Owner’s Story: Miss Bird’s School of Art

Are you always looking for ways to get the kids out-of-doors, reduce screen time and make home schooling more fun?

Laura Bird understands more than most. Laura runs Miss Bird’s School of Art for all ages and abilities from her garden studio.


 

INTRODUCING MISS BIRD’S SCHOOL OF ART

We spoke to Laura to find out how her garden art studio has helped to provide a flexible learning space. Offering all of her art students a chance to improve and enhance their artistic flair.


 

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF?

I am a mother to a very lively and lovely 6-year-old and an art teacher for over ten years. I left teaching in a secondary school (which I loved) to set up my own art school. I have always loved art and couldn’t imagine a better job than teaching it. I also love to make art and paint whenever I can.


HOW DID YOU GET INTO TEACHING ART?

I always wanted to be an art teacher weirdly but didn’t get into it until my late 20’s as I wanted to get a bit of life experience before teaching children. I worked as a Visual Merchandiser at Habitat for several years before embarking on my teaching career. I then worked on my portfolio and got into Roehampton to complete my PGCE.

Secondary school was great, but the paperwork and marking load wasn’t, so I really wanted to cut that side of teaching out, so decided to start my own art school. I have taught so many amazing people from 5-year-old budding artists, to 80-year old’s who wished they’d done more art. I love the freedom I get with running my own art school and there is never, ever a dull moment.

Currently I teach from home every Wednesday (and some weekends). My older students work in the studio independently and the younger ones in the house. It’s definitely a juggle, but so much fun being able to teach so many people!


WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO BUY A GARDEN STUDIO?

My main goal was to have a space outside that I could teach in, so that my family could still hang out indoors. I wanted my space to be calm and beautiful so that my students would never want to leave.

I live in a ground floor flat with my husband and daughter, so space isn’t plentiful. My garden studio is a saving grace as it allows me to teach my art students when the family are still in the home, or I can escape to do some painting when I need a little me time. During the summer months, it’s the perfect space to do arts and crafts with my daughter and her friends. As my garden space is so small, I needed the studio to be as big as it possibly could be, especially in length, in order to fit a group of ten children. I chose the one I did mainly because I loved the way it looked. I actually love looking at it when I’m in the house as it’s so beautiful!


HOW DO YOU USE YOUR GARDEN STUDIO? HOW IS IT STYLED?

I use my garden studio as a painting studio for myself when Wren (my daughter) is at nursery. In the summer, the doors are constantly open for everyone to use. Wren loves to paint in here with her mummy, she calls it my house.

I got a friend to make me a bespoke tabletop from Ash to fit some beautiful vintage table trestles that I bought. I also got a lovely blue English floral fabric from Ralph Lauren and got my mum to upholster cushion pads for my 10 Ikea stools. I added bookshelves and painted the walls in School House White by Farrow and Ball. A rug, some lighting and some of my own art were added to finish it off.

I really love the way my garden studio looks, it changes slightly depending on what I am painting!


HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN STUDIO PROVIDE A FLEXIBLE LEARNING SPACE FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

My garden studio is central to my business. I always have a painting on the go, which is important for me to show my students that I’m also a practising artist. It’s also excellent to teach my one-to-one students in or smaller groups of students. I’ve even hosted a few art parties in there. The space is so serene and completely adaptable to whatever I’m doing at the time. I love that its separate from the house too as it really does separate my work from my homelife, which is also important for me. 

WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT WORK DAY LOOK LIKE ?

Monday: I teach year 6 in a local school in an after-school club. This is a small group and it’s lovely to see them develop each lesson.

Tuesday: I teach year 2’s and 3’s in a local after school club. This incredibly creative and energetic group definitely keep me on my toes!

Wednesday: This is my busiest day! I collect around 20 students from my daughter’s school from years 2-4 and bring them back to my house for art club, which runs until 5.30. A group of year 7 students make their own way to me and work in the studio. I make my way backwards and forwards between the house and the studio (with the help of my lovely student Yasmin) to check how everyone is doing. The older students love having a separate space from the younger ones as it feels more grown up.

Thursday and Friday: Plan, prep and paint! These are my two days to make sure that I have everyone set for the following week. If I’m lucky enough to have spare time on my hands, I will continue with my painting that I’m working on. At the moment, I have a vase of Daffodils on the go!


HOW DOES ART SCHOOL HELP TO NURTURE AND INSPIRE THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS TALENTS AND INTERESTS? HAVE THERE BEEN ANY COMMON INTERESTS YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED?

I’ve always been a believer of ‘hanging out with your tribe’. Everyone in my art school has chosen to be there as they enjoy art and they naturally feel inspired being surrounded by so many artists. I help them along by setting the work, but really, its them that inspire each other!


WHAT DO YOUR STUDENTS LOVE MOST ABOUT ART SCHOOL?

My students love most things arty but in general, they tend to really love the art that ignites imagination such a surrealism or anything involving collage and mixed media. They also love 3D work as I guess they do so much less of this with the increasing pressure of technology.


WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR WORKING & TEACHING FROM HOME?

Routine is key! At least a little!

Get out of bed at the same time and make it! Making the bed in the morning is one of those weird things that gives you huge satisfaction as it ticks off a task off your list straight away which kind of sets you off for more tasks. I like to have a list of things I’m planning to do and when I plan to do them as it makes it more likely that they’re going to get done.


WHAT’S NEXT FOR MISS BIRD’S ART SCHOOL?

I would love to expand my art school in the future and create even more space for students to work. We will eventually be moving to a larger space, so my plan is to get an even bigger studio to teach more students in. I would love to introduce more holiday workshops too and employ staff to help run them. At the moment, I have a lovely family/work balance and I will always try to keep this balance, however, as my daughter gets older, there will definitely be more time to work!

Laura’s personal approach to teaching makes Miss Bird’s art school a welcoming and inclusive to all ages and abilities. She identifies each artist as different, understanding that everyone has different learning styles and paces – her patience is a virtue.

Find out how Miss Bird could develop your exploration and creativity.  

Follow Miss Bird’s Art School on Instagram here.

For more outdoor living activity inspiration see our blog on 5 Activity Ideas for Little Green Thumbs.

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