I am sorry if you find all my courses full but there is just me and I can't fit in anymore! If you are keen it is really worth being on the reserve list for the course you like as there are sometimes withdrawals nearer the time of the course. To do this go through the contacts page HERE
Lover's Eye Sun 3rd March at The Hearth,Horsley 10-4 £65 incl some materials FULL
I have become a bit obsessed with Lover’s Eyes – miniature portraits of just the eye or eyes of a loved one whether it be a lover, spouse or child. At their height of fashion from the late 1700s and into early 1800s they were strange little paintings which were usually set into brooches or necklaces. There is an air of secrecy about them as it is difficult to identify the subject, so the stylish aristocrats who could afford them could easily have worn or concealed a portrait of a lover. There are few left in the world so in this course you can come and create one of your own using a fabric eye painting as a focal point and then going to town with the bling. You will need to source a small tin, box or jewellery case to “hide” your eye in though you could I guess turn it into a piece of jewellery by attaching a brooch back to it. To be put on the reserve list for this course please contact me HERE.
Textile Collage Sun 24th March 10-4 at The Hearth, Horsley. £65 incl materials FULL
At the very heart of what I do is my love of textile collage. I love the flexibility of the technique and the constant surprise of the way the composition can change as you move pieces around or change the scale of fabric scraps. I particularly love trying to limit the fabrics I use, mainly using old pieces of quilt with their own histories and stories to create a unique aesthetic. In this course the colours will be limited as you will be using purely scraps taken from an antique Cumbrian utility quilt. I will give prepare a little fabric bundle for you with maybe a bit of turkey red and a floral thrown in and encourage you to make three small resolved pieces of patchwork which can then be embellished with stitch. The examples I show here were perhaps my personal favourites of the work I showed at my exhibition at the Knitting and Stitching show in 2023 and I am happy to share the techniques with you now.To be put on the reserve list for this course please contact me HERE.
Literary Ladies Wed 24th April 10-4 at The Hearth, Horsley £65 incl materials FULL
Many conversations at my workshops have featured books we have enjoyed or authors we like. This course gives you a chance to make a textile collage based round your favourite author, book title or quote. Maybe when you have finished it you hang it up in your library! I will work with you before the course happens to make sure you have an image of your writer transferred on to fabric to use as a focal point though you may prefer to do a stitched drawing. I would ideally like you to celebrate a female writer from the past – my examples feature Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and Emily Dickinson . Maybe you would choose Charlotte, Agatha or George? I am intrigued to find out. I will have stained and painted an old piece of damask for you to work on and you will need to let me know your choice before the course so I can gather appropriate materials for your project. Even if you do not read a lot I am sure you might find some of those literary women inspirational! To be put on the reserve list for this course please contact me HERE.
Folk Art Females Sat 4th May 10-4 at The Hearth, Horsley £65 incl materials FULL
Folk Art Females Friday 3rd May 10-4 at The Hearth £65 incl materials FULL
Loving old quilts has made me very familiar with the role applique plays in some designs. Applique design can be quite sophisticated, in for example Baltimore quilts, but there are lots of quirky and naïve examples too and these are the ones that really appeal to me. This course focuses on using the applique technique to create a folk art female picture on to the base of an old piece of quilt. I will show you where I get my ideas from – samplers, decorative folk arts and illustration, dalarna wall painting, domestic embroidery. You will use these influences to create your own design using finger turned applique and cotton fabrics. I like to add embroidery to mine and I hope you will too. To be put on the reserve list for etiehr of these courses please contact me HERE.
Maiden's Garland Sun 26th May 10-4 at The Hearth, Horsley £65 FULL
This workshop will start with a story – the story of the surviving Maidens’ Garlands at Old St Stephens Church, Fylingdale. 15 years ago I worked within this historic church to create an art installation which responded to the garlands and the shortened lives of the virgins and young men who lived in the period of history when these strange textile memorials were made. I will reveal the tragic stories behind their construction and some of the techniques used and then you will go on to create your own garland to take away. I will show you simple ways to construct fabric and paper flowers and manipulation techniques but you will work primarily instinctively with the materials and the circular wreath shape I will provide. You will will use old fabrics and documents and in this day course should be able to to create your own garland to take home and hang up. To be put on the reserve list for this course please contact me HERE
Winifred Sat 13th July 10-4 at The Hearth Horsley £65 incl materials FULL
Winifred Sun 14h July 10-4 at The Hearth Horsley £65 incl materials FULL
Winifred Nicholson is one of my favourite painters and I especially love her still lives of vases and pots of flowers in domestic settings or on sills with a landscape outside. In this workshop you will work from one of Winifred’s still lives ( chosen by you) and build up a textile collage which does not copy the painting exactly but does capture the the colour, composition and mood. This is a challenge, so you will be working quite small, but I have taught this class several times and the students always produce beautiful and interesting work. I will guide you all the way! You will need to choose an image before you come so that I can prepare materials specific to the colours within your painting.
If you have been on this course before then come and have another try there are so many lovely paintings to be inspired by.
To go on the reserve list for these workshops please contact me HERE
If you have been on this course before then come and have another try there are so many lovely paintings to be inspired by.
To go on the reserve list for these workshops please contact me HERE
Enchanted Forest Sun 28th July 10-4 at The Hearth, Horsley £65 incl. materials FULL
It is a long while since I taught this course but time for a revival I think! I am still enchanted by trying to depict an animal - trying to capture its’ personality through textile collage and stitch. In this one day course you will use iconic wild animals such as deer, hares, foxes and wolves as an inspirational starting point to teach you to make a textile collage which will be built up on to a base of a vintage quilt fragment. You will learn to use slow and traditional hand sewing techniques such as a freeform appliqué and embroidery in a new way to make a unique textile narrative.
You will need to choose the animal that you want to have a go at before you come so I can prepare a bundle of materials for you to use but if you have an idea of something else then provide me with a good image and I will see if I can facilitate that. You will learn a lot of the basic techniques here which can then be applied to other projects eg. birds. To be put on the reserve list for this workshop please contact me HERE.
You will need to choose the animal that you want to have a go at before you come so I can prepare a bundle of materials for you to use but if you have an idea of something else then provide me with a good image and I will see if I can facilitate that. You will learn a lot of the basic techniques here which can then be applied to other projects eg. birds. To be put on the reserve list for this workshop please contact me HERE.
Further afield in 2024
Studio Preniac France 8/05/2024 - 15/05/24 places available information HERE
French General France 10/06/2024 - 17/06/2024 AND 28/06/2024 -05/07/2024 FULL
Le Manoir de Ecureils 03/10/2024 - 09/10/2024 places available information HERE