About

The Summer holidays are approaching, so it’s time to start making plans. Lucky for you, the Conservatoire have got you covered!

The art classes at the Conservatoire are one of the jewels in their crown, they introduce and develope a wide-range of skills and allow students to explore their creativity.

Little Art-Venture Club 
Workshop Dates: Monday 24th July to 14th August
Time: 9:30am - 10:15am
* Suitable for ages 0-2

Little Art-Venture Club 
Workshop Date: Monday 24th July to 14th August 
Time: 10:30am - 11:30am OR 11:45am - 12:45pm
 * Suitable for ages 2-4

Join the special holiday edition of the popular term time Little Art-Venture Club! These classes are a great introduction to the world of art for your little ones. 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
To find out more, click here.

Hockney Pools 
Workshop Date: Monday 24th July
Time: 1:30pm - 3:30pm 
Are you going to a beach or a swimming pool this holiday? The artist David Hockney has an immersive exhibition on in London, where the images are projected all around the walls… it feels like you are walking in his paintings! He is famous for his swimming pool paintings, and we will try and achieve some of the same effects in our workshop. Then we’ll make a little clay swimming pool and a little version of you swimming in it to take home! Perhaps you will even take your grown ups to see Mr Hockney’s exhibition?
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 4-7 
To find out more, click here.

Let’s Visit Italy! 
Workshop Date: Monday 24th July
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Visit the glittering city of Venice 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 Venice has to offer... which of the famous Italian artworks will you take inspiration from? We’ll make a Venetian masquerade mask so you can join in the festivities! Take your mask home and bring the carnival back to your friends and family!
Tutor: Lilly Walker
* Suitable for ages 5-11 
To find out more, click here.

Going on a Clay Safari! 
Workshop Date: Tuesday 25th July
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
We’re going on a safari! Spend the day on the savannah, where we will be making amazing clay safari animals. Learn how to shape clay to create your own favourite beast whether it be a lion, zebra, giraffe or rhino – let your imagination go wild. We will be decorating our creatures in bright colours to bring them to life. It will be roaringly good fun! Interested in clay but not around at this time in the summer? Check out our Clay Underwater Adventure workshop on the 16th August!
Tutor: Ellie Osborne
* Suitable for ages 6-11
To find out more, click here.

Let’s Visit Peru! 
Workshop Date: Tuesday 25th July
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Have you ever wanted to travel to Darkest Peru, like Paddington Bear? Well now you can explore the incredible artwork of that country without having to cross an ocean! Come along to the Conservatoire to immerse yourself in the beautiful patterns, colours and combinations that are found in traditional Peruvian textiles. We will make a gorgeous “rug” out of clay tiles, 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
* Suitable for ages 8-12
To find out more, click here.

Beaches, Seascapes & Matisse 
Workshop Date: Wednesday 26th July
Time: 9:30am - 3:30 pm
Come along to the Conservatoire for this fun all-day workshop! Inspired by the works of Henri Matisse, you’ll design your own seascape using collage, watercolours, and mixed media. You’ll create a seascape, island or beach using recycled and found items, and produce watercolour illustrations and drawings inspired by your multimedia river, beach or island artworks and create holiday T- shirts based on your artworks. Join us for a day of art and excitement!
Tutor: Nicola Corrigan
* Suitable for ages 5-11 
To find out more, click here.

Food Glorious Food 
Workshop Date: Thursday 27th July
Time: 10:00am - 12 noon 
Did you know potatoes aren’t just good for eating… they’re good for making art too! We will do vegetable printing to make patterns and pictures together, and we will discuss and explore different foods we like and those that are eaten around the world. We will have a morning of arty, foody fun, using paint, printing, collage… we’ll even make some playdough pancakes!
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 3-5 
To find out more, click here.

Mix It Up! 
Workshop Date: Thursday 27th July
Time: 1:30pm - 3:30pm
Colour mixing with a difference! Have you ever seen stained glass windows? Perhaps you saw them in a church or a hall - did you see how beautiful the colour is when the light pours through this glass? In our workshop we will use coloured acetates (big sheets!) to explore pure colour and what happens when we mix colours. Together we will decorate jars with coloured tissues to make the colours we want… we’ll put a candle inside and enjoy the glow!
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 4-7 
To find out more, click here.

Wonderful Weaving 
Workshop Date: Friday 28th July
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
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
* Suitable for ages 7-12 
To find out more, click here.

Migrating Summer Sculptures 
Workshop Date: Friday 28th July
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm 
Come along to the Conservatoire to create a summer sculpture installation! Using found and recycled materials we will be sculpting a flock of birds that will descend and live in the Conservatoire's very own creative garden! Join us to test out your sculptural skills, and to create something for the community to enjoy together.
Tutor: Clare Kendall & Dot Young
* Suitable for ages 8-14 
To find out more, click here.

Marvellous Maps & Terrific Travel 
Workshop Date: Monday 31st July
Time: 1:30pm - 3:30pm
How do you travel to your holiday destination? By scooter, by bike, by plane or in a camper van? Perhaps you have travelled by boat! Together in our workshop we will look at all of these different vehicles and construct a group map all together, using construction materials to represent far-away lands from our imagination. We will use collage, drawing, glue and junk modelling materials to create our exciting landscape, and together we will decide how we get there!
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 4-7 
To find out more, click here.

Hello Red Fox 
Workshop Date:Tuesday 1st August
Time: 10:00am - 12 noon
‘Hello Red Fox’ is a book by Eric Carle, and it teaches children all about contrasting colours through the use of simple techniques. We will explore colour ‘opposites’ and show how red can turn green if you stare for long enough… just like magic! As well as Red Fox, we will also be introduced to Purple Butterfly, Orange Cat and White Dog with Black Spots - there are so many colourful characters to get to know! Come and join us for this fun morning workshop.
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 3-5 
To find out more, click here.

Our Own Owls 
Workshop Date: Tuesday 1st August
Time: 1:30pm - 3:30pm 
Did you know it is Owl Day on 4th August? There are so many types of owls that live here in Britain; we have the Barn Owl, the Tawny Owl, the Long-Eared Owl, and even (if you look closely!) the Little Owl! In our workshop we will look at these beautiful birds and their feathers, and we will try and draw them with a range of drawing materials, and make our own birds to take home. You could keep your painted owl as a pet, or perch it in a tree at home for your neighbourhood to enjoy!
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 4-7 
To find out more, click here.

Let's Visit Australia! 
Workshop Date: Wednesday 2nd August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm 
Australia is famous for koalas, kangaroos, throwing shrimp on the barbie, and the incredible Great Barrier Reef. Come on a trip with us all the way to the other side of the world - and you don't even have to leave our studio! On this all-day course we will be creating our own underwater reef using clay, inspired by the Australian wonder of the underwater world. We’ll make colourful corals, fantastic fish and even some pretty scary predators... what will your own incredible reef look like?
Tutor: Lilly Walker
* Suitable for ages 5-11 
To find out more, click here.

Let’s Visit India! 
Workshop Date: Thursday 3rd August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm 
Have you ever travelled to India and seen the incredible elephants who live there? The Indian elephant is a cultural symbol throughout Asia, and these magnificent creatures appear in many Asian religious traditions and mythologies. Elephants are sometimes revered as deities, often symbolising strength and wisdom. Come along to the Conservatoire to make a flying, arty visit to India, and create a beautiful elephant mosaic. We’ll use colourful buttons, discs and stones to create a fantastic card mosaic for you to take home, as well as extra activities to transport us across the world!
Tutor: Lilly Walker
* Suitable for ages 8-12 
To find out more, click here.

Bookbinding: Create a Custom Journal 
Workshop Date: Friday 4th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm 
Come along to this course if you are a stationary lover! Together we will figure out how to make our own gorgeous custom journals, or notebooks. Our expert designer Maria will show you a beautiful Japanese bookbinding technique using pretty colourful threads, and you will use this clever and ancient technique to make your own handmade journal. We love projects that are both functional and stylish! There is nothing more rewarding than creating a handmade journal from scratch. It creates a useful tool that you can use daily to record your thoughts and feelings through art and words. We can’t wait to see what you create!
Tutor: Maria Zvaric
* Suitable for ages 8-14 
To find out more, click here.

Butterflies and Caterpillars 
Workshop Date: Monday 7th August
Time: 1:30pm - 3:30pm
In summer there are many more insects around… have you seen them yet? In this workshop, we will look at some of these interesting creatures and make studies of them, including spiders and butterflies. What is your favourite insect? Together we’ll look at the magical life cycle of the butterfly, and make some insects using drawing, wire, feathers and pipe cleaners. Our incredible insects will creep across the table, or fly through the air!
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 4-7 
To find out more, click here.

Make a Vintage Travel Poster! 
Workshop Date: Monday 7th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Perhaps you’ve been on a train this summer and seen some beautiful travel posters along the Great Western Railway! Taking inspiration from the beautiful vintage travel posters of yesteryear we will first sketch and then illustrate our very own poster, using inks and watercolour. Choose your own destination and let your imagination take you there! Where will you go?
Tutor: Clare Kendall
* Suitable for ages 8-14 
To find out more, click here.

Plaster Paradise 
Workshop Date: Tuesday 8th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Have you ever wanted to capture a summer holiday forever? Perhaps you take photographs, or you bring home souvenirs… well on this course you can preserve these special memories in plaster! Using items from your trips, textures and other designs, you will create clay tiles imprinted with memories or designs from your favourite holiday, splatter and relief sculpture. Come along to create a scene or environment which reflects your favourite holiday memory or embraces your ideas around travel, and become a craftsperson through creating your plaster tile!
Tutor: Catherine Walker
* Suitable for ages 11-15 
To find out more, click here.

Make Your Own Boardgame 
Workshop Date: Wednesday 9th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Have you ever wondered what it takes to make a board game, and would love to explore making one of your own? Join this workshop at the Conservatoire with award-winning game designer Betty Adamou, where you'll learn what makes a fun and engaging board game, and how to create one yourself. Learning skills in design, making, problem-solving, teamwork and independent learning, this fun workshop will get you thinking and creating all day! We'll be using all sorts of materials to make our games and be inspired by old and new games alike to bring our ideas to life. Best yet, we'll be using our board game designs to understand and solve real world problems - come along to get involved!
Tutor: Betty Adamou
* Suitable for ages 9-15 
To find out more, click here.

Fashion Illustration for Teens 
Workshop Date: Wednesday 9th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
A short course for teens exploring the world of fashion illustration. If you love fashion and are always drawing your next design this course is perfect for you. We will explore a range of illustrative techniques used in fashion illustration as well as experimenting with different materials. Participants will finishing off the day by creating their own fashion illustration design using their favourite techniques from the session.
Tutor: Florence Tambini Cooper
* Suitable for ages 11-13
To find out more, click here.

Make a Shadow Puppet 
Workshop Date: Thursday 10th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
What is lurking in the shadows... come along to this workshop to find out! We’ll be looking at shadow puppets from around the world, particularly incredible historical puppets from Eastern Europe and Asia. What sort of puppet will you create? Will it be a human figure or an animal? Many examples range from a simple silhouette to elaborate and bright designs on the puppet itself... how witll you decorate yours? Finish the day by taking turns performing with your puppets to the rest of the class!
Tutor: Fiona Berry
* Suitable for ages 8-12 
To find out more, click here.

Fashion Illustration & 3D Fashion Fabrication 
Workshop Date: Thursday 10th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Are you considering studying textiles at college, or thinking about a career in fashion? Then this day-long course is perfect for you. We will explore a range of illustrative techniques used in fashion illustration as well as experimenting with different materials and fabrication. You’ll come away with new skills and a confident level of beginner knowledge – a perfect preparation for the next step in your textile journey.
Tutor: Florence Tambini Cooper
* Suitable for ages 14-16 
To find out more, click here.

Pretty Perfect Printing 
Workshop Date: Friday 11th August
Time: 10:00am - 12 noon
Have you ever dipped your hand in a pot of paint, or made ink pictures with your feet? Children intuitively use printmaking in the way they explore art materials - and we think that is fantastic! In our fun morning workshop we will be using a variety of different tools together, as we explore the medium of printmaking. Perhaps we will draw into Styrofoam, carve shapes out of soap, explore painting on acetate, or do some mono printing… come along to find out!
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 3-5 
To find out more, click here.

Adrian’s Lovely Landscapes 
Workshop Date: Friday 11th August
Time: 1:30pm - 3:30pm
Come along to the Conservatoire to explore the work of Adrian Berg, a British painter famous for his landscapes of parks and gardens. We will look at his panoramic work showing simple forms of trees and bushes reflected in water. How does the water change the way they look? Together we will paint and print our own landscapes of trees and bushes in beautiful colours with different textures.
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 4-7 
To find out more, click here.

Music in Art 
Workshop Date: Monday 14th August
Time: 1:30pm - 3:30pm
Georges Braque didn’t just read his newspapers… he made art with them! The artist was ground breaking in his use of newspapers, brown paper, and different textures in his paintings. Looking at musical instruments, we will make our own collage inspired by his work using rubbings, drawing, wood textures, and wool to convey music in art. Do you play in instrument? How could you represent it in a painting?
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 4-7 
To find out more, click here.

Picasso’s People 
Workshop Date: Monday 14th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Pablo Picasso was famous for painting amazing abstract people – with noses on one side of their face, and eyes on the other! Inspired by this artist and his Cubist paintings, we will explore our own faces and those of people we know. Together we’ll create wonderful and wacky masks using cardboard, and experimenting with other materials to make the features. Challenge yourself to rearrange the features to make it look like Picasso himself made your mask!
Tutor: Lilly Walker
* Suitable for ages 5-11
To find out more, click here.

From The Tiny Seed 
Workshop Date: Tuesday 15th August
Time: 10:00am - 12 noon 
Huge trees living in the rainforest grow from tiny seeds. All the trees you can see around you all grew from them too! Enormous Oaks grow from little acorns, and chunky Horse Chestnuts grow from from shiny conkers. Trees help us to live and provide a home for lots of animals and insects. Taking inspiration from Eric Carle’s book called ‘From The Tiny Seed’, and looking at his beautiful illustration techniques, we will make our own tree paintings together.
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 3-5
To find out more, click here.

Glorious Gladioli 
Workshop Date: Tuesday 15th August
Time: 1:30pm - 3:30pm
Have you seen any Glorious Gladioli this summer? These tall, fluffy flowers come in all the colours of the rainbow, and they definitely make us think of summertime! In our afternoon workshop we will make a collage of gladioli flowers standing tall, using circles of different sizes, and we’ll print our own textile inspired by the flowers in the works of artist Althea McNish. Which colours will you pick for your flowers?
Tutor: Sue Harris
* Suitable for ages 4-7
To find out more, click here.

Summer Fruit Salad Collage 
Workshop Date: Tuesday 15th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm 
Summer brings all kinds of delicious fruits – a strawberry or a watermelon always tastes best in the blazing sunshine! Come along to the Conservatoire to celebrate your favourite sweet summer treats in a collage. We’ll use photographs for sketching and magazines for collaging, to create a giant image of your very favourite summer fruit or berry. Your work will look good enough to eat!
Tutor: Lilly Walker
* Suitable for ages 8-12
To find out more, click here.

Going on a Clay Underwater Adventure! 
Workshop Date: Wednesday 16th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm 
Dive into the depths of creativity and embark on an enchanting clay underwater adventure! Join us for a hands-on workshop where you'll learn the fundamentals of sculpting with clay to bring your own unique sea creatures to life. From whimsical sea turtles to mesmerizing jellyfish, the possibilities are endless as we delve into the mysteries of the deep blue sea. Discover the joy of shaping, molding, and detailing your clay creations under the guidance of an experienced instructor. Unleash your inner artist and let your imagination swim wild in this immersive and unforgettable artistic journey! Interested in clay but not around at this time in the summer? Check out our Clay Safari workshop on the 25th July!
Tutor: Marta Smyk
* Suitable for ages 6-11
To find out more, click here.

Resin Flower Jewellery 
Workshop Date: Wednesday 16th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
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 two pieces of jewellery perfect to wear in all seasons. Perfect for a summer souvenir or a present for someone you love!
Tutor: Clare Kendall
* Suitable for ages 8-14
To find out more, click here.

Mixed Media Dreaming 
Workshop Date: Thursday 17th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm 
Get ready for some summer dreaming! Using various techniques such as image transfer, collage, and printing, we will create our own dreamscapes using inks, bleeding tissue paper, copper leaf, and existing images to create otherworldly effects. Come along to the Conservatoire to recreate your dreams in art... push your imagination to the limit!
Tutor: Clare Kendall
* Suitable for ages 8-14
To find out more, click here.

Make a Carnival Mask 
Workshop Date: Thursday 17th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Come to the carnival! Together you will be looking at masks used in celebrations, carnival and rituals from around the world, including in Sri Lanka, Mexico, and Guinea-Bissau. You’ll design your own masks, and using recycled materials, you’ll build them together! How will you create the hair, or teeth, or cheeks for your mask? Have fun with scrunching paper and detailing with colour!
Tutor: Fiona Berry
* Suitable for ages 8-12
To find out more, click here.

Holiday Journals, Pretty Postcards & Travel Totes
Workshop Date: Friday 18th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Come along for a day of art at the Conservatoire! Design, decorate and develop an imaginative holiday journal or sketchbook using recycled collage materials. Use this book to draw, write and paint about places you have been and would like to visit! Produce watercolour postcards to send from your travels - who would you send them to? You’ll design, make and decorate a travel themed tote bag using fabric pens and fabric collage. Use this to carry everything for your adventures! Perhaps you’ll even have time to make a treasure map... X marks the spot!
Tutor: Nicola Corrigan
* Suitable for ages 5-11
To find out more, click here.

Summer Screenprinting 
Workshop Date: Friday 18th August
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm 
Make the most of one of the last days of summer and come along to this fun workshop at the Conservatoire. 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
* Suitable for ages 7-12
To find out more, click here.