My background has always been within the creative area, one way or another. I studied printed textile design with a degree from Leicester Poly (as it was known then) in the 70s. There followed a period of working as a freelance designer and then several years working for a graphic & fine art materials manufacturer & distributor (Frisk Products) before starting Art Van Go thirty-six years ago.

I have always been interested in, even passionate about, art materials. I love experimenting - pushing the materials, seeing what works and what doesn’t, concocting and always learning. Through Art Van Go, I have had the opportunity to pass on some of that accumulated knowledge - perhaps in helping individuals to achieve the effects they are looking for. As such, I have until recently, considered myself a ‘facilitator’ through the presentation of workshops and demonstrations.

Life with Art Van Go has seen us travelling all around the country with a van full of materials (‘Taking the Art Shop to the Artist’) to groups, guilds, residential courses etc as well as local and national shows such as The Knitting & Stitching Shows and The Festival of Quilts. Since 2001 we have also had the bricks & mortar shop in Knebworth where we could run a full programme of workshops with visiting tutors. With imminent retirement I can now look forward to developing my own work – but always with a touch of experimentation.

Course Title	Tutor	Start Date	Days	Cost
Messing About with Materials	Viv Arthur	Mon 3rd Aug	2	£140

Course Availability: AvailableLimitedFullEnded