Paint Along with Miranda

Our September meeting opened in its usual way as the Bombshells arrived laden with tins and packets as donations for our regular collection for the food bank at Horsham Matters. It was great to see such a variety of food, drinks and some sweet treats, another fantastic haul, so thanks again Bombshells.

Next our President, Sandra gave the usual updates from the Bombshells Committee and W Sx Federation, the most important of them being that she has decided that she will be stepping down from her role as President at the end of this term.

Our Fabuous Out-Going President Sandra. Thank you for four years of dedication.

Sandra has done an amazing job as our President, working tirelessly with the committee to ensure we've had a program full of varied and interesting meetings over the past four years. She and the committee have also hosted numerous fundraising evenings, to ensure we have enough in the coffers to enjoy great speakers and learn new skills. We will be very sad to see Sandra, go but I'm sure she'll enjoy being a Bombshell for many years to come.

With Sandra's departure imminent, we are now actively looking for a replacement President. We cannot run without one, so this is a shout out to all Bombshells, it's time to consider taking on the role so that (fingers crossed) we can continue our fabulous WI!

And now onto the main event! In her invitation to this month's meeting our PR secretary Fiona pondered... ‘Have you ever thought that there is a talented artist inside you that is just waiting for the opportunity to come out and create a masterpiece?' She then lay down the challenge to 'let your inner Leonardo Da Vinci, Claude Monet or Freda Carlo out and proud! Jump into your smock, grab your paint brush and give it a go.’

With all equipment supplied, and our very own art teacher Miranda we swiftly took up the challenge. We soon found out what a superb teacher Miranda is, and how easily we exceeded all of our expectations and did indeed unleash the artist lurking in all of us. However convinced we may originally have been that we couldn't draw or paint, Miranda proved us wrong.

With clear and simple instructions, Miranda demonstrated a number of watercolour techniques that created very differing results. Firstly we tried a dry brush on dry paper to give a crisp look, following this with a wetter brush on the dry paper so that the look was softer. Then by dampening the paper, the same dry brush produced unexpected results, and the final combination of wet brush on wet paper was huge fun as the paint flowed in random ways. Fortunately there was plenty of time for us to practice the techniques before embarking on the first of two designs, a Christmas wreath. Having mastered, to a greater or lesser extent, the leaves of various greens and the clusters of red berries, Miranda demonstrated how by gently tapping a loaded brush it gave a gently speckled effect to the card, before a spritz of clean water softened the design and the cards were put aside to dry. 

A cup of tea and a piece of cake made a welcome break before we embarked on our second design of the evening. By sticking removable tape on the card in a triangle shape, the body of the tree was created. Miranda demonstrated how, by using bands of graded colours a beautiful effect was built up, be it all in greens, or oranges and browns or a rainbow of colours, the design lends itself to being adapted for any season or event. Removing the tape revealed crisp and accurate lines, and the addition of a trunk completed the design, to everyones’ great pleasure.

We all pitched in to help with the clearing up, and many a memory of school days was resurrected. A huge vote of thanks was given to Miranda, for the teaching and demonstrations, the organisation and the provision of all the equipment.

In addition to our craft meeting, The Bombshells have been very busy. During the month the Morning and Evening Book Clubs met and discussed David Sedaris' book 'Me Talk Pretty One Day'. Reactions were diverse and varied from laugh-out-loud moments for some readers and others who didn't finish the book, all of which led to some lively discussions.

The Bombshells Celebrate the WI's 110th Anniversary at Sumner's Ponds

The 110th anniversary of the founding of the WI was marked by the Bombshells with a meeting for tea and coffee on 16th September. We congregated at Sumner's Pond and were delighted to welcome three ladies from the BBH afternoon WI.

Conversations as always ranged far and wide and the afternoon was enjoyed by all.

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Friday 19th saw Normandy WI host The West Sussex WI Group celebration of the 110th anniversary. Some of our members attended and enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea with scones, clotted cream and jam.

The celebration culminated with WI member and author Jane Robinson entertaining us with some interesting, funny and sometimes surprising excerpts from her book ‘A Force to Be Reckoned With, A History of the Women’sInstitute.’