Quirky Workshops Art, Craft and Heritage Skill Courses
Quirky Workshops at Greystoke Craft Garden and Barns is a unique creative venue offering an inspiring range of art, craft and heritage workshops from a C17th listed farmhouse in the pretty village of Greystoke. We're placed 5 miles equidistantly from Penrith, Eden Valley & Ullswater, on the northern fringes of the Lake District, west of Penrith, in beautiful Cumbria, north west England. We have been running around 1440 craft courses each year, since 2005.
During the lockdown of May 2020, we renovated an old hay loft and now host the majority our indoor courses and workshops in this wonderful, new, light, airy and spacious studio - 'the Swallow Barn’ ; although some tutors still prefer the cosy atmosphere and ground floor easy access nature of the original studio, 'Squirrel Barn'. Many of the courses (especially art and calligraphy) feature live streaming of tutor demos onto a large screen at the front, allowing students to watch closely, whilst seated at their desks. This practice was started during Covid but has been continued as very helpful with many workshops.
Please see our website https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria for full details of upcoming courses in date order.
Workshop days are relaxing, friendly and informal. They are delivered by hand picked professional and or expert tutors, many leaders in their chosen fields. Students often travel considerable distances to take part, staying in this lovely village of Greystoke or finding somewhere special close by . . .Keswick, Ullswater, Penrith and the Eden Valley are all within easy driving distance.
One, two or three day courses in:
- stone carving (relief or letter carving), wood carving, bird whittling, spoon carving, willow weaving and rush basket making.
- Lino cut printing, Fused glass, Stained Glass panels and Stained Glass mirrors, Sterling Silver jewellery and Silver Ring making courses, Porcelain plates and vases, and inspiring Mosaics
- Many textile courses including weaving, Needle felting Garden Bird pictures (robin/blue tit/wren) , Herdwick sheep and Pet Portraits, Felt art, Paint Print and Stitch, Felt Slippers, Ecoprinting, Leather Bag making, Learn to Spin and Lampshade Making, 'Hole House' bag making,
- Art courses : Introduction to Pen and Wash , Discovering Watercolours , Botanical and Wildlife illustration, Art courses with John Harrison, Frances Winder, Lyn Evans, Margaret Jarvis, Roy Simmons, Lis Bramwell, Calligraphy with Claire of byMoonandTide (our live streamed onto a large screen is especially useful for this course .. no more struggling to see the tutor demo close up from the back of the group!)
All day courses include tasty homemade lunch, fresh coffees and Aga cream teas. Drinks are served at desks do students may continue working Lunches to be taken at desks or in the garden during summer months.
Our workshop days are popular as gifts for special occasions. Quirky Open Vouchers make perfect and original presents and mean a lovely day can be shared together if preferred. Our Christmas Open vouchers are especially popular.
A full list of our courses can be found at https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria or please phone 017684 83984
We look forward to welcoming you here in Greystoke!
Location
We are in the picturesque village of Greystoke, just 5 miles west of Penrith/Junction 40 of the M6 and a few miles north of the A66 and Ullswater. Keswick is approx 15 minutes further west
Greystoke boasts several B B's, as well as self catering options and has its own website greystokevillage.co.uk We have a playing field, an outdoor heated swimming pool open from June through to August, a Castle, a church, a shop and post office and a cosy pub serving evening meals.
Spring SERIES of 4 Thurs am's 'Dynamic Floral & Landscape Abstracts in Ink and Watercolour' - with Lyn Evans. £24 deposit
Learn to paint a Looser Ink and Watercolour ~ a four-week Series with local artist, Lyn Evans
Join Lyn in the Swallow Barn for four Thursday mornings this Autumn to help you become looser in your watercolour and ink practice, through structured exercises, gentle feedback, guidance and encouragement.
Lyn says ' We will use watercolours and acrylic inks and experiment in producing exciting and vibrant landscapes, florals and abstracts. Beginners will love having the ability to produce lovely work quickly and those with more experience will enjoy learning new techniques and putting them into practise. We will start at 9.30 am and paint til 12.30 with coffee to help concentration! If you are new to painting I think you will love this as much as workshop painters do! '
These painting classes are suitable for the beginner and improver, will help you to gain confidence in your ability to paint and use Watercolours and Ink. We love listening in on Lyn's classes up in the Swallow Barn - always lots of fun.
Pen and Wash ~ 'Castles & Cottages' with Lyn Evans
Spend a lovely day with Lyn, who will combine this most popular medium with the depiction of some of our lovely buildings, whether nestled on a hillside in a wider landscape, in a townscape or amongst its own garden or setting.
The day will start with a step by step where you will be working on the same piece with Lyn, using the camera and screen, and Lyn will lead you through the drawing and painting of the piece. Bring some of you own photographs or images to work on in the afternoon and Lyn will continue to guide you through your piece. Suitable for all abiities.
Ceramic Hare Sculptures with Mark Bradley
Sculpt your own beautiful seated Ceramic Hare, with Mark Bradley
New for 2025 we're really pleased to welcome Mark and this exciting ceramic Hare workshop to the Quirky Programme.
Enjoy a busy and absorbing day being guided through the many processes involved in creating these amazing Hares. You can choose whether your Hare is moon gazing with ears back, or positioned up, ears alert listening for danger. Each Hare will be unique, with its own quirks and personality - and towards the end of the class you can choose to create a smoother finish for it, or more textured as in the main photo - or any permutation in between. The choice is yours.
Mark will provide all the equipment and materials needed to create your lovely sculpture in just one day - you only need to bring along shirt or apron to protect your clothes and your materials money below. Once finish the Hares will be carefully transported back to Mark studio to be slowly air dried. After a few weeks they will be ready for bisque firing, and then Mark will apply - if you wish - the various oxides to highlight the ears and tails particularly, before firing a second time.
The colouring is with oxides, students can choose to skip this stage if they wish, and Mark can return them either bisque, or fired twice, which turns the clay into stoneware.
The Hares will hopefully be ready for collection back at Greystoke within 3 to 4 weeks of the class. Sometimes, in damp conditions, this can take take longer.
This course will usually take place in the ground floor Squirrel Barn with three steps up from the gravel driveway.
This class is suitable for every standard of student from beginners upwards
* NOTE : As fans of 'Pottery Throwdown' know well - putting anything into the hands of the 'kiln gods' is a risk. They're an unpredictable lot, and sometimes things go wrong and carefully sculpted pieces can be damaged with small cracks appearing during the firing process. Or badly wrong even - very occasionally pieces may even explode! If breakages occur, repairs will of course be attempted. Although rare, students should understand this is 'part and parcel' of working with Ceramics and kilns, and there is no guarantee their workshop piece will turn out perfect or in tact.
Firing pottery 'In The Raku Style' with Bob and Denise Park
Come and enjoy an exciting workshop experimenting in this ancient Japanese RAKU technique of glazing and firing pottery.
Exciting and fast moving, using heat, sawdust, fire and smoky bins, this stunning firing technique is irresistible and very much in vogue.
Raku firing is unique and one of the most dramatic and exciting ways to fire pottery. It was developed in Japan in the 16th century for the Japanese tea ceremony. The pieces are glazed with copper based glazes, dried and put directly into a hot kiln outside for half an hour at a temperature of approximately 1000°c. They are then put into a reduction chamber – a nest of sawdust covered with a metal cover - and this atmosphere and temperature changes ‘reduce the oxygen content in the glazes and clay’ producing the wonderfully colourful, lustrous copper, blue and green finishes associated with Raku Pottery.
Every result is different, nothing is predictable and happy accidents are frequent. In fact, Raku literally translates into 'Happiness in the accident!' You will be using raku glazes combined with colouring oxides.
Bob and Denise will arrive with a selection of bisque fired pots in varying styles, that he has made and fired in the weeks prior to the course - providing 3 pots for each student. It is this preparedness that enables such a course to be run in a morning or afternoon. The materials charge of £25 (payable directly to the tutor) covers the cost of making these pots, as well as the glazing and firing costs during your session. Bob and Denise will distribute pots so each student has a similar selection of shapes at the start of each class. This is a collaborative class so your payment details may include direct payment to Bob.
Firing pottery 'In The Raku Style' with Bob and Denise Park
Come and enjoy an exciting workshop experimenting in this ancient Japanese RAKU technique of glazing and firing pottery.
Exciting and fast moving, using heat, sawdust, fire and smoky bins, this stunning firing technique is irresistible and very much in vogue.
Raku firing is unique and one of the most dramatic and exciting ways to fire pottery. It was developed in Japan in the 16th century for the Japanese tea ceremony. The pieces are glazed with copper based glazes, dried and put directly into a hot kiln outside for half an hour at a temperature of approximately 1000°c. They are then put into a reduction chamber – a nest of sawdust covered with a metal cover - and this atmosphere and temperature changes ‘reduce the oxygen content in the glazes and clay’ producing the wonderfully colourful, lustrous copper, blue and green finishes associated with Raku Pottery.
Every result is different, nothing is predictable and happy accidents are frequent. In fact, Raku literally translates into 'Happiness in the accident!' You will be using raku glazes combined with colouring oxides.
Bob and Denise will arrive with a selection of bisque fired pots in varying styles, that he has made and fired in the weeks prior to the course - providing 3 pots for each student. It is this preparedness that enables such a course to be run in a morning or afternoon. The materials charge of £25 (payable directly to the tutor) covers the cost of making these pots, as well as the glazing and firing costs during your session. Bob and Denise will distribute pots so each student has a similar selection of shapes at the start of each class. This is a collaborative class so your payment details may include direct payment to Bob.
Design & Plan your own Garden - 2 days with Shelagh Todd - lecturer, garden designer & plantswoman
"Learn to design your own garden… just the way you want it" with leading Cumbrian Garden Designer, Lecturer and Plantswoman, Shelagh Todd.
Shelagh is widely known and highly respected throughout Cumbria's gardening fraternity. She has been both the familiar face - and 'lead' - of Horticulture at Newton Rigg College for well over 30 years, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our 2025 Quirky programme. She brings a wealth of gardening expertise and teaching experience, which over the years will have gently inspired literally thousands of 'would-be gardeners’ to create and nurture their own individual outdoor spaces. This two-day course is an ideal starting point for beginners, garden enthusiasts and anyone who wants to re-design their garden space.
Day 1 will cover the design process, including surveying, analysing & soil testing your site. Using your own design brief, you will learn to create a functional layout plan that you can apply to your garden, including consideration for hard landscaping materials as required. We can explore both the established and newer areas of the garden at Quirky Workshops which is maintained on a largely organic basis with wildlife at its heart.
Day 2 Shelagh will show you how to design the planting for your garden to achieve colour, interest and atmosphere; how to choose and combine the right plants for your soil conditions, and for best effect. You can decide on the style of planting and the types of plants you wish to grow, and we’ll discuss the pros and cons of different plants, what to look for when you are buying plants and how to source good plants locally.
*In advance of the workshop we'll send you an 'easy to follow' guide on how to measure up your garden. This means you can arrive on the first day of the course with a plan of your plot ready to begin the design process. With illustrated talks & drawing exercises, by the end of the 2 days you will have completed some planting schemes and have the skills to continue designing at home.
Sterling Silver Jewellery - 3 Silver Rings in a day - with Melinda Scarborough
Design & make 'three Silver rings' with Sterling Silver and some Semi-Precious Stones with Melinda Scarborough
Your experienced professional tutor, Melinda, will guide you through the process of designing your rings and show you how to use the workshop tools with systematic demonstrations. Once ready to start you will cut out your silver using a saw frame (each student has their own) and then shape the pieces to add texture and interest using your own set of tools provided.
You will learn the basic techniques of soldering, surface textures and how to get a nice professional finish to ensure that your three rings will sit together well if required. This is quite an intensive day, but by the end of it you will be able to leave with a set of 3 different rings that you yourself have designed and made. The material cost is £20 and the tutor will have more materials to buy if necessary.
This course is suitable for both beginners and intermediate.
Rediscovering Pencils in Art - Spring Flowers' with Margaret Jarvis
A lovely opportunity to capture the beauty of some of our favourite seasonal flowers of Springtime - using the increasingly popular medium of once humble coloured pencil.
Although considered by many as simply grey and prosaic, the coloured pencil is now re-inventing itself into a much more diverse offering than times past. On this course we will explore the considerable versatility of pencils, a medium which includes an increasingly exciting blend of colours and effects.
We will spend time learning how to use graphite, watercolour, Inktense as well as the vast range of coloured pencils. A wonderful opportunity to try this very versatile media There will be a large selection available for you to try.
This is an ideal course for beginners and improvers - especially those terrified of holding a brush and preferring something more biddable and predictable!
'Shortcut to Nature Journalling' with Steve Pardue
'Short Cut to Nature Journalling' with Steve Pardue
Have you wanted to create a nature journal but don’t know where to start or how to do it?
This workshop will - hopefully - fix that. I will take you through the process I follow for creating my journals which are really an expression of the joy I feel when out and about in the woods or the river. I will be using my own journals of nature captured over the last 5 years and show how you can create a body of work by simply recording in your own way the things you see every day. I now look back on my earlier journals and can not only see how my artistic style has evolved and changed but more importantly I can look up the dates when I first saw sand martins arrive for the summer, or when the last swift left, or when the first chiff chaff … well chiff chaffed!
And it is so easy - no rules - no great artistic skill required - just observation and a daily habit of drawing. I will show you the materials I use and the techniques I employ. Weather permitting, we can spend some time outdoors looking at the nature around us and we can then come back indoors and draw our observations.
I will provide a small kit of materials which will include: 2 fineliners ~ My Shortcut to Nature Journalling guide ~ A blank concertina nature journal , all of which are yours to keep.
'Shortcut to Nature Journalling' with Steve Pardue
'Short Cut to Nature Journalling' with Steve Pardue
Have you wanted to create a nature journal but don’t know where to start or how to do it?
This workshop will - hopefully - fix that. I will take you through the process I follow for creating my journals which are really an expression of the joy I feel when out and about in the woods or the river. I will be using my own journals of nature captured over the last 5 years and show how you can create a body of work by simply recording in your own way the things you see every day. I now look back on my earlier journals and can not only see how my artistic style has evolved and changed but more importantly I can look up the dates when I first saw sand martins arrive for the summer, or when the last swift left, or when the first chiff chaff … well chiff chaffed!
And it is so easy - no rules - no great artistic skill required - just observation and a daily habit of drawing. I will show you the materials I use and the techniques I employ. Weather permitting, we can spend some time outdoors looking at the nature around us and we can then come back indoors and draw our observations.
I will provide a small kit of materials which will include: 2 fineliners ~ My Shortcut to Nature Journalling guide ~ A blank concertina nature journal , all of which are yours to keep.
'Needle Felted Garden Birds ~ 'The Robin' with Helen Hammond (low relief)
Another exciting and inspiring workshop from Helen Hammond in her needle-felted Birds series .... creating one of our bird tables' most frequent visitors - the 'joyful' Robin!
Join Helen for a lovely day being guided through how to make this beautifully detailed garden friend using the needle felting process. Once again, your piece will have a slightly sculpted low relief appearance, subtly enhancing the natural features of this characterful little bird.
Whatever your ability, Helen will provide you with tools, materials, knowledge and guidance to create your own delightful bird over the day, before applying the legs & fixing it to the 'branch'. The birds will then be mounted in a special box frame, for a really professional finish.
You will be using a variety of natural wool fibres and Helen will teach you all about needle felting and how to blend your fibre colours. You will be using specialist needle felting needles (not sewing needles) for this purpose. These specialist tools/ needles are designed to entangle, compact, control and shape the soft carded wool fibres into firm felted pieces. It is a slow and very therapeutic process.
All reference images will be provided and will form an important part of your working process. This course is suitable for all abilities including beginners. This is a dry felted process and a 'clean' method of working. No aprons or gloves are required. However, please bring plasters!
Exploring Expressive Watercolour Techniques' - a 2 day weekend course with Sarah Stokes
'Barn Swallows and Highland Cows' - an immersive weekend of 'Fur & Feathers' expressive Watercolour Techniques with Sarah Stokes - all abilities.
We are delighted to welcome much acclaimed, professional watercolour artist Sarah Stokes, joining us for a fascinating May weekend of painting.
Students will cover a multitude of artistic and specifically watercolour skills which include “wet into wet”, colour mixing, timing, brush strokes, looseness of approach, and pigment control. Sarah will also teach you how to see and depict tone effectively, in both black and white, as well as in colour.
Firstly in the morning of day one, you will get to explore the importance of tone, as we draw a cross section of a highland cow’s face, capturing its soulful gaze. We will use charcoal concentrating on creating convincing fur, eyes and expression.
After a tasty home made lunch - hopefully in the garden - we will finish this characterful and lovable breed, before starting our main watercolour piece painting a pair of beautiful barn swallows perched on a branch. During the session you will learn how to simplify your palette down to just the 3 primary colours to create a myriad of hues and tones. This is an excellent opportunity to learn how to establish the first layer, “wet into wet” and then to build up the piece with a mixture of brush strokes and techniques
On our second day we will finish off and perfect the barn swallows. You will learn how to paint convincing feathers, to paint “white” breasts and to bring life and energy to a piece through energetic brush strokes.
I will also show you handy ways of correcting a piece if the wrong consistency or colour has been applied or if a piece has become “muddied”.
We will also discuss what makes a good reference photo and the best places to obtain them.
On this workshop, you will learn the following skills:
Better understand the role of shape, tone and brush strokes in creating texture to wildlife, whether it be a bird, a mammal or still life.
- Get to grips with timing and pigment control needed to make the most out of watercolour
- Create any colour of your choice and harness the power of de-saturated colours
- Use warm and cool colours to bring interest and harmony to your artwork
- Find a harmony between loose and tighter brush strokes
- Paint from a series of prepared reference photos
- Create a whole range of colours from primary colours
- Add finishing touches such as splashes, pen and ink and acrylics
- Depict the colour “white”
- Capture a sense of fluidity and spontaneity to your work.
As this is a collaborative workshop between Sarah Stokes and Quirky Workshops, it will be Sarah taking payments for this workshop. Please note there are slightly different T&C's regarding cancellations, which are detailed below**. Quirky Open Vouchers cannot be used towards payment on this particular course.
'Design & Planting Tips for a small Garden' with Shelagh Todd - lecturer, garden designer & plantswoman.
Design and Planting Tips for a Small Garden with Cumbrian Based lecturer, garden designer & plantswoman Shelagh Todd.
Shelagh is widely known and highly respected throughout Cumbria's gardening fraternity. She has been both the familiar face, and 'lead' of Horticulture at Newton Rigg for well over 30 years, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our 2025 Quirky programme. She brings a wealth of gardening expertise and teaching experience, which over the years, will have gently inspired (literally) thousands of 'would-be gardeners’ to create and nurture their own individual outdoor spaces.
During this one day course Shelagh will share garden design advice, hints and tips on how you can make the most of your small garden. We will explore how you can achieve atmospheric and all year interest in your small space.
Subjects covered:
- Site assessment
- Design inspiration for small spaces
- A walk & talk around the gardens at Poplin Dub created over the last 25 years.
- Privacy & screening solutions for a small space
- Choosing the right plants for a small space
By the end of the day you will have:
- An understanding of how to choose the correct plants for your small garden
- A list of plants that will create impact and interest but not outgrow their space
- A list of plants that are suitable for the atmosphere that you want to create
Design & Plan your own Garden - 2 days with Shelagh Todd - lecturer, garden designer & plantswoman
"Learn to design your own garden… just the way you want it" with leading Cumbrian Garden Designer, Lecturer and Plantswoman, Shelagh Todd.
Shelagh is widely known and highly respected throughout Cumbria's gardening fraternity. She has been both the familiar face - and 'lead' - of Horticulture at Newton Rigg College for well over 30 years, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our 2025 Quirky programme. She brings a wealth of gardening expertise and teaching experience, which over the years will have gently inspired literally thousands of 'would-be gardeners’ to create and nurture their own individual outdoor spaces. This two-day course is an ideal starting point for beginners, garden enthusiasts and anyone who wants to re-design their garden space.
Day 1 will cover the design process, including surveying, analysing & soil testing your site. Using your own design brief, you will learn to create a functional layout plan that you can apply to your garden, including consideration for hard landscaping materials as required. We can explore both the established and newer areas of the garden at Quirky Workshops which is maintained on a largely organic basis with wildlife at its heart.
Day 2 Shelagh will show you how to design the planting for your garden to achieve colour, interest and atmosphere; how to choose and combine the right plants for your soil conditions, and for best effect. You can decide on the style of planting and the types of plants you wish to grow, and we’ll discuss the pros and cons of different plants, what to look for when you are buying plants and how to source good plants locally.
*In advance of the workshop we'll send you an 'easy to follow' guide on how to measure up your garden. This means you can arrive on the first day of the course with a plan of your plot ready to begin the design process. With illustrated talks & drawing exercises, by the end of the 2 days you will have completed some planting schemes and have the skills to continue designing at home.
Your enquiry will be sent directly to Quirky Workshops Art, Craft and Heritage Skill Courses. Please fill in as much detail as you can.
Quirky Workshops at Greystoke Craft Garden and Barns is a unique creative venue offering an inspiring range of art, craft and heritage workshops from a C17th listed farmhouse in the pretty village of Greystoke. We're placed 5 miles equidistantly from Penrith, Eden Valley & Ullswater, on the northern fringes of the Lake District, west of Penrith, in beautiful Cumbria, north west England. We have been running around 1440 craft courses each year, since 2005.
During the lockdown of May 2020, we renovated an old hay loft and now host the majority our indoor courses and workshops in this wonderful, new, light, airy and spacious studio - 'the Swallow Barn’ ; although some tutors still prefer the cosy atmosphere and ground floor easy access nature of the original studio, 'Squirrel Barn'. Many of the courses (especially art and calligraphy) feature live streaming of tutor demos onto a large screen at the front, allowing students to watch closely, whilst seated at their desks. This practice was started during Covid but has been continued as very helpful with many workshops.
Please see our website https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria for full details of upcoming courses in date order.
Workshop days are relaxing, friendly and informal. They are delivered by hand picked professional and or expert tutors, many leaders in their chosen fields. Students often travel considerable distances to take part, staying in this lovely village of Greystoke or finding somewhere special close by . . .Keswick, Ullswater, Penrith and the Eden Valley are all within easy driving distance.
One, two or three day courses in:
- stone carving (relief or letter carving), wood carving, bird whittling, spoon carving, willow weaving and rush basket making.
- Lino cut printing, Fused glass, Stained Glass panels and Stained Glass mirrors, Sterling Silver jewellery and Silver Ring making courses, Porcelain plates and vases, and inspiring Mosaics
- Many textile courses including weaving, Needle felting Garden Bird pictures (robin/blue tit/wren) , Herdwick sheep and Pet Portraits, Felt art, Paint Print and Stitch, Felt Slippers, Ecoprinting, Leather Bag making, Learn to Spin and Lampshade Making, 'Hole House' bag making,
- Art courses : Introduction to Pen and Wash , Discovering Watercolours , Botanical and Wildlife illustration, Art courses with John Harrison, Frances Winder, Lyn Evans, Margaret Jarvis, Roy Simmons, Lis Bramwell, Calligraphy with Claire of byMoonandTide (our live streamed onto a large screen is especially useful for this course .. no more struggling to see the tutor demo close up from the back of the group!)
All day courses include tasty homemade lunch, fresh coffees and Aga cream teas. Drinks are served at desks do students may continue working Lunches to be taken at desks or in the garden during summer months.
Our workshop days are popular as gifts for special occasions. Quirky Open Vouchers make perfect and original presents and mean a lovely day can be shared together if preferred. Our Christmas Open vouchers are especially popular.
A full list of our courses can be found at https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria or please phone 017684 83984
We look forward to welcoming you here in Greystoke!
Location
We are in the picturesque village of Greystoke, just 5 miles west of Penrith/Junction 40 of the M6 and a few miles north of the A66 and Ullswater. Keswick is approx 15 minutes further west
Greystoke boasts several B B's, as well as self catering options and has its own website greystokevillage.co.uk We have a playing field, an outdoor heated swimming pool open from June through to August, a Castle, a church, a shop and post office and a cosy pub serving evening meals.
Spring SERIES of 4 Thurs am's 'Dynamic Floral & Landscape Abstracts in Ink and Watercolour' - with Lyn Evans. £24 deposit
Learn to paint a Looser Ink and Watercolour ~ a four-week Series with local artist, Lyn Evans
Join Lyn in the Swallow Barn for four Thursday mornings this Autumn to help you become looser in your watercolour and ink practice, through structured exercises, gentle feedback, guidance and encouragement.
Lyn says ' We will use watercolours and acrylic inks and experiment in producing exciting and vibrant landscapes, florals and abstracts. Beginners will love having the ability to produce lovely work quickly and those with more experience will enjoy learning new techniques and putting them into practise. We will start at 9.30 am and paint til 12.30 with coffee to help concentration! If you are new to painting I think you will love this as much as workshop painters do! '
These painting classes are suitable for the beginner and improver, will help you to gain confidence in your ability to paint and use Watercolours and Ink. We love listening in on Lyn's classes up in the Swallow Barn - always lots of fun.
Pen and Wash ~ 'Castles & Cottages' with Lyn Evans
Spend a lovely day with Lyn, who will combine this most popular medium with the depiction of some of our lovely buildings, whether nestled on a hillside in a wider landscape, in a townscape or amongst its own garden or setting.
The day will start with a step by step where you will be working on the same piece with Lyn, using the camera and screen, and Lyn will lead you through the drawing and painting of the piece. Bring some of you own photographs or images to work on in the afternoon and Lyn will continue to guide you through your piece. Suitable for all abiities.
Ceramic Hare Sculptures with Mark Bradley
Sculpt your own beautiful seated Ceramic Hare, with Mark Bradley
New for 2025 we're really pleased to welcome Mark and this exciting ceramic Hare workshop to the Quirky Programme.
Enjoy a busy and absorbing day being guided through the many processes involved in creating these amazing Hares. You can choose whether your Hare is moon gazing with ears back, or positioned up, ears alert listening for danger. Each Hare will be unique, with its own quirks and personality - and towards the end of the class you can choose to create a smoother finish for it, or more textured as in the main photo - or any permutation in between. The choice is yours.
Mark will provide all the equipment and materials needed to create your lovely sculpture in just one day - you only need to bring along shirt or apron to protect your clothes and your materials money below. Once finish the Hares will be carefully transported back to Mark studio to be slowly air dried. After a few weeks they will be ready for bisque firing, and then Mark will apply - if you wish - the various oxides to highlight the ears and tails particularly, before firing a second time.
The colouring is with oxides, students can choose to skip this stage if they wish, and Mark can return them either bisque, or fired twice, which turns the clay into stoneware.
The Hares will hopefully be ready for collection back at Greystoke within 3 to 4 weeks of the class. Sometimes, in damp conditions, this can take take longer.
This course will usually take place in the ground floor Squirrel Barn with three steps up from the gravel driveway.
This class is suitable for every standard of student from beginners upwards
* NOTE : As fans of 'Pottery Throwdown' know well - putting anything into the hands of the 'kiln gods' is a risk. They're an unpredictable lot, and sometimes things go wrong and carefully sculpted pieces can be damaged with small cracks appearing during the firing process. Or badly wrong even - very occasionally pieces may even explode! If breakages occur, repairs will of course be attempted. Although rare, students should understand this is 'part and parcel' of working with Ceramics and kilns, and there is no guarantee their workshop piece will turn out perfect or in tact.
Firing pottery 'In The Raku Style' with Bob and Denise Park
Come and enjoy an exciting workshop experimenting in this ancient Japanese RAKU technique of glazing and firing pottery.
Exciting and fast moving, using heat, sawdust, fire and smoky bins, this stunning firing technique is irresistible and very much in vogue.
Raku firing is unique and one of the most dramatic and exciting ways to fire pottery. It was developed in Japan in the 16th century for the Japanese tea ceremony. The pieces are glazed with copper based glazes, dried and put directly into a hot kiln outside for half an hour at a temperature of approximately 1000°c. They are then put into a reduction chamber – a nest of sawdust covered with a metal cover - and this atmosphere and temperature changes ‘reduce the oxygen content in the glazes and clay’ producing the wonderfully colourful, lustrous copper, blue and green finishes associated with Raku Pottery.
Every result is different, nothing is predictable and happy accidents are frequent. In fact, Raku literally translates into 'Happiness in the accident!' You will be using raku glazes combined with colouring oxides.
Bob and Denise will arrive with a selection of bisque fired pots in varying styles, that he has made and fired in the weeks prior to the course - providing 3 pots for each student. It is this preparedness that enables such a course to be run in a morning or afternoon. The materials charge of £25 (payable directly to the tutor) covers the cost of making these pots, as well as the glazing and firing costs during your session. Bob and Denise will distribute pots so each student has a similar selection of shapes at the start of each class. This is a collaborative class so your payment details may include direct payment to Bob.
Firing pottery 'In The Raku Style' with Bob and Denise Park
Come and enjoy an exciting workshop experimenting in this ancient Japanese RAKU technique of glazing and firing pottery.
Exciting and fast moving, using heat, sawdust, fire and smoky bins, this stunning firing technique is irresistible and very much in vogue.
Raku firing is unique and one of the most dramatic and exciting ways to fire pottery. It was developed in Japan in the 16th century for the Japanese tea ceremony. The pieces are glazed with copper based glazes, dried and put directly into a hot kiln outside for half an hour at a temperature of approximately 1000°c. They are then put into a reduction chamber – a nest of sawdust covered with a metal cover - and this atmosphere and temperature changes ‘reduce the oxygen content in the glazes and clay’ producing the wonderfully colourful, lustrous copper, blue and green finishes associated with Raku Pottery.
Every result is different, nothing is predictable and happy accidents are frequent. In fact, Raku literally translates into 'Happiness in the accident!' You will be using raku glazes combined with colouring oxides.
Bob and Denise will arrive with a selection of bisque fired pots in varying styles, that he has made and fired in the weeks prior to the course - providing 3 pots for each student. It is this preparedness that enables such a course to be run in a morning or afternoon. The materials charge of £25 (payable directly to the tutor) covers the cost of making these pots, as well as the glazing and firing costs during your session. Bob and Denise will distribute pots so each student has a similar selection of shapes at the start of each class. This is a collaborative class so your payment details may include direct payment to Bob.
Design & Plan your own Garden - 2 days with Shelagh Todd - lecturer, garden designer & plantswoman
"Learn to design your own garden… just the way you want it" with leading Cumbrian Garden Designer, Lecturer and Plantswoman, Shelagh Todd.
Shelagh is widely known and highly respected throughout Cumbria's gardening fraternity. She has been both the familiar face - and 'lead' - of Horticulture at Newton Rigg College for well over 30 years, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our 2025 Quirky programme. She brings a wealth of gardening expertise and teaching experience, which over the years will have gently inspired literally thousands of 'would-be gardeners’ to create and nurture their own individual outdoor spaces. This two-day course is an ideal starting point for beginners, garden enthusiasts and anyone who wants to re-design their garden space.
Day 1 will cover the design process, including surveying, analysing & soil testing your site. Using your own design brief, you will learn to create a functional layout plan that you can apply to your garden, including consideration for hard landscaping materials as required. We can explore both the established and newer areas of the garden at Quirky Workshops which is maintained on a largely organic basis with wildlife at its heart.
Day 2 Shelagh will show you how to design the planting for your garden to achieve colour, interest and atmosphere; how to choose and combine the right plants for your soil conditions, and for best effect. You can decide on the style of planting and the types of plants you wish to grow, and we’ll discuss the pros and cons of different plants, what to look for when you are buying plants and how to source good plants locally.
*In advance of the workshop we'll send you an 'easy to follow' guide on how to measure up your garden. This means you can arrive on the first day of the course with a plan of your plot ready to begin the design process. With illustrated talks & drawing exercises, by the end of the 2 days you will have completed some planting schemes and have the skills to continue designing at home.
Sterling Silver Jewellery - 3 Silver Rings in a day - with Melinda Scarborough
Design & make 'three Silver rings' with Sterling Silver and some Semi-Precious Stones with Melinda Scarborough
Your experienced professional tutor, Melinda, will guide you through the process of designing your rings and show you how to use the workshop tools with systematic demonstrations. Once ready to start you will cut out your silver using a saw frame (each student has their own) and then shape the pieces to add texture and interest using your own set of tools provided.
You will learn the basic techniques of soldering, surface textures and how to get a nice professional finish to ensure that your three rings will sit together well if required. This is quite an intensive day, but by the end of it you will be able to leave with a set of 3 different rings that you yourself have designed and made. The material cost is £20 and the tutor will have more materials to buy if necessary.
This course is suitable for both beginners and intermediate.
Rediscovering Pencils in Art - Spring Flowers' with Margaret Jarvis
A lovely opportunity to capture the beauty of some of our favourite seasonal flowers of Springtime - using the increasingly popular medium of once humble coloured pencil.
Although considered by many as simply grey and prosaic, the coloured pencil is now re-inventing itself into a much more diverse offering than times past. On this course we will explore the considerable versatility of pencils, a medium which includes an increasingly exciting blend of colours and effects.
We will spend time learning how to use graphite, watercolour, Inktense as well as the vast range of coloured pencils. A wonderful opportunity to try this very versatile media There will be a large selection available for you to try.
This is an ideal course for beginners and improvers - especially those terrified of holding a brush and preferring something more biddable and predictable!
'Shortcut to Nature Journalling' with Steve Pardue
'Short Cut to Nature Journalling' with Steve Pardue
Have you wanted to create a nature journal but don’t know where to start or how to do it?
This workshop will - hopefully - fix that. I will take you through the process I follow for creating my journals which are really an expression of the joy I feel when out and about in the woods or the river. I will be using my own journals of nature captured over the last 5 years and show how you can create a body of work by simply recording in your own way the things you see every day. I now look back on my earlier journals and can not only see how my artistic style has evolved and changed but more importantly I can look up the dates when I first saw sand martins arrive for the summer, or when the last swift left, or when the first chiff chaff … well chiff chaffed!
And it is so easy - no rules - no great artistic skill required - just observation and a daily habit of drawing. I will show you the materials I use and the techniques I employ. Weather permitting, we can spend some time outdoors looking at the nature around us and we can then come back indoors and draw our observations.
I will provide a small kit of materials which will include: 2 fineliners ~ My Shortcut to Nature Journalling guide ~ A blank concertina nature journal , all of which are yours to keep.
'Shortcut to Nature Journalling' with Steve Pardue
'Short Cut to Nature Journalling' with Steve Pardue
Have you wanted to create a nature journal but don’t know where to start or how to do it?
This workshop will - hopefully - fix that. I will take you through the process I follow for creating my journals which are really an expression of the joy I feel when out and about in the woods or the river. I will be using my own journals of nature captured over the last 5 years and show how you can create a body of work by simply recording in your own way the things you see every day. I now look back on my earlier journals and can not only see how my artistic style has evolved and changed but more importantly I can look up the dates when I first saw sand martins arrive for the summer, or when the last swift left, or when the first chiff chaff … well chiff chaffed!
And it is so easy - no rules - no great artistic skill required - just observation and a daily habit of drawing. I will show you the materials I use and the techniques I employ. Weather permitting, we can spend some time outdoors looking at the nature around us and we can then come back indoors and draw our observations.
I will provide a small kit of materials which will include: 2 fineliners ~ My Shortcut to Nature Journalling guide ~ A blank concertina nature journal , all of which are yours to keep.
'Needle Felted Garden Birds ~ 'The Robin' with Helen Hammond (low relief)
Another exciting and inspiring workshop from Helen Hammond in her needle-felted Birds series .... creating one of our bird tables' most frequent visitors - the 'joyful' Robin!
Join Helen for a lovely day being guided through how to make this beautifully detailed garden friend using the needle felting process. Once again, your piece will have a slightly sculpted low relief appearance, subtly enhancing the natural features of this characterful little bird.
Whatever your ability, Helen will provide you with tools, materials, knowledge and guidance to create your own delightful bird over the day, before applying the legs & fixing it to the 'branch'. The birds will then be mounted in a special box frame, for a really professional finish.
You will be using a variety of natural wool fibres and Helen will teach you all about needle felting and how to blend your fibre colours. You will be using specialist needle felting needles (not sewing needles) for this purpose. These specialist tools/ needles are designed to entangle, compact, control and shape the soft carded wool fibres into firm felted pieces. It is a slow and very therapeutic process.
All reference images will be provided and will form an important part of your working process. This course is suitable for all abilities including beginners. This is a dry felted process and a 'clean' method of working. No aprons or gloves are required. However, please bring plasters!
Exploring Expressive Watercolour Techniques' - a 2 day weekend course with Sarah Stokes
'Barn Swallows and Highland Cows' - an immersive weekend of 'Fur & Feathers' expressive Watercolour Techniques with Sarah Stokes - all abilities.
We are delighted to welcome much acclaimed, professional watercolour artist Sarah Stokes, joining us for a fascinating May weekend of painting.
Students will cover a multitude of artistic and specifically watercolour skills which include “wet into wet”, colour mixing, timing, brush strokes, looseness of approach, and pigment control. Sarah will also teach you how to see and depict tone effectively, in both black and white, as well as in colour.
Firstly in the morning of day one, you will get to explore the importance of tone, as we draw a cross section of a highland cow’s face, capturing its soulful gaze. We will use charcoal concentrating on creating convincing fur, eyes and expression.
After a tasty home made lunch - hopefully in the garden - we will finish this characterful and lovable breed, before starting our main watercolour piece painting a pair of beautiful barn swallows perched on a branch. During the session you will learn how to simplify your palette down to just the 3 primary colours to create a myriad of hues and tones. This is an excellent opportunity to learn how to establish the first layer, “wet into wet” and then to build up the piece with a mixture of brush strokes and techniques
On our second day we will finish off and perfect the barn swallows. You will learn how to paint convincing feathers, to paint “white” breasts and to bring life and energy to a piece through energetic brush strokes.
I will also show you handy ways of correcting a piece if the wrong consistency or colour has been applied or if a piece has become “muddied”.
We will also discuss what makes a good reference photo and the best places to obtain them.
On this workshop, you will learn the following skills:
Better understand the role of shape, tone and brush strokes in creating texture to wildlife, whether it be a bird, a mammal or still life.
- Get to grips with timing and pigment control needed to make the most out of watercolour
- Create any colour of your choice and harness the power of de-saturated colours
- Use warm and cool colours to bring interest and harmony to your artwork
- Find a harmony between loose and tighter brush strokes
- Paint from a series of prepared reference photos
- Create a whole range of colours from primary colours
- Add finishing touches such as splashes, pen and ink and acrylics
- Depict the colour “white”
- Capture a sense of fluidity and spontaneity to your work.
As this is a collaborative workshop between Sarah Stokes and Quirky Workshops, it will be Sarah taking payments for this workshop. Please note there are slightly different T&C's regarding cancellations, which are detailed below**. Quirky Open Vouchers cannot be used towards payment on this particular course.
'Design & Planting Tips for a small Garden' with Shelagh Todd - lecturer, garden designer & plantswoman.
Design and Planting Tips for a Small Garden with Cumbrian Based lecturer, garden designer & plantswoman Shelagh Todd.
Shelagh is widely known and highly respected throughout Cumbria's gardening fraternity. She has been both the familiar face, and 'lead' of Horticulture at Newton Rigg for well over 30 years, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our 2025 Quirky programme. She brings a wealth of gardening expertise and teaching experience, which over the years, will have gently inspired (literally) thousands of 'would-be gardeners’ to create and nurture their own individual outdoor spaces.
During this one day course Shelagh will share garden design advice, hints and tips on how you can make the most of your small garden. We will explore how you can achieve atmospheric and all year interest in your small space.
Subjects covered:
- Site assessment
- Design inspiration for small spaces
- A walk & talk around the gardens at Poplin Dub created over the last 25 years.
- Privacy & screening solutions for a small space
- Choosing the right plants for a small space
By the end of the day you will have:
- An understanding of how to choose the correct plants for your small garden
- A list of plants that will create impact and interest but not outgrow their space
- A list of plants that are suitable for the atmosphere that you want to create
Design & Plan your own Garden - 2 days with Shelagh Todd - lecturer, garden designer & plantswoman
"Learn to design your own garden… just the way you want it" with leading Cumbrian Garden Designer, Lecturer and Plantswoman, Shelagh Todd.
Shelagh is widely known and highly respected throughout Cumbria's gardening fraternity. She has been both the familiar face - and 'lead' - of Horticulture at Newton Rigg College for well over 30 years, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our 2025 Quirky programme. She brings a wealth of gardening expertise and teaching experience, which over the years will have gently inspired literally thousands of 'would-be gardeners’ to create and nurture their own individual outdoor spaces. This two-day course is an ideal starting point for beginners, garden enthusiasts and anyone who wants to re-design their garden space.
Day 1 will cover the design process, including surveying, analysing & soil testing your site. Using your own design brief, you will learn to create a functional layout plan that you can apply to your garden, including consideration for hard landscaping materials as required. We can explore both the established and newer areas of the garden at Quirky Workshops which is maintained on a largely organic basis with wildlife at its heart.
Day 2 Shelagh will show you how to design the planting for your garden to achieve colour, interest and atmosphere; how to choose and combine the right plants for your soil conditions, and for best effect. You can decide on the style of planting and the types of plants you wish to grow, and we’ll discuss the pros and cons of different plants, what to look for when you are buying plants and how to source good plants locally.
*In advance of the workshop we'll send you an 'easy to follow' guide on how to measure up your garden. This means you can arrive on the first day of the course with a plan of your plot ready to begin the design process. With illustrated talks & drawing exercises, by the end of the 2 days you will have completed some planting schemes and have the skills to continue designing at home.
Your enquiry will be sent directly to Quirky Workshops Art, Craft and Heritage Skill Courses. Please fill in as much detail as you can.