Hope Art meets the first Saturday in the month at 10.30am to 12.30. If you are interested in joining the group please contact Mike.
Hope Art provides an opportunity for participants to develop their creativity by learning to draw and paint. Each session usually includes some teaching on an art topic/technique or a drawing or painting project plus a coffee break with a short talk that examines a work of art in the light of biblical teaching. We believe that God takes delight in aesthetics as can be seen from the biblical accounts of the design and build of the Tabernacle and later the Temple. The Bible describes how God took great care to describe each element, its colour, material and how the crafts people who made each aspect of the Tabernacle were ‘given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary … to do the work just as the LORD has commanded.’ (Exodus 36:1). The Bible also describes other examples of aesthetics, for example, the creation of the world with all its complexity, intricacy and beauty and how it was all ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31). So clearly the Bible is relevant to creativity, to design and to art and indeed, to all our lives that we may hear the gospel and be saved.
The short talk during each session of Hope Art introduces the group to works of art they may not be familiar with and discusses aspects of the work that are related to a biblical context and through that the gospel. Over the years many paintings have been examined but also sculptors, etchings, linoprints, numismatic art and even music.
Each session takes place in the main hall of our chapel which for Saturday morning is turned into an art studio. Sometimes the projects take longer than a single session and run over into the next month. Occasionally we meet outside in a park and find our subjects there.
For each session you will need some basic materials such as some sheets of A3 drawing paper (3–4); some pencils (2B, B, HB); a sharpener, an eraser, watercolour or acrylic paint, brushes and watercolour paper may also be required; other materials will be needed depending on the session. Some materials (not paint) will be available to purchase if you cannot bring your own. The monthly church newsletter gives an idea of what we will be doing and what you need to bring.
Any queries, please contact Mike: phone (07798 907981) or email (mike@mikefryer.co.uk).
See below for some of our work and some of us at work!