WORKSHOPS
POEMS & PLANTS
The Entwined Roots of Language and Plants is a new introductory course with Artist, Brigid Collins.
This course will be delivered online on Saturdays (1.30pm-4.30pm)
New course starting in January 2021:
Saturday 9th January – Saturday 6th March
(with mid-term break on Saturday, 13th February).
Course Fee: £280*
(Fee includes continuing access to weekly video tutorials, slides and handouts. Not including art materials: a recommended list will be given in advance)
*Deposit of £50 payable on booking. It is possible to pay balance in instalments, please ask.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Poet John Bennett, writes: “it’s plants that can mend the earth”, each reading of them and the poems they inspire, or are inspired by them doubling as spaces and acts of healing. During this online course you will be provided with resources through which you will be able to gain confidence in exploring ways in which the tone, shape and language of a poem have the potential to become inspiration for ways in which you pay heed to and go on to make drawn, painted and simple sculptural responses to the form and characteristics of particular plants that you observe in the plant world.
Beginning by making drawn studies of your chosen plants, in different media, working at your own pace both indoors and ‘en plein air’ you will be guided as you move on to make more sustained responses, also using a variety of media, including colour and in your own time, between online sessions, developing your work from 2D to 3D as you progress through the course. These online sessions will take the form of both lively group and 1:1 discussions and tutorials, using Zoom, alongside video demonstrations of relevant materials, methods and processes.
As a result of following this course you will develop your understanding of and sensitivity to the nuanced relationships that are to be found between plants and poems and enjoy the unrivalled pleasure of attuning to, by heeding the complex and beautiful forms of each.
“This course has been a few weeks very well spent – the online/Zoom aspect worked much better than I had anticipated, in that there was genuine personal contact and it was very easy to interact. I loved the ‘entwining’ of poems and artwork – both the examples used and trying it myself and I enjoyed trying out different materials in new ways and combining text with images.
The video tutorials were really essential and almost more useful than a demonstration ‘in person’ because it is possible to pause and re-run the content in one’s own time. The slides were inspirational. Some of the images were familiar; others were new and all brilliantly illustrated the specific points being made.
The weekly hand outs imparted very useful context and background, giving the course additional depth which could be explored further. In addition to the 1:1 tutorials, it was really useful to be able to comment on other group member’s work and hear and receive their views during group sessions.
I would absolutely recommend this course to others! So much more than an art class – it really instilled a way of seeing our subjects in a much more intuitive way, using poetry as a conduit. It also introduced a wealth of illustrative material, which really added breadth and depth to my learning, sparked curiosity and inspired me to keep trying.”
Kirsty (course participant, Autumn 2020)
PAST WORKSHOPS
A Home Away from Home
Letters of Evacuation A Project with pupils from Abbeyhill Primary School, Edinburgh
In collaboration with The Imperial War Museum at Edinburgh Castle. Funded by The Orcome Trust.
Unpacked: Home from Home
A collaborative project between the University Art Collection and Stirling and Falkirk Councils.
FORTHCOMING WORKSHOPS
Book Art Workshops
These workshop can be adapted to suit the individual needs of you or your organisation.
Making A ‘Song Vessell’ Workshops
These workshop can be adapted to suit the individual needs of you or your organisation.
Making A ‘Poem House’ Workshops
Come on a unique journey, into a place where art and poetry meet.
Impressing & Expressing: Expressive Techniques Workshop
This workshop can be adapted to suit the individual needs of you or your organisation.
