New Courses
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Beginners' Sewing
Tutors: Kat Neeser
Learn to sew in a fun, friendly environment. You’ll learn to use a sewing machine, and make a bag and a purse on this five-week course. Techniques that will be covered include sewing and finishing seams, inserting zips and making darts – all the things you need to know to start making simple projects at home. Sewing machines are provided – or bring your own and find out how to use it!
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Sew & Mend
Tutor: Tara Dakini
There’s so much you can do with just a needle, thread and a little know-how. On this workshop you’ll learn tips and tricks that will help you mend, alter and customise your clothes, from sewing on buttons to shortening hems, and lots of useful things in between – all by hand! Sewing equipment is provided but please bring a pad and pen. If you have any clothes that need mending, please bring them (see below for suggestions). There will also be fabric for you to practise on.
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Felt Making
Tutor: Ali Rabjohns
This two-day workshop aims to build your creative confidence and felt making skills. Techniques covered for the March workshop include flat felt, needle felt, cobweb and nuno felt. Techniques covered for the September workshop will be 3d forms. No previous experience of felt making is necessary. A basic feltmaking pack will be provided: 200g fibre, bubble wrap, soap and a piece of piping. Extra fibre will be available to buy on site.
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The Fire of Creativity
Tutor: Ian Currie (Vajradaka)
Learn how to bring hidden ideas to life! This workshop provides a practical approach to stimulating your imagination and finding creativity in your life, whatever you do. Using a range of exercises, Ian wll help you connect with what you are really interested in and get into the flow and rhythm of being creative.
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Watercolour Painting
Tutor: Claire Harrison
Claire will demonstrate watercolour techniques and teach you how to build up layers of colour to produce beautiful watercolour paintings. There will also be opportunities to practise core painting skills, including tone, colour and contrast. This course is for all abilities, as the focus is on developing each individual’s skill.
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Drawing & Painting with the Masters
Tutor: Claire Harrison
The return of this fun, popular course where Claire will demonstrate how the Masters achieved their techniques. Covering artists from the Renaissance to the Twentieth Century, you will look at Masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Constable, Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Cezanne and Van Gogh. Each week Claire will pick a Master and one of his works and will help each student learn the technique and choose whether to ‘copy’ it directly or adapt it in their own work. Skills learned along the way will include how to use materials in different ways, styles and composition, and core techniques such as tone and colour theory. This course is for all abilities, as Claire concentrates on developing each individual’s skill. Note: This course looks at different paintings, artists and techniques to the previous course.
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Bollywood Dance
Tutor: Kat Hamilton
Uncover the Bollywood diva in you! Learn graceful poses and essential movement techniques from this exhilarating dance style. Dance moves based on Banghra, Kathak, Belly Dance and even modern dance forms, fused together with drama and facial expression create the now familiar cinematic Bollywood magic. Suitable for all levels of dancing ability.
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Clutter Clearing
Tutor: Christine Brown
Whether it’s your physical space, your virtual world or your mind, excess clutter can leave you with that sinking feeling, draining your energy and making it difficult to keep on top of things. On this weekend workshop you will learn how to clear space in all areas of your life and get ideas and tips for keeping things organised, giving you more time, energy and enthusiasm for the priorities in your life. Clutter clearing can pave the way for a brighter, simpler, more fun and healthier life-style.
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Life Coaching
Tutor: Christine Brown
Are you drifting along in life without a clear idea of where you are going? Do you feel as though there must be more to life than this? Do your dreams lack clarity and a realistic plan of how to get there? Life Coaching can help you to work on all these things. This practical weekend worskhop will encourage you to clarify what it is you really want and enable you to overcome personal challenges and initiate and progress your dreams in ways that are right for you.
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Nutrition
Tutor: Kirsten Chick
Are you confused about what to eat? What constitutes a healthy diet for you as an individual? Or how food can support your body and mind? This six-week course will introduce you to the key principles of nutrition, and how we respond to the natural seasons and cycles, with plenty of food ideas and ways to incorporate them into your life. We’ll be looking at how our diet can affect our health on many levels, including how connected we feel. Why being hydrated is so important, and how drinking more water may not be enough. How we can become clearer and vibrant at cellular level, and practical ways to support our bodies so that we can stay grounded and energised.
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Introduction to Poetry - NEW! [copy]
Tutor: Ellen de Vries
Share ideas, gain confidence and be inspired
Take a journey of discovery into the world of poetry; find out what kind of poetry inspires you, and explore what inspires you to write. Throughout the course we'll be investigating how to turn ideas into poems with tips and techniques for story forming and painting pictures with words. We'll practice and experiment with a range of creative exercises that are designed to create interesting effects with language. As the course progresses, we'll look at how you craft and refine your work with feedback and support. We’ll also be looking at other poets’ work. Lastly, we’ll be thinking about how to get your poems into the outside world through online of offline publishing or performance.
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Exploring Drawing - NEW! [copy]
Tutor: Wendy Barratt
Improve your drawing skills
Come to this class with a desire to develop your drawing practice by exploring ways of working. The class will be structured to inspire and encourage you in drawing projects, and you will be mentored along the way by Wendy. Suggested themes will be the human form, the environment, still life and drawing from the imagination. Drawing media can include everything from charcoal to photography and you will be encouraged to explore and experiment with different media and ideas.
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Working with Pastels - NEW! [copy]
Tutor: Debbie Hinks
Learn beautiful techniques
This course will cover the principles of painting in soft pastel (not oil pastel) and how to apply it in portraits, landscapes and florals. We will be working from life and from photographs and experimenting with different papers, soft pastels and pastel pencils. The course will include lots of demonstrations and one-to-one tuition. Complete beginners and the more experienced are welcome.
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Introduction to Poetry
Tutor: Ellen de Vries
Take a journey of discovery into the world of poetry; find out what kind of poetry inspires you and explore what inspires you to write. Shake up your concept of what poetry might be and have fun playing with words, rhythm, images, stories and sounds. We’ll be investigating how to turn ideas into poems with tips and techniques for story forming and painting pictures with words. We’ll practise and experiment with a range of creative exercises that are designed to create interesting effects with language. As the course progresses, we’ll look at how you craft and refine your work with feedback and support.
Please note: The November workshop has been moved from November 12 (as stated in the printed programme) to November 19.