The Little Art Factory

Leanne Blair, an artist and experienced art teacher, leads the Hypha space in Kilmarnock. With a mixed media practice encompassing drawing, painting, photography, and printmaking, Leanne focuses on creating large-scale, collaborative, process-based artworks. After nearly 18 years teaching in secondary schools, she is passionate about offering creative experiences that break free from prescriptive curricula. Her work centers on art play and visual inquiry, engaging children, young adults, and families from the local community to explore materials and artistic processes in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Alongside facilitating workshops, Leanne uses the space to develop her own practice and ensure that the collaborative artworks produced are completed and exhibited locally.

Public Programme
Leanne offers a dynamic programme of workshops and sessions designed for children, young people, adults, and families. Following introductory taster sessions, she runs up to five weekly workshops, including Art Camp, where young participants explore themed creative projects such as Clay Building, Make a Castle, Creative Printmaking, and Portrait Collage and Mixed Media. The Art School for Adults provides a relaxed studio environment with expert support every Wednesday in July, welcoming adults of varying abilities to develop their art practice, collaborate, and connect socially. Family-friendly sessions like Family Messy Play: Van Gogh Sunflowers encourage parents and children to create together through playful, hands-on activities. Leanne plans to grow the programme with more group sessions for minority communities, drop-in opportunities for older adults, and free specialist workshops to increase accessibility. The space also hosts public exhibitions of workshop artworks, fostering a supportive, diverse creative community across all ages and backgrounds.