Summer Workshops

Experimental Print Fest

Tutor: Cath Baldwin, Janina Maher

16th June 2025 - 17th June 2025
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Cost Per Person: £80
Materials Cost (payable on day to tutor): £14

Book Workshop

Explore a variety of pattern-based print approaches including gel plate printing, lino and stamping, to produce a series of fun, experimental images on paper.

Then collate your printed work into a handmade, hardbacked concertina sketchbook for you to take away and work further with. 

Day 1

Morning: Gel plate printing and foam block printing with Janina. Print a good collection of backgrounds.
Afternoon: Carve your own lino blocks and rubber stamps with Cath. Print a series of repeat patterns on top of the gel prints.

Day 2

Morning: Make your own hardback concertina book with Janina. Prepare a board book ready for the next stage. 
Afternoon: With Cath fill the books with your prints, and add extra embellishments with more collage work and mark making.

What to bring:

• Gel plate – recommended brands are Gelli Arts or Gel Press. Not Speedball brand as these only work with Speedball inks. If you don’t have a gel plate, there will be some available to borrow on the day. Please contact Janina in advance to reserve one.
• Roller/brayer suitable for use with acrylic paint. Janina will also have a few gel plates and rollers/ brayers available for sale on the day.
• Scissors.
• Cutting mat, cutting,craft knife (not a scalpel), metal ruler.
• Pencil, sharpener, rubber.
• Glue – ideally acrylic matte medium otherwise PVA or glue stick.
• Glue brush and scrap paper, glue spreader e.g. old credit card.
• Table covering or newspaper.
• Mixing palette or paper plate.
• Baby wipes.
• Kitchen roll.
• Apron.

Optional (if you have them): 

• POSCA pens, coloured pencils, sharpie pens, felt pens. 
• Bone folder.
• Clip knife/shoe knife for slicing paper.

The following materials will be provided:

• Acrylic paint
• Paper for printing.
• Lino.
• Lino printing inks.
• Materials for making stamps.
• Materials for making A5 hardback concertina books,
• A recycled board book. 

Watercolour Workshop

Tutor: Richard Cave

18th June 2025
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Cost Per Person: £50

Book Workshop

This workshop is exclusively about watercolour and the unique qualities it provides and some of the techniques necessary to make the most of those qualities. The session will be suitable for those with some knowledge and ability, rather than beginners, including people with established skills wishing to extend their knowledge or just interested in how watercolour is practised by others.

Richards main interest is in the landscape, particularly en plein air and the transient effects of light, and, using ‘landscape’ as his model, He will speak and demonstrate on the following subjects, as far as time will allow:

• Tonal values, Notan and the use of sketchbooks
• Suitable subjects for watercolour
• Palette and materials
• Atmospheric perspective
• Skies
• Foreground technique
• Water
• ‘Negative painting’ and ‘Lost and Found’

It is not intended that the workshop should be limited to the subjects given above and will certainly take detours into the side roads of related matters, particularly if someone has a specific query.

Participants should bring their own paints and normal watercolour paper so that techniques can be tried immediately and any individual problems ironed out. The workshop is not intended to make you paint like Richard but, with the benefit of his 40+ years painting watercolour, to help you paint the way you want to paint.

Urban and Travel Sketching

Tutor: Liz Chaderton

19th June 2025
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Cost Per Person: £50
Materials Cost (payable on day to tutor): £5

Book Workshop

Urban sketching is all about drawing what is around you. It does not imply that you only draw the urban environment, but rather it consists of capturing your personal vision of your immediate world, and the places you travel to. 

It is about everyday life – whether that is telling the story of your morning cuppa, the commute to work, the countryside you walk in or the pavements you pound. It includes travel sketching and often holidays are when we have time to capture our world. By drawing our surroundings, we observe more closely, we connect and are more engaged, as well as honing our skills. Even the quickest, most incomplete sketch will capture more of the moment than a snap on your phone. 

This will be a practical day, exploring different techniques and giving lots of options. We will discuss the most versatile materials and overcoming some of the barriers to sketching in public and how to build our confidence. 

Liz will introduce you to urban sketching and bring lots of samples for you to see. You will be using line and wash and there will be an opportunity to try out fineliners, brush pens, fountain pens, etc. There will be different pens, watercolours and water brushes for you to use (but not keep).  There will be a mix of demonstrations and lots of time for you to sketch. The cloisters will provide cover if the weather is not great, so we will be outside no matter what! No experience is required.

You will be given an A5 hardback sketchbook on the day, which is yours to take away and fill.

What to bring:

• If you have a light weight portable stool, please bring it. 
• Dress for the weather. The cloisters will keep us dry, but if it is chilly do wear layers. If it is warm, bring sunscreen, a hat (better than sunglasses) and a water bottle. 
• You do not need to bring any drawing or painting materials, but if you do have pens and paint you wish to use, please feel free to bring them.

Portrait Workshop

Tutor: Mick McNicolas

22nd June 2025
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Cost Per Person: £60
(including model cost)

Book Workshop

In this one-day workshop Mick will initially lead participants through a number of exercises that (re)introduce time-honoured techniques to achieve correct proportion, and capture the likeness of the sitter. Participants will then put those techniques into practice, as they tackle drawing a portrait in charcoal, from the life model.

What to bring:

• Several sheets of A3 or A2 cartridge paper.
• Vine or willow charcoal.
• Graphite pencils.
• Putty rubber.

Extra charcoal and paper will be available for a small charge.

Collage Land and Seascape

Tutor: Clare Buchta

24th June 2025
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Cost Per Person: £50

Book Workshop

Create your own collage papers using a simple printing method using acrylic paint and wet strength tissue on a large silicone sheet. Various tools will be used to make painterly marks into the acrylic paint before a print is taken. 

Take inspiration from the patterns and shapes on the collage papers and supplied images of land and seascapes, to collage an original piece of art on canvas or board. Some added drawing with Posca pens can add detail if required. 

What to bring:

• Newspaper.
• An apron or old shirt.
• Acrylic paint (some will be supplied).
• Some worn and dried out brushes.

All equipment, glue, board and paper supplied.

Clothed Figure Workshop

Tutor: Jenny Halstead

25th June 2025
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Cost Per Person: £60
(including model cost)

Book Workshop

After an initial introduction to the human figure and head – looking at structure, proportions, shapes, form, tonal range and composition, we will enjoy a day working with a clothed model in several poses and costumes.

Drawing boards will be provided.

What to bring: 

• Charcoal, conte, pencils.
• Putty rubber.
• Soft pastels, pastel pencil, watercolour or any medium you prefer.
• Paper to work on – cartridge, sugar paper, special pastel paper.
• A sketchbook would also be useful.
• Clips or masking tape.
• Portable easel if you have one – some will be available.

Experimenting with Illustration

Tutor: Tizzy Cottingham

26th June 2025
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Cost Per Person: £50
Materials Cost (payable on day to tutor): £5

Book Workshop

Explore your imagination and creativity while experimenting with placing images and text on the page to explore the fundamentals of visual storytelling. 

There will be a choice of Haikus to illustrate. A Haiku expresses much in a few words, traditionally capturing a moment in time and invoking images of the natural world, perfect for bringing to mind simple images to combine in the design of a page. There will be reference material for the various subjects brought up in the poems or you can work entirely from your imagination. 

Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your skills, whether you prefer realism or abstraction, you’ll explore various techniques to turn your ideas into one or more captivating illustrations. 

What to bring:

• Pencils, eraser, pencil sharpener.
• Paper cutting scissors or scalpel if preferred.
• A glue stick. 
• Apron/overall.
• Table covering (e.g. newspaper).
• Haikus will be provided but if you know of one or more that you would like to illustrate please bring it/them with you.

What to bring (depending on your preferred method of working):

• Gelli printed papers or other papers for collage will be provided but you might like to bring your own.
• Fineliners 
• Coloured pencils
• Watercolours/gouache, a palette, a selection of brushes, water pot(s).
• Pastels of any preferred type.
• If you would like to use stencils and you would like to use your own brushes/daubers and ink pads please bring them. Stencils, ink pads and brushes/daubers will be provided. 

What will be provided:

• Rough and ‘good’ paper

Kawandi Quilt Workshop

Tutor: Kate Sanford

27th June 2025
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Cost Per Person: £50

Book Workshop

A Kawandi Quilt is a hand-stitched patchwork quilt that originated in Western India. The quilts are made from recycled scrap fabric, often including old saris. A sustainable way to create new, useful and beautiful textile art.

In this workshop, we will recycle old shirts and other fabric scraps that you might have otherwise discarded, into a colourful, unique, hand quilted place mat or small table runner. This is a great class to explore colour and texture with mindful slow stitching. It’s a simple technique with lots of room to be creative.

The workshop is suitable for people who are comfortable hand sewing, or those just starting to hand sew and want to learn more. We will be using a simple running stitch.

You will learn how to:

• Choose fabric, and what fabrics to avoid using
• Disassemble old shirts to use 
• Fold the edges over, and stitch to start
• Lay the batting down
• Place fabric and add new pieces 
• How far apart to sew 
• What thread you can use 

What to bring:

• Fabric – Only scrap fabric will be used in this workshop. Any fabric you have left over from previous makes or favourite (past their best) shirts, will be perfect. Mens work shirts are perfect, you can buy these at any charity shop. Other fabrics that you can use are quilting weight cotton, double gauze, sari silk, thin chambray, cotton summer dresses, or any fabric from your crafting stash. It does not need to be precut, but Kate recommends ironing your scraps before the class.  The amount required is approximately 2-3 fat quarters ( 2-3 shirts), but bring extra just in case. We will be sharing with other people for variety.  Avoid thick fabrics such as denim, upholstery weight fabrics, felt, nylon, polyester or lycra.
• Backing fabric and wadding – You need a piece of cotton fabric for the backing and a piece of wadding/batting for the middle, these should both be the same size  (Small 10×12”  or  large 16×18”). Kate can provide wadding for a small fee. Please contact Kate in advance to request wadding.
• Sharp sewing needles, to accommodate your thread choice (embroidery/crewel needles are fine, Kate will be bringing a selection).
• Small scissors or thread snips.
• Large fabric scissors.
• A comfortable thimble.
• Thread, embroidery floss, perle cotton- size #8 or #12,  Kates preferred thread is 12wt Aurifil.
• Seam roller (optional).
• Needle threader (optional).
• Some pins (optional).
• A needle puller (optional).