October 2026 Newsletter

Rachel Duffield

Oct 1

4 min read

Rachel Duffield Art

Inspirational art classes,

clubs & coaching

October 2026

Transformational art clubs, classes & coaching for wellbeing and personal growth

Hello there!

A few people have asked me recently what I do when I'm not teaching art.

Well, sometimes I make my own art, but not often enough. Below is a 'trois crayons' self-portrait I did last week - I only have my own face to draw most of the time so I've started pulling different expressions!

Boringly, I do a LOT of social media, which I find quite soul-destroying, but sadly, it's essential in order to fill my classes. I also have emails to answer, invoices to send and a little dog to walk.

But more on that later...

Hand-drawn portrait of a sneering woman in red, white, and black sketch strokes on beige paper.

Now- a treat: a splendid new film with Norfolk Artscape

Dom Thorby, videographer, was at Community Art Club to capture footage for this fabulous film. Dom's project 'Norfolk Artscape' is a series of YouTube films about a range of artists in Norfolk. He's done a brilliant job with them all - but obviously I like mine best! Do take 5 minutes to watch it; it explains all about Community Art Clubs really well and he's somehow managed to make me sound quite articulate!

Important information about my unusual business model:

Community Art Clubs CIC

is my social enterprise that brings drop-in art & friendship spaces

to rural communities to help combat loneliness & isolation.

Rachel Duffield Art (all my other classes & workshops, soon to be rebranded under 'Art Is Good For You')

funds the CIC by leading art skills development classes, creative mindfulness and wellbeing workshops for individuals and groups all over Norfolk.

News for next year

In 2027, I'll be moving into delivering burnout prevention & wellbeing workshops for corporate teams.

That means when a business books a team wellbeing day with me,

they directly finance a social lifeline for vulnerable people in rural Norfolk.

Elderly man smiles up at a woman holding a painting in a warm art workshop, while others paint at crowded tables.

Our recent award from The National Lottery Community Fund is separate, and ring-fenced for specific Community Art Club costs.

This award means venue hire and my time are covered for the Bunwell and Thompson clubs for two years (the club at Thetford's Ancient House has no venue charges, which is AMAZING), plus a bit of dosh for specialist equipment like our visualiser camera and projector so people can see my demos close up without leaving their seats.

Man in a village hall points a remote at a projected slide beside a projector, looking up at the screen.

Here is the projector on it's first outing. Dom, our videographer, is trying to read what it says on it upside down to adjust the contrast!

The final purpose of the Community Fund award is for the setting up of a fourth club. This time I'll be working with the Norfolk Social Prescribing Link Worker team to ensure we find the place which offers the most value to the community it serves, so watch this space for more news on that.

Over to you:

If YOU know of a rural area in mid or south Norfolk where an all abilities, accessible, affordable art club designed to reduce social isolation could find a useful home, do message me via email rachelduffieldart@gmail.com or WhatsApp 07643476788. No voice calls please- my signal is ATROCIOUS at home.

Likewise, if you know of any local business teams whose wellbeing would benefit from 90 minutes of artistic escape, please get in touch!

If you've read this far, congratulations!

Now, to business as usual.

Here's my quick at-a-glance guide for classes in October:

October clubs and classes poster for RachelDuffieldArt.com listing community art club dates, venues, times, and booking info.

Posters with more Community Art Club details are at the bottom of this newsletter. Please do email or WhatsApp me to check any details you need.

And of course,

COPYCATS AT THE CAT HOUSE CONTINUES

I'm back for more cat themed art on October 18th for a Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired evening of cat based art history. Charles' wife, Margaret, was also an artist but people don't know as much about her (what a surprise, her husband's work took first place even though he was no better than her) - so we'll be looking at some of her work, too.

It's booking fast as always so grab your place while you still can. There are some gorgeous new cats to see too. Here's a picture from my August session there when everybody's humungus favourite, Romeo, got very involved in the artwork!

All the dates, prices and booking details for CopyCats at the Cat House are just a click away in this link.

Smiling woman with glasses holds a drink while a large gray cat sits on the table at a lively art class, others blurred.

And to return to the question of what I do when I'm not teaching-

Recently I've been getting to grips with lots of proper, grown-up admin as my CIC becomes a fully fledged business rather than a sideline; I've got accounting software, I have to employ and pay myself via PAYE now I'm no longer a sole trader, and so on. Again, tedious, techie, legal stuff which I totally detest but have to do. There is quite a lot of swearing, and cups of tea.

My favourite non-teaching activity is planning for sessions. I spent a few happy hours yesterday planning for October half term's St*Art Club, an art club for kids at Norwich Castle. I was going to advertise it here, but I've just been told it's full, and with a waiting list - so hurrah for that!

Todays' activity, once I've finished typing this, is to plan for Community Art Clubs in Bunwell, Thetford and Thompson for next week. Eden Mullane is a fantastic local artist who paints vibrant, exotic landscapes - we'll be taking inspiration from her work to paint 'Tropical Norfolk' in acrylics.

But for now, this little cutie needs a (whisper it) W-A-L-K!

All the best

Rachel