Courses
Short Courses and Workshops
I am organising the workshops and courses because I genuinely enjoy watching people unearth something they did not know about themselves — that other dimension to a life that art opens up. It does not happen the same way for everyone, but it does happen.
These courses are for adult makers at different stages of their practice — people who want structure, a process to work through, and space to discover something they didn't know about themselves and their work.
Now Announced
Coming soon
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Drawing Course. Look and see!. Location Glasgow
There is a difference between looking at something and really seeing it. Most of us look without seeing — we recognise the object and stop there. This single day course is built around changing that. Over the day we work through a series of exercises in looking, responding, mark-making and colour, using drawing tools and materials that push you away from what you already know how to do.
Price: £95.00
Dates and booking details will be confirmed shortly. Registering your interest does not commit you to a place. Registered viewers will be the first to be contacted and offered a place before booking opens publicly, at that time a list of the materials to bring will be made available.
The Participant
Who the courses are for?
The courses suit makers at three broad points in their practice. Art students who want structure around exploring their own work and don't always get that from formal study. More proficient makers who have lost momentum — the work has stalled and they need something to get them moving again. And people who have stepped away from a career to make art a bigger part of their life, and want a grounded, purposeful way to develop.
What they share is an interest in making and a sense that there is more to find — in their subject, in their process, or in themselves.
The Approach
What the courses are built around?
Both courses are underpinned by research and the idea that making work from a genuine personal interest produces better results than waiting for inspiration to arrive. In my experience, the holding pattern many makers find themselves in — waiting for the bolt of lightning — usually comes from a lack of that underpinning. There is nothing to pull the work forward.
The courses address that directly. The broad process is: identify a subject that genuinely interests you, sketch and explore it using different techniques, push it artistically, and experiment with how you want to represent it. Skills development runs through all of that — but it is always in service of your own work, not an end in itself.
The aim is not for you to leave with a finished piece. It is for you to leave with a positive experience, a set of skills you have actually practised, and a process you can continue on your own.
What it is like in the room
The groups are small. There is no competition — the shared interest in making is what holds the group together, and that creates a good atmosphere to work in. During the making there is conversation, reflection, consideration and sharing. Simple, accessible skills exercises sit alongside space to be creative, and the combination of group discussion and individual tuition is where progress tends to happen.
I am organising the workshops and courses because I genuinely enjoy watching people unearth something they did not know about themselves — that other dimension to a life that art opens up. It does not happen the same way for everyone, but it does happen, and that is why I am interested in studio tutoring.
Location
Courses take place in Glasgow. Venue details, session format, costs and material lists will be confirmed with each course announcement. If you have a question in the meantime, get in touch.