Lovely September at Quattro Archi
SEPTEMBER a lovely month
September Newsletter from Quattro Archi Art Centre, Barga.
September, a lovely month. It's still summer but things somehow feel a little more tranquill. Though, as I write this, Barga is thronged with people enjoying the Scottish weekend. Many will know that Barga is 'The Most Scottish Town in Italy', and every year there is a very well organised and very popular weekend of Scottish events. While the Ceilidh in the car park is great fun, I think the sight and sound of the Skye Youth Pipe Band and Drums marching through the medieval streets of an Italian hill town is an unforgettable experience. I'm not sure whether I can hear them in the distance now or if 'Scotland the Brave' is just ringing in my ears! September is also the time to plan for next year and I am pleased to say that all nine retreats and workshops at Quattro Archi are now available for booking. More info below or check out our website. Don't be tempted by those insular online courses. Get to together with like minded people in Italy and have creative fun! Read on for more 😀
A Fantastic Workshop to Round off the Season at Quattro Archi
Painting with other artists is such fun and our painting retreat this week was no exception. Our group of six all came with their own styles but embraced the range of techniques covered during the week. With the option to join in the exercises or just do your own thing it was a very flexible event. Some people particularly liked the gouache-ink-wash while others took to the tetrapak. Certainly the oil bars produced the most textural results. And it all culminated in an excellent end-of-course pop up exhibition in the Quattro Archi gallery. A good attendance from the local community was a bonus..
Our 2027 Workshop and Retreat Schedule is Now Open
Every year we get asked to issue are schedule earlier because people like to book things and get their plans in place early. So we're happy to be able to offer the chance to book all our 2027 courses now. They start in May and run through to the middle of September. We take a break in the middle of the summer when it can be a little warm, though I understand the El Nino weather effect that made this year so hot fades away in February next year. In 2027 we'd particularly like to welcome for the first time Ade Adesina who is a very well established printmaker. You may possibly have seen pictures of hime recently showning Queen Camilla around the RSA exhibition in Edinburgh. Ade will be running a printmaking course and doing a mini residency, so I have every expectation that Barga will feature in his future work. We're also delighted to see Carole Waller and Michael Waight return to run their popular silk dying and drypoint courses. And a final mention to Dan and Arjen who will be running a storytelling workshop. This is a first for Quattro Archi but I understand these super-talented storytellers will help the participants create and perform stories while they're in Barga. The schedule looks like this: Colour-into-cloth....silk scarves with Carole Waller. 26 May-1 June 2027 Botanical Printing....natural dyes and lots of leaves with Jo Horswill. 3-13 June & 14-21 June 2027 Printing with Ade Adesina.....lino cuts with dremel tools. 22-28 June 2027 Folktale, Fact & Fiction....foktale fantasies with Scottish and Netherlands story tellers Dan and Arjen. 7-13 July 2027 Drypoint Masterclass.....modern version of a traditional method....great results...with Michael Waight. 30 August-5 September 2027 Lino & Jazz....and Jane....lino cut course while the famous Barga Jazz festival is on.....22-28 August 2027 Painting Retreat with Jane Richardson...painting with other artists.....do your own thing or try the optional tuition in various techniques. 6-12 September. Samson Art.....a great bunch....returning to Barga again. 14-19 September.
Uses for a Tea Towel
We created Quattro Archi tea towels a year ago showing a vibrant orange image of the Duomo in Barga. They have been popular and the last one was snapped up last week. But it was bought by a highly proficient seamstress who returned the next day wearing the tea towel as part of a jacket she had made the previous evening. It looked fantastic. Wonderful needlework. Well done Juliet. 26 May - 1 June 2027
Gallery Sales!
We sell cards, lovely scarves, jewellery, tea towels, colouring books and pictures from our exhibitions. But we don't often sell work from our one hour popup end of workshop shows. So it was a welcome surprise when Diane was approached by a member of the public attending the workshop show to buy one of her paintings, Well done. AND....one of the other students, Juliet, looks like she will be doing a commission for a local wedding when Quattro Archi was approached for advice.
New Scarves
Inspired by the wonderful scarves created on Carole Waller's courses at Quattro Archi, we decided to apply some of our own artwork to some lovely cashmere/modal blend fabric. One is a kaleidoscope view over Barga to the Apuan mountains, one is a terrace view and the third a collage of Barga church paintings. Wonderful light flowing fabric and vibrant images. They look great. Now available in the gallery.
Quattro Archi Open Day
It was great to open our doors to the local community and let people have a go at being creative themselves. It was a busy day of printmaking, soap making and felting. Lovely results. All the taster workshops were free and we'd like to offer a big thankyou to the tutors.....Monica, Bailey and Jane
Mother and Son
It was a pleasure to welcome Stephne and Steve to the Quattro Archi studio last week. They came as a mum-and-son couple to spend a day together being creative. They did not have experience with printmaking but Jane took them through the whole process. The chat was great and the end results beautiful. They both did lino releif prints and Steve even pushed the boundaries with a two colour reduction print. Well done Steve
What a Fantastic Year
2026.....the year of the Fire Horse...was always billed as being a BIG one. Heatwaves and wars aside, we had a great year at Quattro Archi, welcoming creative guests from Australia, USA, England, Scotland, Norway, Switzerland, India, Ireland, Germany and Canada.
Quattro Achi
Quattro Archi is a studio, a gallery, a project, a destination, a home. We aim to provide art courses and opportunities without a drive for profit....we do it for fun. This is our fifth year of offering free artist residencies, exhibitions and vacation art courses. We are proud to have inspired half a dozen artists to develop a portfolio of work based on Barga. Around 400 people have stayed with us for nearly a week and most of those people had never heard of Barga before, so it seems we are helping to put Barga on the map as an art destination. It's satisfying to see the group chat from four years ago is still alive. We are comfortable, well kitted out, friendly and we don't mind if you spill paint on the floor! Join us and find out for yourself. The 2027 schedule is open for booking on our website.
Vicolo del Duomo, Barga, Lucca Queens Road, Aberdeen
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