5 of the Best Virtual Art Clubs
This week’s guest post is from Helena Tyce sharing the best Virtual Art Clubs to get involved in during Lockdown. Helena Tyce is an artist who runs a studio in Sneinton Market in Nottingham.
Helena creates beautiful art herself including hand drawn cards, prints and stationery. Below Helena shares her best virtual art clubs that you can get involved in online during lockdown, including one she is running herself.
The current Coronavirus situation means that most of us are pretty much housebound. Some of us may have free time on our hands as a result. We may be finding the anxiety a little too overwhelming, might be looking for a new pass time or skill to learn.
Luckily there are plenty of people who have turned their hand to online classes and activities. So why not try a little creativity during lock down with a virtual art club?
5 of the Best Virtual Art Clubs
1. Tyce’s Virtual Art Club
I decided to start a virtual art club when I had to shut my gift shop back in mid March. Feeling the need to do something to help parents provide much needed structure for the kids while the schools were closed I devised a programme of art classes.
Every week a new topic is covered, a winner picked and at the end I will host an exhibition at my studio and shop to celebrate the end of lockdown.
The club have recently created a colourful poster as a joint thank you to NHS Staff and key-workers and is working wonders for anxiety levels!
The virtual art club is open to all and you can join via our Facebook page and you can find out more on the website.
2. Draw with Ed Vere
Ed Vere is the BookTrust’s official illustrator so he knows a thing or two about drawing. He’s also author to several brilliant children’s books so his series focuses around drawing the characters from these.
As a bonus he’ll often read from the books too and does a brilliant job of narrating and bringing his characters to life. Below is my little boy’s rendering of Ed’s dinosaur.
Ed Vere’s videos are more suited to younger children and you can watch his tutorials on YouTube. See an example of Ed’s Virtual Art Club below.
3. Grayson’s Art Club
Grayson Perry, one of Britain’s leading artists, hosts an art club on Channel 4 in the hope of “unleashing our collective creativity”.
The aim is to document this historic time through art. It is a six part series and you can upload your creative endeavours online.
4. Draw from a Distance – Wonderfall
Sarah Beth Morgan is posting a series of promts via Instagram to encourage social distancing and manage anxiety.
With prompts such as “benefits of lockdown” and “Quarantine cuisine” Beth’s art club is relaxed and upbeat.
You can join in with Sarah’s virtual art club on her instagram
5. Paint with Paak
Ok so this guy has to have a place in the best virtual art clubs just for being one of the most brilliant singer, rapper and multi-instrumentalists alive!.
Paak has set up an art club with downloadable colour-ins via his Instagram. Probably the coolest art club to be in. Fo shiz.
There are lots of safe, online, fun activities and groups to get involved in during lockdown. Let us know what you’ve found in the comments and stay safe.
Thanks Helen for suggestions for the best virtual art clubs around, maybe I will give some a go myself.
Art is such a great distractor and healer- I hope it helps lots of us through this time 🙂
Hi Helena,
Yes to art =healing! My cousin, USA Navy captain’s wife on assignment in Italy, was growing more and more anxious during the pandemic’s lockdown. She lives in a apartment with a young teen and a 9 year old and she homeschools. She asked me to teach art virtually to her, her children and invited my sister and her sisters in law and mine. I have taught art to them, moms and nieces, from Italy, Puerto Rico and NY state and it has been a wonderful time together! Not only do we chat, laugh, cry and connect, but I have learned much more as an artist! It has been such a great experience that I began teaching another art class virtually to my close friends and children living in Indiana, Mexico and Minnessota. I hope to continue these online classes. They are so fulfilling in so many ways!