“Lots of excellent tutoring - delivered with a light touch. Talented, amusing company all wrapped up in beautiful Coombe Farm Studios effortless style and generosity.”
Helen has been working as an artist and teacher for over a decade. She draws mostly large-scale work, using the natural world and the elements as her inspiration. In her studio Helen works with many materials, including pastels, smoothing and smudging the marks with her hands. The technique of erasure is central to her practice, removing and reapplying pigment in various ways, over and over, to build up a complex and layered tonal image.
The 3 day course will begin with a playful experimentation exploring the possibilities of materials and application, you will use drawing materials including inks, charcoal, graphite pencils, various pastels- whole and crushed, oil sticks as well as less than conventional and maybe unexpected non-toxic materials from nature including clay, mud, estuary finds, oil and things you might find in your pantry or around your home. Through a series of planned exercises, you will explore the possibilities of application, effect and develop your own understanding of the preferences you have and what you like to use.
Over the 3 days the exercises Helen sets will encourage you to have fun and push your boundaries expanding your curiosity as well as building your confidence in the exciting possibilities of drawing.
This course is ideal if you want to just get away and explore drawing or if feel ‘stuck’ with your mark making and want to experiment and push your boundaries. It would also be excellent if you’re used to working in another disciplines and want to expand your drawing and mark making skills (for example if you are a potter looking to develop your drawing skills to expand your surface decoration techniques).
EXPERIENCE LEVEL: This course is designed for anyone that wants to explore their drawing skills, from beginner through to advanced, Helen will work with you at the level that you re at.
OUTLINE SCHEDULE: Thursday // 5-7pm Residents arrive //7pm non residents arrive followed by welcome drinks and dinner.
Friday-Saturday // Breakfast for residents 8.30am, tuition starts at 9,30am for all. 1pm Lunch, tuition resumes 2-5pm.
Sunday // Breakfast for residents 8.30am, final tuition session runs 9.30am-1pm followed by final lunch 1-2pm
ACCOMMODATION OPTIONS: Residential and non-residential spaces available. NB residents are not required to share bedrooms, see accommodation for more info.
COST: £560 + VAT for residential which covers all your tuition, food, accommodation and materials from arrival on Sunday through to departure after lunch on Friday. Non-residential fees are £401 + VAT include all tuition, welcome drinks on Sunday and lunch from Mon-Friday.
MATERIALS LIST: There’s a full materials list for this course listed below, which you need to organise, buy and bring with you.
HOW TO GET HERE: Our address is TQ6 0JA [What3words: What3words: fulfilled.exploring.branching] and we have plenty of free onsite parking. Trains > nearest station is Totnes then we can arrange lift shares or send taxi details. We are about 20 minutes from the station.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ON THE COURSE? Min 4 max 8 to allow the tutor to give everyone enough attention and time on the press.
FOOD: We have an on-site chef that caters for you during the course, meals are taken at one long table in the accommodation building together with course participants and your tutor. We cater for all dietary requirements and grow a lot of herbs & vegetables on site.
Helen is based in Bristol and is a professional full-time artist and a member of the Wilderness Collective. Alongside making work she has taught at the Royal West of England Academy and the University of the West of England. She also works with community groups, running classes and workshops in art making. She works with learners of all abilities and enjoys engaging with students to build their confidence and find their creative inspiration.
My drawings depict the epic scale of the natural world, and create an uncertain and unsettled narrative that engages the viewer in multiple strands of discourse. The representation of sea, sky and land portrays shifting landscapes that allude to apocalyptic states and to the sublime beauty of nature. Combined with a photo-cinematic style, the imagery appears as documentation of actual events, referencing mass media footage following extreme weather events and natural disasters. I make my drawings with black pigment applied by hand to tracing paper and use a variety of rubbers and scraping materials to remove the pigment, resulting in a more complex and layered tonal image.
MATERIALS LIST FOR THIS COURSE
The majority of materials will be provided which is reflected in the course price. However please do bring the following with you;
A selection of papers that you might like to work on - thin and thick and of various sizes
Soft back Sketch book A5
Materials from your home kitchen to experiment with (marmite, honey, sugar , shoe polish, whatever you like.
This total course price is £560+ VAT (£673) which covers all your tuition, accommodation & food.
At the point of booking/adding to cart, you are asked to pay a non-refundable* deposit of £150.
The remaining balance (£523) is payable three weeks before the course starts.
*Non-refundable and non-transferrable. Please read our full Terms & Conditions including cancellations.
This total course price is £401+ VAT (£481 which covers all your tuition and lunch.
At the point of booking/adding to cart, you are asked to pay a non-refundable* deposit of £150.
The remaining balance (£331) is payable three weeks before the course starts.
*Non-refundable and non-transferrable. Please read our full Terms & Conditions including cancellations.
Rather book by phone? Call 01803 722 352
