Art
Our art classes are one of the jewels in our crown, introducing and developing a wide-range of skills and allowing students to explore their creativity. We have 1 hour, 2 hour, half-day and day-long courses to suit all ages and interests.
Little Art-Venture Club (0-2yrs)
Mondays 29th July, 5th August, 12th August, 19th August, 09.30 - 10.15 (£12.50 per session)
Join our special holiday edition of our popular term time Little Art-Venture Club! These classes are a great introduction to the world of art for your little one. These child-led, exploratory sessions enable you and your child to discover different materials, textures and art forms in an engaging and stimulating environment. Children acquire new skills on a week-by-week basis and gain more confidence in the vocabulary they use to describe what they see and feel. If you are already a part of the Little Art-Venture Club, then keep your artistic muscles working by joining our 4-week summer programme. If you are brand new to our Club, we’d love to welcome you too! These 4 summer sessions are a great way to try out these classes to see if they will be right for your little artist in September. Please note, these are not drop off sessions, and parents and carers stay and join in.
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Little Art-Venture Club (2-4 yrs)
Mondays 29th July, 5th August, 12th August, 19th August, 10.30 - 11.30 OR 11.45 - 12.45 (£14.50 per session)
Join our special holiday edition of our popular term time Little Art-Venture Club! These classes are a great introduction to the world of art for your little one. These child-led, exploratory sessions enable you and your child to discover different materials, textures and art forms in an engaging and stimulating environment. Children acquire new skills on a week-by-week basis and gain more confidence in the vocabulary they use to describe what they see and feel. If you are already a part of the Little Art-Venture Club, then keep your artistic muscles working by joining our 4-week summer programme. If you are brand new to our Club, we’d love to welcome you too! These 4 summer sessions are a great way to try out these classes to see if they will be right for your little artist in September. Please note, these are not drop off sessions, and parents and carers stay and join in.
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Sophie’s Circus (5-7 yrs)
Monday 29th July, 13.45 - 15.45 (£24)
Based on the work of Sophie Tauber-Arp we'll make our own puppets out of geometric shapes... they’ll even have moving parts! Our creations will look like they belong in the circus, so we'll make some bright and colourful circus pictures to go with your puppet. Maybe you could put on a show at home for the grown-ups!
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Let’s Visit Morocco! (5-11 yrs)
Tuesday 30th July, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Visit the colourful country of Morocco without having to pack a bag, remember your passport, or buy a ticket! From the comfort of our lovely art studio we will explore all of the excitement that the markets of Marrakech have to offer... from which of the beautiful Riads and Berber rugs will you take inspiration? We’ll make colourful foldable streets out of card, painting them using bright shades. Take your paper city home and bring Morocco back to your friends and family! Interested in clay but not around at this time in the summer? Check out our Clay Safari workshop on the 25th July!
Tutor: Lilly Walker
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Teddy Bears’ Picnic (3-5 yrs)
Thursday 1st August, 09.30 - 11.30 OR 12.30 - 14.30 (£24)
Summer is a time for doing everything outside, including eating our lunches and dinners! Shall we have a teddy bears’ picnic? We'll do some paper weaving inspired by the paintings of the French impressionists, and we’ll make a fabulous collage of painted food. Bring a teddy to join in!
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Paint like an Egyptian (4-7 yrs)
Thursday 1st August, 15.00 - 17.00 (£24)
Come along to this fun and colourful class to be inspired by beautiful Ancient Egyptian wall art! We will paint ourselves in profile, just like the pharaohs. Let’s try and decipher some hieroglyphics and write our own names!
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Sunshine & Rain (3-5 yrs)
Friday 2nd August, 09.30 - 11.30 (£24)
Let’s explore colours – the warm yellow sun of summer and the blue of the sky! Everyone loves a rainbow, can we make a rainbow snail to trail all the colours from his tail? We'll make one using paint and collage materials. What's your favourite colour? They're all here!
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Dreaming of Dinosaurs (4-7 yrs)
Friday 2nd August, 12.30 - 14.30 OR 15.00 - 17.00 (£24)
Have you ever wanted to meet a real-life dinosaur? Let’s use some clay and sticks to create our very own tiny dinosaurs to keep as pets! We'll have a look at the shapes of dinosaurs and do some rubbings and stencils. You can make your favourite dinosaur or make a new one up, adding your favourite features. Will it fly or stomp around on the ground?
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Make Your Own Resin Flower Jewellery (8-14 yrs)
Monday 5th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Which summer flowers would you like to preserve forever? Come along to this resin jewellery workshop at the Conservatoire to make beautiful resin pieces to wear into the autumn months, to keep summer with you! Using Eco resin and dried flowers, we will create pieces of jewellery perfect to wear in all seasons. Perfect for a summer souvenir or a present for someone you love!
Tutor: Clare Kendall
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Beautiful Birds of Paradise (5-7 yrs)
Monday 5th August, 13.45 - 15.45 (£24)
Have you seen the stunning birds of the rainforest? Perhaps you have seen them on your holidays. They are so colourful that it is hard to believe they are real! We will draw, design and then make a sculpture of our very own Bird of Paradise with beautiful decorated wings. You can take your sculpture home to show all of your friends how beautiful these birds are.
Tutor: Sue Harris
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The Tiger Who Came To Tea (3-5 yrs)
Tuesday 6th August, 09.30 - 11.30 (£24)
Do you have a cat as a pet? Or have you ever seen big cats out in the wild? There are lions, tigers, panthers, jaguars... let’s explore them together! We’ll make an inky tiger or a stripy cat, using ink painting and fun printing techniques. What colours will your big cat be?
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Sun Printing (8-14 yrs)
Tuesday 6th August, 09.30 - 12.30 (£38)
Harness the power of nature and the sun to make your art! Sun Printing, also known as cyanotype printing, uses special, light sensitive materials to create beautiful blue and white prints. You will learn how to create your own cyanotype paper, make stencils, and explore adding different colours to make unique pieces of art. Throughout the day, you will get the chance to experiment with other art techniques that use light, ending the day with an exciting range of magical, natural artworks to take home. And if we get a particularly British summer and the sun doesn't shine... don't worry, there are other magical ways to make your nature print come to life!
Tutor: Ellie Wright
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Shapes & Play: Paul Klee (3-5 yrs)
Tuesday 6th August, 12.30 - 14.30 (£24)
Looking at the work of Paul Klee, specifically the beautiful painting ‘Castle and Sun’, we will explore geometric shapes and how he uses colour and shape in his work. We’ll use rollers and painting tools to make our own geometric shapes, and create our own geometric city... which shapes will you create?
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Teen Clay Club (12-15 yrs)
Tuesday 6th August, 13.30 - 16.30 (£38)
Ever fancied learning how to use clay, or have a clay project in mind? In this half day workshop you will be free to create your own ceramic ideas under the guidance of an experienced ceramic tutor. Students will create one or two pieces that will be decorated in coloured slips. Pieces will then be glazed and fired and ready to collect after the summer holidays.
Tutor: Ellie Osborne
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Terrific Travel (4-7 yrs)
Tuesday 6th August, 15.00 - 17.00 (£24)
Trains, boats, cars, bicycles, scooters, planes... it’s time for the holidays! Where are we going and how will we get there? In our art class we will explore lots of different vehicles and types of transport, using paint and collage. We'll even make our own!
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Let’s Visit Sweet Street! (5-11 yrs)
Wednesday 7th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Wayne Thiebaud was an American painter known for his colourful art depicting commonplace objects. We will be inspired by his wonderful work and create our own versions of his food art out of clay! We’ll be celebrating all things sweet and delicious by making pies, ice cream cones, pastries... what will your visit to Sweet Street look like?
Tutor: Lilly Walker
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Painting and Printing Hokusai's Wave (3-5 yrs)
Wednesday 7th August, 09.30 - 11.30 (£24)
Inspired by Hokusai’s Wave, we will explore all of the fun basics of printing together. We'll also make a colourful crocodile with inky sponges, investigating colours and shapes. What else might be under the waves?
Tutor: Sue Harris
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You versus Van Gogh! (4-7 yrs)
Wednesday 7th August, 12.30 - 14.30 OR 15.00 - 17.00 (£24)
Looking at the famous painting ‘Starry Night’ by Van Gogh, we will have a go at creating our own versions. Using drawing and painting, we'll use different shades to create the movement that we see within this stunning masterpiece. Which stars will you find in the sky?
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Let’s Visit Ghana! (8-12 yrs)
Thursday 8th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Have you ever wanted to travel to Ghana? Well now you can explore the incredible artwork of that country without having to cross a continent! Come along to the Conservatoire to immerse yourself in the beautiful patterns, colours and combinations that are found in traditional Ghanaian masks. We will make our own masks, mixing and matching our patterns to create the one we want. We’ll paint in bright colours and have fun with our very own designs!
Tutor: Lilly Walker
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Summer Screenprinting (7-12 yrs)
Thursday 8th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Come along to this fun workshop at the Conservatoire to learn a new skill! Learn the whole process of screen printing, from drawing up your own design to using a silk screen to transfer it onto paper and fabric. Create your own graphics to turn into a poster and tote bag that you can take home and show off to your friends and family!
Tutor: Tash Mok
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Drawing Big! Enter the World of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (7-14 yrs)
Friday 9th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Envelop yourself in the world of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ through drawing on a large scale. Let’s make the set and characters together! Working collaboratively we will make a set for our story full of adventure and whimsy. Practice your skills of observation as we draw again from the theatre sets we have made to add to our imaginative portfolio.
Tutor: Fiona Berry
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Build Your Own Film Set (8-14yrs)
Friday 9th August, 09.30 - 16.00 (£68)
Imagine creating a whole new world you and your favourite toys can have adventures built from items you find in the home or the garden! Now you can with this exciting short film workshop. Create space rockets, mountains, forests, submarines and more! Then record yourself taking an adventure to the places you’ve built. Using their own tablets or smartphones, children will dream up an exciting adventure to film themselves in. They'll learn how to write a script, create storyboards, and then translate their ideas into a captivating short film. Under the guidance of our professional filmmaker, children will learn techniques like puppetry and digital effects to make their toys come to life on screen. They'll film and edit their own stories, adding in voices and sound effects to complete the experience. The workshop will culminate in a final production that each child can take home for a special toy story movie night with family and friends. Please note that participants must bring their own tablet or smartphone, and their favourite toys. This workshop is a fantastic way to bring children's imagination to life and introduce them to the magic of filmmaking.
Tutor: Paul McGhie
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Make A Mural! (7-12 yrs)
Monday 12th August and/or Monday 19th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64 per day)
Join this class for the chance to make your mark on the Conservatoire with a brand new mural! We are sprucing up and re-creating our mural in the creativity garden – perhaps you have seen it before if you have been in our sandpits or waited in the garden before your class? Make a Mural happens in two sections; in the f irst week the group will imagine and design the mural, guided by our wonderful tutor Eileen. In the second week we will get the brushes out because it’s time to paint! You will also get to take home your own mini piece of the mural to display at home. You do not have to book on to both classes, but you are welcome to do so if you want to be a part of the full mural process. Come along to Make a Mural and your creativity will be on display at the Conservatoire for many years to come! There are two sessions of this class – you can book on to one or both of them. In the first class the group will be designing the mural and the second class will be bringing it to life! Book one or both.
Tutor: Eileen Wu
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Flickering Fish (5-7 yrs)
Monday 12th August, 13.45 - 15.45 (£24)
Have you ever seen Koi carp swimming in a pool? Aren’t they amazing! We’ll try to recreate their movement in the water while practising our brushwork, inspired by Chinese traditions and using ink in beautiful colours. We’ll look at different techniques artists use to create the effect of water, and magically bring it to life on our pages.
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Make a Summer Hat! (6-12 yrs)
Tuesday 13th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
The sun has got his hat on! And so will we on this fun all-day class at the Conservatoire. Over the course of the day we will make a colourful sun hat from cardboard, papier mache and other recycled materials, inspired by our favourite summer holiday activities. Our own creations will be ready to wear all summer long!
Tutor: Ellie Osborne
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Do You Like To Doodle? (3-5 yrs)
Tuesday 13th August, 09.30 - 11.30 (£24)
Hirameki means ‘brainwave' or 'flash of inspiration' in Japanese... and it is where doodling and imagination come together to create something amazing! We will make inky fingerprints and blots, and then create something new from our doodles. What can you see in the shapes? We’ll use pens to add features. Will yours be insects? Or planets? Or even people?
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Green, Green, and More Green! (4-7 yrs)
Tuesday 13th August, 12.30 - 14.30
Have you ever been in a greenhouse or conservatory and marvelled at how many different greens there are? There are light and dark greens, warm and cool green... even bright and dull greens! Let’s see how many greens we can mix up and paint together. We will also get inspired by textures on leaves and sticks and use clay to make a paperweight to take home!
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Take a Seat! (4-7 yrs)
Tuesday 13th August, 15.00 - 17.00 (£24)
What is better after a long day out and about than a comfy place to rest! In this class we'll design our own chair and make it out of modelling materials. Will it be a deckchair, and squishy sofa or a desk chair? We'll have an inventive time making chairs out of different materials. You can take inspiration from chairs you have at home and ones you’ve seen out and about.
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Wonderful Weaving (7-12 yrs)
Wednesday 14th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Ready, steady, weave! Come along to the Conservatoire for a day full of fabric fun... we will create colourful, intricate woven pieces using yarn and fabric that you can hang on your wall decoratively, and use practically. What would you like to make? Perhaps you’ll take home a beautiful wall-hanging, or a rug, or even a book-cover!
Tutor: Tash Mok
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The Super Style of Eric Carle (3-5 yrs)
Wednesday 14th August, 09.30 - 11.30 OR 12.30 - 14.30 (£24)
We all know and love Eric Carle books like The Hungry Caterpillar! He has a distinctive, immediately recognisable style which brings a lot of fun to storytelling. Which book is your favourite? We'll be painting tissue papers in different colours and patterns, and use them to make our own collage animals, caterpillars or butterflies.
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Musical Mardi Gras (4-7 yrs)
Wednesday 14th August, 15.00 - 17.00 (£24)
Lets make some musical instruments and take this show down to New Orleans! We'll create our own stick rattles and other exciting instruments, based on African percussion. We’ll use leaves and other natural materials to create intricate masks so that we so can join in the masked ball at Mardi Gras!
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Flip Portraits (6-12 yrs)
Thursday 15th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Ever wanted to create a self portrait but thought "I can't do that"? Well, we’re here to tell you yes you can, with guaranteed success! Introducing the unique method of the Flip Portrait, taught by our fantastic visiting tutor Jonathan Huxley. We are delighted to have him at the Conservatoire again this summer! Using clever methods he will teach you how to conjure up magical self-portraits using acetate, photographs, Sharpies, and tissue paper... you’ll create your portraits with beautiful backgrounds! Everyone will go home with a unique finished work with your own lovely face at the centre.
Tutor: Jonathan Huxley
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Let’s Visit The Corner Shop! (5 - 11 yrs)
Friday 16th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Artist Lucy Sparrow used 300 square meters of felt to create her work The Cornershop – a shop completely filled with food made out of felt! We will be inspired by her fun and clever work on this fun all-day course. We will use felt and cotton wool to create our own products for our corner shops, like fruits, vegetables, packets of biscuits and cartons of juice. What will you be selling in your shop?
Tutor: Lilly Walker
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Summer Forests with Rousseau (5-11 yrs)
Friday 16th August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Have you ever seen the work of Henri Rousseau? Together we will create a forest artwork in his style, using mixed media, paint, and collage. You will draw and paint your own fantastical forest using real leaves and all kinds of natural elements! You’ll even design a forest-inspired t-shirt using bright colours that you can find in a Rousseau painting, as well as a summer adventure sketch book.
Tutor: Nicola Corrigan
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Straw Dolls & Leafy Wardrobes (5-7 yrs)
Monday 19th August, 13.45 - 15.45 (£24)
Join this fun class at the Conservatoire to learn how to create traditional straw dolls! These dolls are often made at this time of year to celebrate harvest festivals. We will make some paper dolls as well, and create beautiful clothes and hats for them – all of them made out of real leaves!
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Story Explorers: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (6-11 yrs)
Tuesday 20th August, 09.30 - 13.30 (£51)
Create your own spell book inspired by the first book in the Harry Potter series! We will explore marbling and paper aging techniques, collage and found materials to make our books look as old as Dumbledore himself. To stay inspired we’ll listen to music by John Williams from the original film.
Tutor: Clare Kendall
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Story Explorers: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (6-11 yrs)
Tuesday 20th August, 14.30 - 18.30 (£51)
Inspired by the second book in the Harry Potter series, we'll be making our own wands from found materials such as wood, glass beads, string and glue and brushing up on our potion brewing skills. Make and take home a vial of polyjuice potion or Wolfsbane tonic to keep those werewolves at bay!
Tutor: Clare Kendall
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Georgia’s Giant Flowers (3-5 yrs)
Tuesday 20th August, 09.30 - 11.30 OR 12.30 - 14.30 (£24)
Let’s explore an ants’ eye view of the inside of a flower! Inspired by Georgia O’Keefe and her beautiful botanical paintings, we'll make a large-scale flower painting using mixed media and some paper flowers. We’ll explore using paint and collage – how big can our flowers get!? Perhaps they will spill off the page.
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Energetic Lines with Jean DuBuffet (4-7 yrs)
Tuesday 20th August, 15.00 - 17.00 (£24)
Jean Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor. Inspired by his work, we will take a line for a walk around the paper and look at the way he used primary colours alongside black to create his wibblywobbly paintings. He also used mud! We will create a sculpture from our energetic lines to take home.
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Van Gogh’s Summer Sunflowers (5-11 yrs)
Wednesday 21st August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
It’s summer and the sunflowers are out! We’ll be using bright colours, drawing from nature, flowers and foliage in the style of Van Gogh! Explore his signature style by using thick paint and bold brushstrokes... we’ll create our very own version of his famous sunflowers on paper plates. We’ll also paint a beautiful summer bag and an abstract starry summer sky!
Tutor: Nicola Corrigan
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Colour Mix & Match (3-5 yrs)
Wednesday 21st August, 09.30 - 11.30 (£24)
Do you know which are the primary and secondary colours? We’ll mix up lots of colours and see what we can discover! We’ll make our own bright and brilliant colour wheel, so that you can always remember which colours make other ones. We’ll have fun with coloured acetates too!
Tutor: Sue Harris
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On The Farm (4-7 yrs)
Wednesday 21st August, 12.30 - 14.30 (£24)
Have you visited a farm in the holidays? We’ll have a look at what animals we can find on the farm, especially sheep! We’ll use collage and paint to decorate our own farm scenes. We will be mixing lots of greens and painting in textures to resemble grass surrounding our lovely flock of sheep! What other animals can you find?
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Roman Legionnaire (4-7 yrs)
Wednesday 21st August, 15.00 - 17.00 (£24)
Inspired by the Roman exhibition at the British Museum we will use all of our creativity to make our own Roman jewellery, armour and even a shield. Maybe we’ll even have time for some sandals? And then... we’re ready to march!
Tutor: Sue Harris
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Escape To The Clay Jungle! (6-12 yrs)
Thursday 22nd August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
We’re escaping to the jungle! Spend the day in a tropical rainforest, where we will be making amazing clay animals. Learn how to shape clay to create your own favourite creature whether it be a jaguar, lemur, orangutan or toucan – let your imagination go wild. We will be decorating our creatures in bright colours to bring them to life. Discover the joy of shaping, moulding, and detailing your clay creations under the guidance of an experienced instructor. Unleash your inner artist and let your imagination run wild in this immersive and unforgettable artistic journey!
Tutor: Ellie Osborne
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Creating Paper Costumes (7-14 yrs)
Thursday 22nd August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Transform into a character from a fairytale or well-known story by creating a costume purely from paper! Using the powers of transformation we will cut, twist, bend and stick paper to create a costume piece that helps us to transform into a character from our story... and then we will paint our creations! Who will you become and what will express your character best? A twisty black beard? A jester’s hat? Or a flowing red cape?
Tutor: Fiona Berry
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At The Beach with Hokusai’s Great Wave (5-11 yrs)
Friday 23rd August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Have you ever seen this famous painting of a giant wave about to crash? In this workshop we will be inspired by it and create our own versions of the giant floating world that is the ocean. We’ll draw, paint, and design a collage beach, as well as exploring multi-media forms like creating our own backpacks and sketch books. All inspired by this glorious art work!
Tutor: Nicola Corrigan
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Groovy Tie Dye (7-12 yrs)
Friday 23rd August, 09.30 - 15.30 (£64)
Learn how to dye fabric using natural and synthetic dyes, creating groovy patterns and colours. First we will use different tying techniques to make a range of patterns, practicing first on scrap material, and then transferring what we’ve learnt onto t-shirts, tote bags and socks. Design your own range of tie dye summer wear that you can proudly show off to your family and friends!
Tutor: Tash Mok
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