens, Barnes

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