Get Creative

Spend a relaxing day weaving on a table and making your own scarf or snood. Each participant will have their own eight shaft table loom to use for the session. The loom will be threaded up ahead of the workshop, so you can enjoy weaving for a full day. There will be an opportunity to incorporate a range of techniques and weave structures as well as choosing the yarns that you use, from a range of colours, textures and fibres. Participants will learn all the skills needed through group demonstrations as well as one-to-one support throughout the day.

This workshop is suitable for beginners, and all equipment and materials are provided for use during the workshop. Participants are welcome to bring along additional yarn to use within their project if they wish but this is not essential as plenty of yarn will be available to use.

Learn various wire forming techniques and create a festive garland or series of decorations for your tree. The workshop is suitable for anyone and is a nice way to learn basic metalwork and jewellery making skills. Please note though, the technique is a little repetitive and wirework can be tiring on your hands, so do bare this in mind if you have any issues with hand strength.

In the morning we will explore basic techniques creating a winter scene, including stylised trees and snowmen. We will then go on to exploring different patterns using wires and beads to create a series of snowflakes in the afternoon.

You will get a selection of wires and instructions to take home with you, so you can make more at home. There will also be the option to buy large Snowflake kits on the day, which use the same techniques, but are too repetitive to do in one sitting.

Do you have an old stool, chair or ottoman that needs some new life breathing into? Here you will learn how to upholster an item of your choice. Lesley will be on hand to help at every stage and will have a full range of upholstery tools and materials for you to use. All you will need to bring is a piece of furniture and the top fabric.

Learn to make this very useful round basket with a handle, perfect for eggs or fruit. Using traditional techniques and a variety of willows this little basket is a great introduction to further willow work.

Join us for a block of two three-hour session of mostly self-guided figure drawing with professional art model The Arty Poser. There will be a variety of poses throughout the session to give you lots of different angles to experiment with and enhance your observation and drawing practice.

This block of two sessions is open to both hobbyists and professional artists. The model will be nude, so this is not open to children, the minimum age is 18+.

Jaqueline Warrington, a jeweller and silver smith of many years’ experience, will teach how to make a silver flower out of a circular piece of silver sheet using the jeweller’s piercing saw, pliers and needle files. You will then make a stalk from silver wire and solder the two together. Lastly, you will make a leaf by hammering and shaping the silver and soldering it onto the stalk. There you have your flower!

This watercolour workshop is suitable for all levels, from absolute beginners to anyone wanting to explore new techniques. With an emphasis on exploring watercolour in a playful and mindful way, there will be minimal drawing. You will start with an exploration of our colours and techniques then you will be guided step-by-step to create two atmospheric seascapes to take home with you. Using a limited but vibrant palette, you will explore some fun watercolour techniques (using cling film, spatter, wax resist and masking fluid to create textures) as well as practising more traditional washes and wet in wet painting.

Enjoy a relaxed morning weaving your own wall hanging inspired by the landscape surrounding The Ropewalk. You will use a simple frame loom to create your wall hanging whilst combining colour and texture within your work. There will be the opportunity to explore several different weaving techniques as well as having access to a wide range of different yarns, ribbons, trimmings and roving. You will not only take away your finished wall hanging, but you will also have the skills to begin weaving at home. This workshop is perfect for beginners and all equipment, and materials will be provided for use during the session.

Learn to make a circular and heart shaped willow garland in the morning, which you can decorate in the afternoon or make large and small stars. A day filled with a range of ideas for your seasonal decorations.

Do you have an old stool, small dining room/bedroom chair or ottoman that needs some new life breathing into? Here you will learn how to upholster an item of your choice. Lesley will be on hand to help at every stage and will have a full range of upholstery tools for you to use and materials to purchase. All you will need to bring is a piece of furniture and the top fabric.

Please note we advise you have previous upholstery experience as it can be difficult to complete a project in one day.

Jacqueline Warrington studied silversmithing as well as jewellery before setting up her own business. In this workshop you will use the chasing tools to create some surface pattern. In using these kind of tools you can achieve a more controlled texture than if using a hammer. This is flat chasing using a steel flat-plate rather than a pitch bowl.

You will then make some granules from tiny pieces of silver and solder them on to the design, thus bringing some highlights to the textured piece.

Each of you will have a piece of silver 4cm x 4cm which you can cut out the earrings and the pendant from. Jacqueline will bring some copper sheet that you can practice using the chasing tools on before you commit to your silver!

Join Sue Kershaw on this workshop and create a 22cm square garden/outdoor mosaic plaque using Sue’s designs or bring along your own design. There is an exciting wide choice of materials and colours to select from. Sue will explain how to cut tiles and what works best to create a dynamic mosaic with movement and flow.

Friendly, fun and informal.

Experiment with the shapes and colours of the festive season to create your own unique glass artworks using a variety of coloured glasses, wire and solder. This workshop teaches all the basic techniques needed to achieve beautiful and original finished works, including copper foiling, soldering and finishing.

The most commonly repeated piece of advice given to aspiring writers is to read a lot. But with over 185,000 new titles published annually in the UK, where to start? And what about the classics? This writing workshop will explore how you can use your choice of reading matter to enrich and inform your own writing. It will combine practical writing exercises with some discussion of literature and provide some recommended reading. How to Read and Write is suitable for all levels of experience: for those who read and write a lot and those who don’t!