Growing with Summer

Here is my wonderful class of Summer 15 who attended my 'Grow Your Own Art' workshop. We started the day grounding ourselves ready to grow our creativity and express what summer and growth means to each of us. I shared tutorials on papers, glues, symbolic art and how and where I get my inspiration. Each attendee created a unique, vibrant work of art that spoke of their own creative journey and their own experiences of summertime. It was a pleasure to see all the work at the end of the day!

I will be running the 'Grow Your Own Art' workshop again on the 17th October in Nottingham and also a new workshop 'Shine like the Sun' in Long Eaton on the 10th of October. You can find all the details on my website.

Beauty-full

It has been a beautiful summer's day here. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to slip off my shoes and sit on the grass and draw the trees. They each have their essence those trees. Some have leaves that are ordered. Some are cluttered. Others have their branches open wide, or dipping rhythmically to the floor. I looked for shape and pattern. I looked. I listened. I drew.

This is me

I am a mixed media artist inspired by the seasons. I find myself in nature.

I run holistic creative workshops to share my processes and offer inspiration for a creative life.

I make painted and collaged art that reflects on how good it is to be alive.

Inspired by eclectic pattern and colour. Blown away by the miracles of life. Made from stardust.

I journal to find my inner voice and I sketch to capture moments of connection to nature.

You can follow my journey on my blog, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Find ways to connect and my prints, products and workshops at www.helenhallows.com

Thanks for joining me. It means everything to have you here!

Grow Your Own Art

I've a whole new program of workshops planned for 2015, the first of which is on Saturday 27th June  and is called 'Grow Your Own Art'. It is the first of a year of workshops connected to the seasons. My work is inspired by the seasons and I feel a strong connection to the seasons. Last year I became disconnected. I suffered a period of creative block. As I gained success with selling my work I had less time for the areas of life that connect me to my soul, for gardening, for walking in nature. There was a lot of doing and not a lot of being. The journey back to myself has seen me falling in love with all those activities that I had forgotten about, or prevented myself from pursuing in the busyness of life. So I have fallen in love again with yoga, with pursuing my spirituality. I have taken the time to reconnect with nature, to embrace it, seek out the abundance of life. And oh, that nourishment has been good for me! As I have filled up on inspiration there has been a gentle sing song from within as new ideas sing forth. I'm currently translating that creative song into new work to show later in the year.

I have discovered that creativity cannot be lived in a 9-5 format. It can't be a 'job' with a clock in and out time. It is a calling from the soul. And answering your soul when you are juggling life can be hard.  In my new workshops I want to share my process for connecting to yourself and your creativity. I want to share my techniques and help you nurture your own visual language and confidence on your creative journey.

The first of these workshops will be inspired by growth. 'Grow Your Own Art' is about growing your creative confidence and expressing that in a collage that is an affirmation of life. You'll create a collaged artwork inspired by summer and the fervent energy of nature.

This workshop is held in Long Eaton, just off junction 25 of the M1. Easily accessible by train or bus. More information on my workshop programme for 2015 is here.

Creative nourishment - May

I treated myself to two days in London so I could find nourishment for the ideas in my head. As spring has advanced, the murmurings of my winter mind are starting to find a voice. At the forefront of these ideas are a wish to embrace colour. With that is a return to a love of folk art and a symbolic expression of the soul. My soul.

I have found my way back in to nature, planting my garden and meandering in the woods. My work has often included trees and it is to trees I am returning for inspiration. At the weekend I was fortunate to visit the Weleda gardens. It was a beautiful fresh spring day and I could feel the sap rising in the trees there, and in myself. It is that connection between us and the trees, the 'tree of life' that is a symbol of many cultures, that I am exploring in my new work.

So, with those ideas in my mind I headed to the Victoria & Albert Museum to explore their collection. I've been visiting the museum since childhood and there is magic in those rooms of beautifully crafted artefacts.

I spent hours drawing from the collections, recording decorative details and symbols of trees and growth and shared a connection with those makers who had drawn from our shared symbolic language. 

Whilst there I had the opportunity to attend the Alexander McQueen retrospective. Not usually drawn to fashion couture, this exhibition blew me away. The creation of the exquisite and the totality of McQueens creative vision was hugely inspiring. It was beautifully curated, sensory exhibition. What I take from the exhibition is to honour the urge to create and to nurture my creativity and creative voice.

So back in the studio this week, I'm working on vision boards and bringing together the threads of ideas so I can start some new work.

If you would like to share a day with me creating with symbols to represent the universal themes of growth and life, I'm running a 'Grow your own art' workshop on Saturday 27th June in Long Eaton near Nottingham. It will be about finding ways to move forward on your creative journey and you will create your own work of art that symbolises growth. I'm taking bookings now. 

Creative nourishment - April

I took myself off to Matlock Bath in Derbyshire on Monday. In the company of a good friend we enjoyed walking around the town, which nestles into the hillside above the parade of shops of this Victorian Spa town. The warmth of the sun meant we were able to walk slowly (and much uphill walking meant we had to!) around the streets of the town. There were lovely views across the valley and down onto the river, looking over roof tops and tumbling greenery.

A couple of miles up the road in Matlock, we stumbled on a wonderful cafe patisserie, Cool River. Sat in the sun we enjoyed a wonderful lunch. The patisserie are baked on the premises and well worth  indulging in!

The purpose of the day was to seek out some inspiration in the antique shops that line the main road through the town. The Vintage Rooms is a favourite. A good rummage was had. I was inspired by the patina, the wearing away of layers of paint. And the colours of the day were definitely spring green, pillar box red and bright sky blue.

Getting ready

Ive been getting ready for Spring. More than ever I feel a connection to the seasons and through the Winter felt obliged to hibernate! It's been a time of reflection. I've been taking stock of who I am and where I want to be and as these dreams grow with the energy of Spring, I look forward to sharing them.

I am delighted to have had my work included in a watercolour technique book, 'Just Add Watercolour" by Helen Birch. You can have a preview here (I'm at 1min 04 seconds!): 

The image featured 'A Slow Spring' is available to buy as a print in my shop:

A Slow Spring

I'm now on Instagram if you'd like to keep up to date with how I'm seeing the world!