May schedule
Art, books and live meet-ups. Oh my!
Hello! I am slightly late posting this - many apologies. My husband has just returned from a two-week work trip, swiftly followed by a bank holiday AND I have just started my marking commitment for this trimester on the MA I teach part-time. So it’s all been a bit tosy-turvy somehow.
So I shall get efficiently on with this month’s dates for your calendar…
These are all the dates, times and information for my live meet-ups this month - May 2025. Please note, the following dates have shifted around slightly: due to the Bank Holidays and half term.
Art Club is now fortnightly (hooray!) and the first date, which I normally do on a Tuesday is on Wednesday (tomorrow, Wednesday 8th May at the time of posting) because of the UK Bank Holiday yesterday, which means I am running a day late this week.
I have moved Picture Book Club to the third week of May, because the last week is a UK Half-Term holiday, AND it will be on a Thursday, so I’m not hosting two live events in one week (see Art Club, below!)
Read on for the full schedule…
Join the club!! Art Club and Picture Book Club are for paid subscribers. I really appreciate every subscription and see it as a little affirmation that I am on the right track. Read all about my history here. All subs help me to continue making illustrated books, and creating posts here on Substack. And as well as supporting me, you get benefits too. What?! Yes, you heard me! You get access to my big back catalogue of paid posts, and access to my monthly Zoom sessions: Art Club and Picture Book Club. And if you can’t attend live, all sessions are recorded and posted afterwards.
Upcoming Dates:
MAY 2025
These are free, playful and fun art sessions. Each month I choose a theme or material I want to play around with and you can either join in, or go off-piste, and do your own thing. I might spend a session playing with wet textures, playing around with how things bleed, mix together and blend. Other times I might grab a handful of random materials and play around with those together. All previous Art Play Dates are available as replays, and each new session adds to the back catalogue to watch and play along with.
ATTENTION! I am trialing making these every two weeks! Hooray! I’m excited to make more art together, more frequently!
Dates:
May Art Club 1: Wednesday 7th May. 12.30-1.30pm GMT
May Art Club 2: Tuesday 20th May 12.30-1.30pm GMT
Theme:
May Art Club 1: Let’s do some self-portraits for this one. Grab a mirror and put on some lipstick! I’ll start with the usual warm-up and will try and think of some exercises to help us get in the groove!
May Art Club 2: I bought a new ceramic figurine in York last weekend! My son and I think we can spot a bunny and a dog in there. What can you see?
Subscribed
One of my favourite things about the MA was when we looked at picture books together and analysed them, so I am thrilled to run this on my Substack. I announce the book at the beginning of the month and then we have a live Zoom together and chat all about it! It is available as a replay afterwards for those who can't make it.
Date:
Thursday May 22nd 8-9pm
Book Choice:
I can’t believe I’ve been running Picture Book Club for so long, and I’ve not done a Beatrice Alemagna book before! I am rectifying that this month with this pick On a Magical Do-Nothing Day.
Get the books from friends of Gather, Filter, Make Helen Hancocks at her bookshop Shelf Editions or Katie Clapham at her bookshopStorytellers Inc.and help support Indies!
Here are the links and question prompts for Picture Book Club for paid subscribers:
Join the club!! Art Club and Picture Book Club are for paid subscribers. And as well as supporting me, you get benefits too. A ccess to my big back catalogue of paid posts, and access to my monthly Zoom sessions: Art Club and Picture Book Club. And if you can’t attend live, all sessions are recorded and posted afterwards.