It will be an oasis in the middle of Hamilton, a place where artists can hone their skills in a range of media.

The Hamilton Visual Arts Centre has been established by mosaic artist and teacher Kendra Earls who teamed up with the owner of the now defunct X-Clusive Creations potter, Doris Wade. They came together when Mrs. Wade was contemplating what to do after her business closed and as Ms Earls planned to leave the teaching profession.

Ms Earls said: "It is so exciting; it is like a dream come true. Doris was like 'Kendra, I have a proposal for you' and I was like, 'yeah, what is it?' I've always wanted to do this, so this is a dream come true for we, without a doubt."

The centre is divided into four different studios, which offer mosaics, pottery and ceramics, acrylic, oils and watercolours, and dry media.

"So you can paint with acrylics, watercolours, or any dry media, you can bring your own stuff in if you want it is all up to you, but everything is here and provided," said Ms Earls. "We supply the paper, paint and all, so if you want to paint today, you can just come in and paint. There are also freestanding easels and table easels. It is really cool.

"There is also a craft store, where we supply crafts, whether people want to do book sketching or whatever, they can purchase the supplies and do them here. It is up to them.

"It is a fully-fledged art centre. This is the first real centre where you can come in at any time and do your thing with different programmes and workshops constantly."

A host of other events are held at the centre including Art Session Tuesdays, Mommy and Me Day on Wednesdays, Ladies Night on Thursdays, College Night Out on Fridays and the HVAC (Hamilton Visual Arts Centre) Art Club on Saturday mornings.

Ms Earl pointed out that the centre offers the opportunity to try creating different media without all of the outlay.

"[Usually] you have to get the kit and the materials and all the paints and you're not sure if you really want to do it, but here you have someone encouraging you to do it," said Ms Earls.

Mrs. Wade added: "We are here for that assistance, some people haven't picked up a paint brush for years, but by the time they leave here they are like, 'I'll see you next week'.

"It is a great therapy. I have lupus, but it has been in remission since I started the (her pottery) business and that is because it is something I enjoy and it will be great if lots of people can do what they love."

They want the public to know that the centre will offer a positive and creative outlet. "We want to say, 'here is something positive, not just something else, but something positive', there's too much violence," said Mrs. Wade. "This is something we all need to take away stress.

"Arts are often something that is done through the early years, but often as people reach maturity it is left behind, because it isn't viewed as a viable source of income.

"People leave it behind and a lot of them are really good. I look at them and I'm like, 'what? You can't tell me that you can't paint, because I want to put that at BSoA (Bermuda Society of the Arts), because that is beautiful'. When they come in again, it is surprising for them because they left it behind for so long."

The Hamilton Visual Arts Centre is located on the same spot as the now defunct G-135 on the corner of Front and King Streets in Hamilton.

"We just fell in love with the spot; we were like, 'this is the spot!'" said the new owners.

l For more information on programmes and the upcoming after school programme please ring 296-2676.