Tuesday 29 May
Half-Term Family Craft Workshops Join everyone in the Woodland Barn and make a spring craft to take home with you. Normal admission applies and a small charge for workshop. Visit the website for more details. hestercombe.com, Hestercombe Gardens, Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton, Somerset TA2 8LG (for sat nav use TA2 8LQ).
Thursday 31 May
Free Children’s Workshop: ‘Learn to Weave’ in the Church Rooms, Axminster 1pm – 3pm. This is a fun session for children to learn about weaving and try it for themselves.
Friday 1 June
A demonstration evening with Masterchef finalist Angela Langford The French Classics. Enjoy a fun and relaxed evening learning some new skills and techniques involved in Classic French Cookery. Opportunity to ask questions and enjoy sampling all the dishes prepared along with a lovely glass of wine or two! 7pm – 9pm, Frogmary Green Farm, South Petherton, 01460 249758 www.frogmarygreenfarm.co.uk.
Slow Stitch Develop your creative skills through the simple and mindful process of creating designs on fabric with stitch. Bring your own hand sewing kit. With Paula Simpson. 10am – 12.30pm or 1.30pm – 4pm if morning full. £12 (excluding materials). Ilminster Arts Centre, The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster. TA19 0AN. 01460 54973. www.themeetinghouse.org.uk.
Friday 1 – Sunday 3 June
Wildlife workshops NT Corfe Castle, Wareham BH20 5EZ. 10.30am – 5pm. Step inside the castle walls and meet some of the diverse wildlife of the surrounding Purbeck landscape. Join local experts in our nature tent for workshops on bats, moths and reptiles. www.nationaltrust.org.uk.
Monday 4 June
Reflex Drawing with Marie Blake, £4, The Bradshaw Room, Axminster Heritage Centre, 2pm.
Tuesday 5 June
Weekly Art Class every Tuesday 10am – 1pm at the Town Mill Arts, Lyme Regis £15 per session, first session half price. Contact Trudi Ochiltree 07812 856823 trudiochiltree@gmail.com.
Wednesday 6 June
Introduction to weaving on a loom & loom hire This one day taster workshop will guide you through the process of hand loom weaving and provide an overview of woven textiles from design through to production. The day is aimed at complete beginners looking for hands on experience or interested in taking up weaving as a hobby. Wednesdays, May – October 9.30am – 4pm. At the Weaving Studio, Trill Farm, Axminster EX13 8TU. £70 per day, refreshments included. Loom hire for experienced weavers – Toika 16 shaft computer loom and Toika 8 shaft treadle loom. All enquiries and to book contact Andrea at jacdor55@btinternet.com or call 01297 631538.
Lampshade Appliqué Workshop 9.30am – 12.30pm. Make your own bespoke lampshade using an appliqué technique. Templates provided using our design or a pre-prepared template of your own design. Learn or perfect your appliqueing skills at the fun morning workshop with Rachel and Lucy. £45 includes all instructions, materials and refreshments. Lucy Chant, Boarsbarrow Gifts & Crafts www.boarsbarrow.com.
Wednesday 6 June – 11 July
Acrylic Painting With guidance and advice, students of all abilities will be able to explore and develop their own personal painting style, with particular attention given to individual needs. With tutor Juliet Farnese. Wednesdays 10.30am – 12.30pm. £60 for a session of 6 workshops. Ilminster Arts Centre, The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster. TA19 0AN. 01460 54973. www.themeetinghouse.org.uk.
Drawing With exercises in shape and space, perspective, and the value of light and shade, students will gain an understanding of the importance of drawing as a foundation to painting and as a hugely enjoyable form of expression. With tutor Juliet Farnese. Wednesdays 2pm – 4pm. £60 for a session of 6 workshops. Ilminster Arts Centre, The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster. TA19 0AN. 01460 54973. www.themeetinghouse.org.uk.
Thursday 7 June – 12 July
Flora & Fauna in Pastel Pencil Learn the techniques of drawing in pastel pencils and discover this versatile and rewarding medium. Suitable for beginners and the more experienced. Tutor Linda Hampson. Thursdays 10am – 1pm. £66 for 6 week term. Ilminster Arts Centre, The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster. TA19 0AN. 01460 54973. www.themeetinghouse.org.uk.
Friday 8 June
By The Loom – A Fun Craft Day Axminster Heritage hands-on spinning and weaving group. Everyone welcome beginners and the more experienced. 10.30am – 3pm £3 More info: 01404 831207 or phone to book a place. Dalwood Pavilion EX13 7EU. Also 29 June.
Saturday 9 June
Decorated Animals At Axminster Heritage Centre, Silver Street, Axminster EX13 5AH, 10am – 12.30pm. Hares, Cats, Dogs, Horses, Birds? Would you like to have a go at creating some decorated animals and birds? Copy some simple shapes and learn how to decorate them using paints, pens, coloured pencils etc. Suitable for beginners or those with some experience. Cost £18 to include materials ( students are welcome to bring any of their own as well) To book a place phone 01404 831207 Or email gina.youens@btinternet.com.
Family Art Morning Familes, come along to the Arts Centre and get creative, making art works inspired by ‘My Ilminster’. With tutor Margaret Micklewright. Free drop-in session (donations requested).10.30am – 12.30pm. Ilminster Arts Centre, The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster. TA19 0AN. 01460 54973. www.themeetinghouse.org.uk.
Saturday 16 June
The Wisdom of The Upanishads Dorchester Yoga and Therapy Centre 10am – 1pm, Morning workshop exploring the spiritual teachings of these ancient texts. Led by Marj Snape experienced local teacher and member of the YogaLiving Community. The session will involve teaching, chanting and meditation. Cost £25. To book please contact Marj – 07769949947 marjsnape@gmail.com or www.fordingtonyoga.co.uk.
I hear it in the deep heart’s core – Gardens and Things That Grow Poetry Workshop and Reading with Rachel Piercey, Poet and Publisher with the Emma Press. Be inspired by the magic of Littlebredy Walled Garden and find new ways to write about an age old subject. To include a shared reading of work. Workshop 12noon – 4.30pm : Shared Reading 5pm-7pm Littlebredy Walled Garden, Littlebredy, Dorchester, DT2 9HL. £20 for the workshop and reading : £5 for just the reading. To book a place on the workshop and/or the reading and to submit a poem please contact Maya Pieris at maya.pieris@btinternet.com or on 01308 485169. The workshop is limited to 10 people, the shared reading to further participants. The workshop includes light refreshments, the shared reading a glass and nibbles. Profits to go to Littlebredy Walled Garden.
Windrush willow: Flat Trugs and trays 10am – 4pm, Reed Base at Seaton Wetlands. Suitable for beginners and intermediates chose between a garden flower or produce trug or a tray and two different handles. Booking required, discover more at wildeastdevon.co.uk, 01395 517557, countryside@eastdevon.gov.uk, £42 per person.
Saturday 16 – Sunday 17 June
Blacksmithing Weekend Immerse yourself in a weekend of working outdoors learning the traditional skill of Blacksmithing at Limemead Farm, BA22 9QU with Arian Leljak and Alasdair Green. Work alongside your child to learn how to set up a Blacksmith workshop & work with different metals, constructing a Forge. You will develop your black smithing skills and make several items to take home. £175 for adult and child (9 years plus). £75 for additional family member and £50 per day for young people (who must have attended a course before). Free Camping available or book a room in the Farmhouse for £50 a night per room. Rachelle Green, Core Creative Education CIC, www.coreprojects.org.uk, 01935 891 661.
A Mindful Approach to Life Drawing The School of Art and Well-Being Our, the course this month is a 2 day life drawing course run by Louise Banks. A weekend course working in line and wash using water soluble art materials such as Inktense and graphite pencils along with compressed charcoal. Exploring expressive line moving into tonal washes. Please look on the website for the course details
www.oldpavilioncourses.co.uk or phone 01404 45699.
Thursday 21 – Sunday 24 June
Mindfulness Course Weaving the Threads of Creativity & Mindfulness: Honouring the Creative Soul. Exploring your creative soul though mindfulness and the metaphor of weaving. Othona, W. Dorset. Contact: www.othonawestdorset.org.uk or 01308 879130.
Saturday 23 June
Floral Crown Workshop 11am – 1pm with Zanna at her floral studio in St Michael’s trading estate. Learn how to wire yourself a beautiful summer flower crown to take home. Children over the age of about 9 are welcome with a parent (one parent per child please). All materials provided, including tea and cake. Booking essential. Contact Zanna at Champernhayes Flowers & Foliage: zannahoskins1@yahoo.co.uk / 07789564557 Come and get all summery, using beautiful, locally-grown, British flowers.
Vanessa Bell (1879-1961) study day Vanessa Bell was a central figure of the Bloomsbury Group, a modernist painter, she was the significant innovator in the use of abstraction, use of colour and form in early 20th century British art, inventing a new language of visual expression. Bell was also a key figure in the ‘Omega Workshops’, where artists provided designs for textiles, ceramics, furniture, fashion and interior design schemes. Sister of Virginia Woolf, she was connected across a literary context in Bloomsbury London life and also at ‘Charleston’, the farmhouse in Sussex that she moved to. The half day study day will explore Vanessa Bell’s painting in context, looking at the ‘Omega Workshops’ and also study ‘Charleston’, where she and Duncan Grant decorated the farmhouse interior, painting the walls and the surfaces and where they made a bohemian life possible. They also created and planted a garden at Charleston which they went on to paint. Fee: £20, refreshments included. The White Room, Chapel in the Garden, Unitarian Chapel, East St, Bridport. 1.30pm – 4.30pm. Pam Simpson MA, Art and Design Historian. To book for the study day email Pam: chris.pamsimpson@btinternet.com or tel 01300 321715.
Wednesday 27 June
Sausage Making Course with Clinton Bonner from award winning Butchers Bonners of Ilminster. Learn how to make and flavour your own sausages. Includes lots of tasters and a glass of wine and a hot dog at the end of the session. 7.30pm – 9pm, Frogmary Green Farm, South Petherton 01460 249758 www.frogmarygreenfarm.co.uk.
Friday 29 June
Living Nutrition £295 Non-Residential / £395 Residential. A Nutritional Weekend Retreat with medicinal nutritionalist Daphne Lambert focusing on the abundance of colourful foods in summer. All courses include a delicious organic lunch. For booking Call 01297 631113 or visit www.trillfarm.co.uk. Trill Farm, Musbury, Axminster, Devon EX13 8TU.
Artisan Soft Cheese Making Course Learn the skills to make lovely soft cheeses including Mozzarella, Halloumi, Mascarpone and Butter at home in your own kitchen. 9.45am – 2.30pm Includes lunch. Frogmary Green Farm Cookery School, South Petherton 01460 249758 www.frogmarygreenfarm.co.uk.