Art Classes with Rachel Connolly BA(Hons)
I am now running my art classes from my cabin in my garden.
Classes run from September to July on a 4-week block basis at a cost of £56 per student.
Tuesdays 10 am - 12 pm, Drawing and Painting.
Tuesdays 1 pm - 3 pm, Drawing and Painting.
Wednesdays 10 am - 12 pm, Drawing and Painting.
Wednesdays 1 pm - 3 pm, Drawing and Painting.
Call RACHEL CONNOLLY (who lives in Marston) on 01400 250711 for details and current avaiability.
Rachel Connolly BA(Hons)
Rachel was born in Newark in Nottinghamshire in 1965. After completing her ‘A` levels, which included Art, she attended a one-year foundation course in Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University, and it was here that she became interested in Graphic Design and Illustration. She then went on to study for a three-year degree in Graphic Design at Leeds Metropolitan University, where she chose illustration as her main option. In 1988 she was awarded a BA (Honours) Degree in Graphic Design and Illustration.
After graduating Rachel remained in the Yorkshire area and started work as a free-lance illustrator working with an agent producing samples of greeting cards and writing paper for the commercial market.
She also continued to hold exhibitions of her private work, exhibiting in a number of one-woman shows and also in conjunction with other artists. Venues at which she has exhibited include: Cartwright Hall in Bradford, West Yorkshire; Patchings Farm Art Centre, Calverton, Nottinghamshire; Walkley Clogs, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire; The Kings Hall, Ilkley, West Yorkshire; Newark Library, Newark, Nottinghamshire; and Marston Village Hall, Lincolnshire. After exhibiting for the first time at the Kings Hall, Ilkley, Rachel was elected a member of the British Society of Painters and awarded the prize for the most promising new artist exhibiting at the show. In October 2005 she was accepted for a one-woman exhibition of her original paintings based on her love of illuminated manuscripts, in the Chapter House of Southwell Minster, Southwell, Nottinghamshire. In 2009 and 2010, Rachel also exhibited her paintings, prints and cards as a professional artist at the Guildhall Arts Centre during the Grantham Art Festival.
In 1995 Rachel successfully completed a one-year teaching certificate at Huddersfield Technical College to enable her to teach all aspects of art in Further and Adult Education. She initially worked at Dewsbury College teaching evening classes, before relocating to the Grantham area in 1997. She started teaching a wide variety of art classes at Bottesford Community Centre, based at Belvoir High School, Nottinghamshire in 1999, where she continued to work for seven years, leaving in 2006 to becoming a self-employed art tutor delivering art classes to villages around Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. She then went on to successfully run The Art Room for nearly five years, renting a building at Belton Garden Centre, where 70 students attended each week. Because the garden centre was to be redeveloped, Rachel moved her art classes to the local village hall where she remained for four years until June 2022. During lockdown, although her regular face-to-face classes were not possible, she provided monthly projects by post to all her students to keep them entertained and motivated.
Rachel was a runner-up in the Lincolnshire Church Trust competition with her painting of Hougham church. She was also a runner-up in the Michael Sanders Bursary run by the Society for All Artists (SAA) in which students nominated their tutor in recognition of the inspiration they provided: "In recognition of a tutor who went the extra mile and encouraged them to be the best they can be".
Rachel designed the village sign which can be seen in front of Marston Church.
Rachel lives in Marston with her husband and two cats.