May 2010 e-bulletin

Welcome to May at Play Resource! The shop is embracing the new season with vibrant fun displays of stock and ideas focused on the themes How Does Your Garden Grow, Sunshine & Showers and Wildlife & Nature to welcome Spring. Plus new summer stock is arriving in too.

Browse the latest Calendar of Events to see the highlights from May to August. Plus don’t miss the Puppet Making Master Classes running in partnership with the Beat Initiative, they have added two extra dates due to popular demand.  Plus don't miss the two new exhibitions in the Ideas Gallery this month.

Please note: closing dates for Bank Holiday on Monday 31 May.

Art & Play Shop

Spring has sprung! To welcome the new season the shop team has been busy creating a range of ideas for activities to keep groups busy focusing on the themes How Does Your Garden Grow, Sunshine & Showers and Wildlife & Nature. We have a fantastic range of products just browse the Seasonal Price List to plan your spring shopping lists.

Plus there are a range of complementary Quick Ideas from the shop to match the new seasonal displays. Visit www.playresource.org and search by Spring to take inspiration for group activities from these ideas… easy!

With Summer stock arriving in – plan ahead and stock up now! Use the shop as a source of creativity with our experienced friendly staff on hand to answer queries or give advice about products.

Tempted to check out our full range of products…? Then visit the new website. It is easy to see at a glance a colourful overview of all that is on offer in the shop, and remember that the shop is not-for-profit, which enables us to pass on real savings on products to our members, so our prices tend to be between 10% to 50% cheaper than most retailers.

To make shopping even easier download the full Shop Price List for all the products available. The format is designed to make it easy to plan your shopping and estimate costs to fit your budget.

Scrap Store

Just in

• Foam tubing…giant grey insulation for pipes!
• Yellow wax paper
• Desks
• Plastic Stacking Chairs
• Green plastic bottle tops
• Suit material
• Roller blind material….great for creating back drops & banners, just fabric paint it!
• Polystyrene sheets, huge 1m x 2m
• Black plastic tubs, yoghurt pot sized!
• Red card, in folds

Back in

• Billboard posters

Plus all the usual scrap favourites! See the full Scrap Store Materials List for all that’s on offer. If there is something in particular you are looking for but can’t see it – just ask one of the Warehouse Team who are happy to help.

Creative Paths Arts Programme

Embark on Creative Paths… it is a journey of discovery between the participants! Children and young people, teachers, youth workers, and artists all collaborate on the arts project to determine a successful outcome. The arts programme offered by Play Resource is flexible and easy to access either by applying for an Arts Outreach Project for your group or arrange some Arts Training for your staff and volunteers. You simply have to be a member of Play Resource, working with children & young people aged 3yrs – 25 yrs.

The Beat Carnival has joined with the Play Resource to offer exciting Puppet Making Master Classes . These sessions are suited to community and youth leaders working with groups to participate in Belfast City Carnival and in their own local festivals. It also offers practicing artists a great training and development opportunity. Due to popular demand, several extra dates have been added so if you still wish to join the May classes contact Eileen on 028 9043 4767.

Now you can browse the complete range of Ideas & Inspiration on the website. Search and download for free from a selection of over 100 Craft Sheets and Quick Ideas. Add it to your ‘favourite’s today.

Membership News

This month see 2 new exhibitions featured in the Ideas Gallery. Use them to collect Ideas & Inspiration for your own art projects!

We welcome the latest showcase of work from students on the BMC Community Arts & Crafts (OCN Level 2) course, now in its forth year at Play Resource. This time they have focused on 3D scrap models, plus a variety of textile and relief projects experimenting with painting techniques. The collection of work represents a vibrant and creative exploration of art processes integrating scrap materials.

The Our World Art Competition brought in some fantastic entries. Take the chance to see the work created by pupils in various primary schools at this new exhibition. Now on show upstairs at Play Resource are some beautiful and fun entries using a wide range of colour, texture and scrap materials!
 

Congratulations to winners...

• Keystage 1 category - Rowandale Integrated Primary School for ‘Save our Planet’ entry
• Keystage 2 category - Ionad Uibh Eachach Primary School for ‘Our House’ entry
• Special Education category – Oakwood Primary School for ‘Colour Bursts’ entry

The winners of each category have now been contacted.

Member to Member News

Belfast City Council is running another You Can Play 2 Day. Don’t miss out on this play event aimed at staff and volunteers who work with children. This morning of art activities and workshops based on the 'Fantasy Play' theme will include a plastercine workshop, dream catchers, big flowers, hats and shoes. This is an unmissable opportunity to get lots of new ideas forworking with children on Wednesday 26 May from 9am to 1pm at Malone House. To find out more download the booking form or contact Kirstie Jamison on 028 9075 3897.

Calling all artists don’t miss this event offering a chance to join a Practice.ie Regional Group for Northern Ireland. Attend the Belfast Children’s Festival Presents MAKING SPACE : CHILDREN AND THE ARTS. This particular seminar is hosted by Practice.ie the online space for artists working with children and young people. Chaired by Orla Kenny, Founder of Practice.ie and Director of Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership, the seminar will include presentations from artists Ann Donnelly and Ann Henderson who took part in the Further Afield virtual residency programme, led by Kids’ Own and Italian company Teatro all’imporvviso. The presentations will highlight models for engaging children and young people in arts practice. To register for this and other event visit www.belfastchildrensfestival.com/news.

Feedback Forum

We would like to hear from you each month, to help us improve the services we offer to our members. Question of the Month:

Have you accessed our free Ideas & Inspiration online library, including over 100 Quick Ideas & Craft Sheets? Did you find it useful resource, was it easy to navigate and search?

Respond via email to fiona@playresource.org. We look forward to hearing from you!