A couple of months ago, there was a knock on the door which lead to us smiling like Cheshire Cats for the rest of the day… week… actually, we’re still smiling from ear to ear today!
The previous owner of the property that is now Studio Faire had failed to obtain planning permission for three building plots in the land behind our garden and so, decided to offer us first refusal on it.
To cut a long story short (which you can read here), this land is now ours and our garden has doubled in size to a wapping 4,661m² (1.15 acres or 0.5 hectares)!
Actually, Studio Faire is growing in many ways. During our first year we hosted 16 creative residencies and this year we have already hosted 18 and it’s only July! Find out who they are and what they got up to.
We are almost completely booked up for 2019 and already accepting applications for 2020, so if you are thinking of coming for a residency yourself you’d better start planning your trip now to ensure we can accommodate you on the dates you desire.
Our last remaining dates for 2019 are:
Artists (The ‘Garage’ Studio)
29 August – 4 September
19 September – 2 October
31 October – 13 November
Writers, Designers, Photographers…
29 August – 18 September (The Usher Hall)
19 September – 2 October (The ‘Living Room’ studio)
31 October – 13 November (The Usher Hall)
Our Photography courses are growing in popularity also and have varied from week long residential courses with either one or four days tuition plus time to hone skills in a supportive environment, to single day courses. Colin has even done a 2 hour course via Skype which went so well the student returned for further tuition. Find out more about our Photography courses.
Renovations have been extremely slow this year due to the flourishing of Studio Faire, plus our additional work as web designers, estate agency photographers, gardeners and English teachers (Colin has become a T.E.F.L. certified tutor) though we did manage to strip the paper off the walls and ceiling (!), fill all the cracks and get the walls primed on our Living Room studio, ready for paint to hit it in the winter months when things calm down a little.
We have been absolutely blown away by the feedback we have been sent by our wonderful alumni! It’s hard to choose the best one to share with you but, as this one is the most recent and has been thoughtfully and creatively written, we’d like to share it with you. Find loads more testimonials here.
Carlton Cuse writes: The creative process is not like a situation where you get struck by a single lightning bolt. You have ongoing discoveries, and there’s ongoing creative revelations. Yes, it’s really helpful to be marching toward a specific destination, but, along the way, you must allow yourself room for your ideas to blossom, take root, and grow.
Studio Faire was my garden for the early summer. The house is a sanctuary of peace and calm. The experience of having the quiet lovely town of Nerác unfold and the daily walks along the moss green river became the norm. The process of unwinding…literally unfurling the layers of daily life in the unfamiliar allows for ideas to enter. There is nothing else quite like it.
Colin and Julia are generous, humorous and kind. They did whatever they could to aid to the blossoming, rooting and growing. It goes far beyond providing a room to sleep and work in. The exchanging of ideas and personal histories, storytelling and music…we had it all. And I loved learning about the disparate lives of the other residents as they too made their own discoveries. One could be private in the studio working in one’s personal rhythm, yet there was also opportunity to chat and come to understand what it was to live and work in this very sweet part of the world.
It is opportunities like these, and the people who provide them, that we should be grateful for in the quest for creative revelations. And I very much am.
Would you like to be one of our residents?
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