Lara Denaro, 16, from Teddington School has been awarded the lofty title of London’s best young crime writer. Her story “The Phone Box” beat 200 other entries to win the London region of the National Young Crime Writers Competition.

Her story tackles the hot issue of knife crime and will now go forward to join 14 others in the national final to be decided during National Crime Fiction Week (ending on 20th June)

Also flying the flag for excellence at Teddington School is Polish-born 14 year-old Julia Zajac who has been praised by judges for innovative use of materials that included a protractor, earphones, safety pins and a plastic lid.

She has won the London College of Fashion’s annual national jewellery design competition despite only moving to Kingston four years ago and overcoming language difficulties. Her winning piece is an owl-shaped necklace and won the Fashion Hidden Treasure competition.

Julia wins a place on a jewellery workshop at this college and an invitation to its Fashion Design Technology Graduate Show in London.

www.theartagency.co.uk will be selling original art work by emerging and established British contemporary artists via their ‘rolling art gallery’ at a selection of carefully chosen venues in London and the South East rather than via a traditional gallery. The launch exhibition is at The Landmark Arts Centre, 1st – 3rd May (10am – 5pm daily – free admission).

Before having families, Emma and Alison previously had successful careers, Emma at the Financial Times and Alison at Dennis Publishing. Now they have started a business in a field that they are both passionate about and have experience of through working at and attending art fairs – and being art collectors themselves.

Emma Riley: ‘We felt there was a gap in the art market for an innovative and flexible approach to make original art more accessible, in the £250-£3,000 bracket . We don’t have the overheads of a gallery and showing our clients at a wide selection of venues means we can bring different audiences to each of our shows.

The Art Agency has a fantastic selection of British Contemporary Art to showcase – abstract photography from the renowned lifestyle photographer Xander Casey, stunning landscapes from Felicity Keefe, Katharine Le Hardy, Charles Penny and Graham Towler, spectacular sculpture from Guy Reid, abstract art by ex-cartographer Esther Hartley, intricate cityscapes of London and Rome by Noel Paine, prize-winning figurative paintings by Paul Lemmon and more. As well as this talented list, other artists will be available at the launch exhibition – come along to find out who will join them.

Their latest exhibition runs until 10th April – etchings, drawings and paintings of the British Isles through the eyes of three artists Norman Ackroyd, Jason Hicklin and Alistair Tucker.

Artists details from the exhibition poster:

Norman Ackroyd was born in Leeds, his love of landscape was nurtured on long boyhood bicycle rides in the Yorkshire Dales. His work is exhibited in most major art galleries and Institutions today together with many private commissions, one of his latest being at the British Embassy in Moscow.

Jason Hicklin’s drawings and etchings are horizontal explorations of landscape in black and white, and in an infinite vocabulary of greys. From 2004 to 2008 Hicklin walked the isolated coasts of Donegal and Islay. Jason has produced a set of 15 etchings following a visit to Islay in December 2007. The prints are made from zinc plates etched with nitric acid and printed on Somerset hand-made paper in his studio

Alistair Tucker’s work is based upon the British landscape, its shape, form, and the effects of the weather and light upon it. Alistair says of his own work:
“I always find it extremely difficult to talk about my pictures and find it easier to illustrate what I am aiming at by making parallels with other things.

The book is split into 12 chapters with illustrations – each representing a different month of the year. The chosen 120 were selected from the 365 three-line poems, some not entirely sticking to the traditional strict format of haiku’s to make them more accessible to those new to the genre.

Hamish also introduces humour into his poems and you also may recognise some of the sights and sounds of the river that inspired some of his lines.

“Our Sweet Little Time” is available from local Waterstone’s shops.

The weekly classes will take place at Elleray Hall on Monday evenings 7:30-9:30pm starting on the 11th January 2010.

All levels of experience are welcome: whether you’re looking to learn a new skill, make a memorable present or create a masterpiece to hang on your wall. The course costs £100 for the whole 10 weeks.

Call Linda on 07738 707007 for further information and to reserve a place.

Some examples of previous students work

Well established and celebrated artists have donated works for the auction so it presents a unique chance to get hold of a prestigious and rare piece at a local event.

On Friday December 4th (6:30-10:00pm) and Saturday December 5th (10:00am-4:00pm) tickets are available for £5 and £3 respectively. Art lovers will be given a chance to take a closer look at the works in the exhibition before the auction.

Artists work will include paintings, charactertures, pen/ink, sketchings and photos from Elizabeth Blackadder, Peter Blake, Bernard Dunstan, Antony Gormley and Albert Irwin plus local artists, celebrities works including Ian Hislop, Ricky Gervais, Andrew Marr as well as work from Teddington School students.

The auction itself will be conducted by Christie’s international auctioneer Hugh Edmeades.

For tickets and enquiries email pta@teddington.richmond.sch.uk or call 020 8943 0033.

See poster and School site for more details and more complete list of works to be included in the auction.

Update: the auction managed to raise £19K for the cause.

The evening of celebration has a line-up featuring singer-songwriter Antony Elvin, stand-up poet Jude Simpson and accordion player Hannah Rose Tristram.

Alison Hill runs and organises the night which occurs on the last Thursday of each month at the Lion pub on Wick Road. Each night features a unique mix of musicians and poets in an open-mic format split into five minute slots (booking required).

As a budding poet herself, Alison founded Rhythm and Muse after being inspired by a similar event in Southsea and seeing the need for a similar forum in Teddington which has a rich artistic heritage and resource to call upon.

Joanna Ezekiel

Armed with a chair and a CD player for company, Carol streamed big-band swing classics across the square whilst promoting her love of quilt making by stitching into the wee hours:

“I have a quilt top, made in Kentucky during the depression, early 30s, handstitched from scraps of fabric in a pattern called blazing star. During these hard times quiltmakers used whatever they had; outgrown clothing, feed, flour and sugar sacks were utilised, stitching together the smallest of pieces to make the patterns. I don’t know who made it, whether to sell, for the family or perhaps a daughter’s bottom drawer. I have added the wadding and backing and will start to quilt it during my hour as homage to that unknown woman. If it is cold it will keep me warm. Seems topical for our times.”

Having signed up back in April, Carol was told at the end of May that her slot would be from 3 to 4am on Sunday where only the most hardy plinth fans (or accidental party-goers) would be in the audience. An hour-long exposure with a pinhole camera was the original plan but the powerful lights that illuminate the plinth for cameras prevented this. Instead the idea of quilting was born – ensuring that at least she wouldn’t be short of something to do herself.

Carol describes the unique experience as “an experience”!

See the official site for the full hour of high-elevation quilt-making and Flickr for the scene from Carols point of view.

Many talented local artists will be exhibiting their work which will include paintings, prints, jewerly, vases and sculptures in the prestigious Bushy House – a rare chance for non-NPL Sports Club members to have a peek at this historic building. Visitors are welcome to bring their own picnic to eat in the nearby Orangery.

Click on poster for full details & directions.

The event is in support of Macmillan Cancer Support and Teddington Memorial Hospital.

Galleries, schools and home studios across Richmond, Twickenham, Hampton, Barnes and Teddington will be open (free admission) to display the work, meet the artists and encourage discussions.

It’s a great chance to meet the local artists in a series of unique venues and perhaps return home with an original piece of your own!

Visit Richmond Arts website for more info or download the brochure with all locations listed.

Here are the galleries for Teddington:

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