One day soon.. the door will open to your own Beach Hut. Our hut. It will be a space to feel at home, to create, to meet other people of similar interests and to relax over coffee and art. Together we can make it happen. It has been happening in our classes for so long, sharing our unique passions and enabling people to step into their best creative selves. We are going to create a purpose built space to house our equipment and resources and to do some workshops here in St. Abbs, as well as making a more suitable space for a disabled enabler!

Imagine a space that welcomes you , that you feel you can be yourself in, regardless of skill or history, regardless of experience or confidence and regardless of who or what you already know…

My journey began with that precious combination of desires; to see other people reach their potential, to enjoy  learning through teaching and being inspired all day every day!! It gathered momentum as a teacher, building on skills, resilience, personal obstacles and time, which enabled me to gain wisdom and insight into other folk’s stories and in turn help in a broader creative context. I couldn’t teach as a teacher after 18 years, because my legs stopped working as they should, but I refused to give up, and the seeds of ideas  borne through the years, nurtured in sketchbooks and stumbling on, began to slowly take shape. (Separate posts will give you a more fluid story here,)  but suffice to say, the Beach Hut has existed for ever, since I was a little girl, in huts of all shapes, sizes, realms and guises.

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We all have a wee creative tale, we all remember our art teacher, we all know that we can or can’t draw. Most of us have an inkling that there might be a little thing we are good at making, but lack the confidence or knowledge to push it further. Or we maybe can’t afford or find all the tools and materials needed, or the creative space to feel inspired. But a part of us might like playing with different materials, experimenting, learning new skills, thinking in a colourful way, showing the world a little part of us that we haven’t done before, using our hands, and our hearts and our button boxes.

Liz at The beach Hut is the stepping stone to help start that scary journey. Art classes can be daunting. The Art World is intimidating and complex, hard to imagine where the ordinary person can slot in and find their voice. We are here to break your preconceptions a little , enable you to see how little it matters where we fit in, or what we’ve learnt before or think we know. To give us a freedom to play. To meet other people who have been hiding too.

There is a more important aspect of why we are here. Our classes, wherever they are, if we are two, or twenty, in a church hall or in the living room, or virtually side by side through the screen on a laptop,  no matter how young or old you are, no matter whether you never paint or draw, or have experience in art, none of that matters. The door is open to all. We all help each other. You are most welcome. x

Whether its splashing paint on to firework pictures with sponge circles at 102, using your fingers to create a swirly night sky with glitter at 4, monster making key-rings with big button eyes, creating collage inspiration boards, day of the dead felt shopping bags …..We never know where the journey will lead next.. And what happens in the room is the magic stuff, not just the outcome. Our spaces are relaxed, friendly, easy and crammed full of inspiring ideas and materials. Everyone is welcome, and you can do whatever you are able to do. Bring your ideas and your own story, and we’ll supply the magic xx

“LIZ CLASSES HUG YOU LIKE A WELL WORN JACKET STUFFED WITH POCKETS FULL OF SWEETIES!”