March Newsletter
News, Exhibitions and Events...
🌼 March
March brings the unmistakable signs of spring: daffodils opening, hares darting across the fields, and birdsong returning to the mornings. Here on the small holding, the poultry have hit their stride, producing an abundance of eggs and the garden is full of new buds. The horses are still in their shaggy winter coats—mud included—but the improving weather means more time in the saddle and more chances to enjoy the changing season. Being outside right now feels like stepping into a slow unfurling of colour and life. Let these early signs of spring spark your imagination and encourage whatever creative work is calling you.
🌼February in Review - what we’ve been creating.
🌼March Project.
🌼Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings.
🌼Opportunities
🌼 February in Review.
As some of you know, we are a man down on the team here, so February has been a challenging time — big shout‑out to the French emergency and medical services, who have been excellent. There has been some disruption to classes, but creativity has flourished nonetheless. Here are some images of the work made in class during February.
We’ve taken inspiration from Norman Rockwell, John Blockley, and the Six Nations. Our Joan of Arc project inspired many of you to produce excellent work, replacing Joan with modern figures such as Greta Thunberg, Sinéad O’Connor, Dorothy Stang, and Paula Yates.
🌼 March Project: The Piper
The Piper.
Peter Sinfield (1943 – 2024)
If, like me, you grew up listening to prog‑rock supergroups such as King Crimson and ELP, you will already be familiar with the evocative lyrics of Peter Sinfield. I thought this gentle, dreamlike poem would make a wonderful starting point for an art project — something to lift us out of the dreary weather we’ve been enduring and into a world of imagination.
The Piper.
Beneath the tinsel twilight skies
A changeling child with cinnamon eyes
Wends his way to a secret glade
And plays his pipe in a serenadeIn and out of the spectral trees
Between the starlight burnished leaves
He strolls the speckled toadstool way
To join the elfin court in playThe brown owl hoots upon the oak
The foxes howl and the green frogs croak
As through the wood to a marvelous moon
He blows the notes of an elfin tuneTowards the moss‑weed bridge he goes
Where burble‑pebble water flows
Across the meadow up the hill
And on the wind I hear him still…(c) Peter Sinfield 1974.
You might choose to explore:
natural elements from the poem
take a line or phrase as a title/inspiration
illustrate the whole poem
another ‘piper’ .. the Pied Piper, Pan, the piper at the gates of dawn (Wind in the Willows/ Pink Floyd) etc
political or cultural figure leading their followers like a modern day Pied Piper
or any unexpected direction that emerges from your development work
Make good use of your sketchbooks for recording, experimenting, and developing your ideas.
🌼 Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings
The Youth of Fine Arts, Rennes and its Artists, 1794–1881 – Musée des Beaux Arts, Rennes (Nov 28 – Mar 29, 2026)
Micro-folie : micro-conférence : Frida Kahlo, portrait d’artiste - Les Carmélites, 4 Rue du Sénéchal Thuault, 56800 Ploërmel (March 7th, 15.00)
Royal Watercolour Society Open Exhibition. - Bankside Gallery, London
(27 February - 15 March)
L’Homme qui vole – Hervé Walbecq - Le Triangle, Cité de la danse
Boulevard de Yougoslavie, 35000 Rennes (until 26 juin 2026)
Do let me know if you attend any of these — I’d love to hear your thoughts.
🌼 Opportunities
The British Art Prize 2026 - Deadline September 7th, 2026.
The British Art Prize offers an unprecedented level of national exposure and the chance for artists to sell their artwork to a combined audience of almost a million art lovers and collectors. There is also a whopping prize fund which includes cash prizes, and shortlisted artists will be included in an exhibition at OXO Gallery from 21-25 October 2026.
🌼 March Begins..
As we step into March with its brighter skies and renewed energy, I hope you find small pockets of time to create, explore, and let your ideas wander. Whether you’re sketching in a quiet moment, experimenting with something new, or simply noticing the shift in the hedgerows, may this month bring you inspiration in many forms. I look forward to seeing what you make.
A+
Elizabeth
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