Beginners courses in art & design

Gain a basic understanding of hand-building, glazing and decoration techniques. Explore your creative ideas whilst learning the exciting possibilities of working with clay. Enjoy a taster experience of throwing on the wheel in the final session.

Learn how to design and make a contemporary quilt using a range of construction and embellishment techniques. Work with simple shapes from recycled fabrics or bring your own fat quarters to create a personalised quilt. Suitable for beginners.

Explore the relationship between the two disciplines of drawing and watercolour painting and the opportunities when their distinct qualities are combined.

Explore the principles of planting design using form, line and texture to create dynamic planting schemes. In weekly workshops, improve the breadth of your plant knowledge whilst developing the skills and techniques of garden designers.

Painting 1 offers an introduction to the basic principles and skills associated with painting. Focus on differing approaches to observational and imaginative work, whilst learning how to organise a palette, mix colours and create different textures.

Our 'Introduction' courses provide a perfect way-in to a creative field.







Graphic Design is everywhere; in our books, magazines, and newspapers. Emblazoning packaging at the corner shop to the mall. On our screens- phones, TVs, computers and tablets. To say it’s important would be an understatement.







Don’t just consume. Learn how to use image and type to communicate your messages, emotions and ideas. Beyond this, learn about the movements and styles which have shaped the field of Graphic Design over the years, and how to find your place there.

An introduction to the world of embroidery and embellishment. Explore a concept of your choice through experimentation with embroidery and embellishment techniques using hand and machine methods.

Explore the delicacy and beauty of plants and flowers through the medium of drawing. Respond to their structural qualities and colours, using a range of media and taking inspiration from a rich and varied history of the subject. Suitable for all levels of experience.

Develop your embroidery skills in both hand and machine stitching. Create a range of samples, learn how to transfer designs to cloth, explore design ideas, experiment with fabrics and threads.

Cyanotype is a photographic printing process which produces a beautiful deep blue print from a variety of artwork, including drawings, photographs, physical objects or combinations of all of these. All levels welcome.

Tap into your artistic talents through a series of fun practical exercises that will help you start drawing, painting, looking at art, responding to the world around you and working with your imagination and ideas.

Explore the versatility and rich colours of this beautiful drawing and painting medium. Through practical exercises, discover its potential to create a variety of surface effects and its suitability for sketching and outdoor colour work.

This short course is a great introduction to drawing directly from the nude model, both male and female. Using simple excercises, you will explore different ways to represent the human form in drawing, with encouraging, helpful guidance from an experienced tutor. Suitable for absolute beginners.

From the early 20th century onwards, the advent of ‘mass’ media – newspapers, magazines, leaflets, packaging - led to some of the most innovative artistic movements in Western culture: Dada, Surrealism, Bauhaus, Punk.







Arguably, these movements (all of which centralised ‘collage’), have had more of a bearing on contemporary graphic design than anything else. Think of the countless adverts, websites, and social media posts which owe a debt to Jamie Reid’s ‘Sex Pistols’ album designs (which, in turn, owe their existence to the Dadaists).







The methodology of collage should therefore play a role in any good design practice.







Our Workshops enable you to take a deep dive into a specific process, media or tool.



They throw the spotlight onto niche areas of the visual communication field, enabling you to hone higher-level skills and gain deeper insights.







Workshops tend to have a practical focus, with little or no theory or context, although this varies by course.

Fancy having a go at this beautiful art form? This short weekend course will introduce you to the fundamental principles of lettering and calligraphy. Focussing on broad edged script, you will use different pens and nibs, and leave having completed your own sample.