The beginning of Create!

I'm Helen, I run Create! art school where I help people relax, unwind, unleash their creativity and make beautiful art. I'm passionate about helping women (and some men!) to gain confidence in creating art and using it as a way to chill out away from busy lives. 

I'm a busy mum of two girls so I understand that life can be demanding and hectic at times  so it's important to take time-out for ourselves. 

I’ve loved art from a young age: painting, drawing and making stuff. I studied Art History and Italian at university and my passion for art and all things Italy was born. 

I've always felt drawn to helping people, so for 15 years I taught art in secondary schools. I loved the chance to help so many young people learn how to create art.

When my second daughter came along, I realised that my work and home-life balance were no longer compatible so I needed to make some changes....it was time to follow my dream.

We demolished our decrepit garage and built a gorgeous purpose built art space and started Create! Since 2017 I've helped hundreds of people of all different ages unleash their creativity.

Although running my own business is not always easy….I’m grateful every day for the opportunities I now have, to feel overjoyed to go to work, to have flexible hours, and to work with people who love to make art….if I’m honest, it doesn’t really feel like work. I’ve found my zone of genius and I absolutely love it.

Why don't you give it a try? My pen and watercolour flowers course is brilliant for building your confidence and completely free to you. Click here to start. 

Since March 2020 

With 2020 and the covid outbreak Create has gone entirely online and I’m now helping more people, globally, to discover a passion for art. 

I mainly taught art classes out of my home-based Art School but realised that virtual classes were the only path forward. 

I felt a social responsibility towards my clients who had formed tight knit social groups....my classes were more than art lessons....they provided a community and a support system. People came to classes for all sorts of reasons, creating art was just the product.

From these initial beginnings the classes have further developed. What struck me was that the through this new medium, I have able to help more people to access art regardless of geography and in some cases, physical limitations. For example, I won some funding to help people access free art classes who suffer from crippling anxiety. 

I have been teaching people in all corners of the world from around the UK to France, South Africa and Australia. With this growth in mind,  I decided to redevelop my whole website into a more user friendly platform which people could access whole courses including video content on. 

I then started recording video courses in their entirety to help  people achieve calm while learning new art skills, completely in their own time, whenever they wanted to. I've also launched a free online art community called 'Create! art school club' via facebook where people can join in on a weekly sketchbook school session and post pictures of all their creative ventures. 

So despite the obvious restrictions we have all been living with for nearly two years, my business has expanded and developed as a result, and has brought so much 'good' to so many people. 

I've recently been recognised as one of the Top 40 Digital Women to watch in 2021 and have been nominated for 3 national awards: Digital Woman, Digital Mother and Digital Product of the Year. 

I'm now happy to say that some amazing tutors are joining our teaching team so please click here to meet them.