Cultivate your Creativity
"When you play and open yourself to new experiences, you enter into the present moment. You see the world with fresh eyes, relinquishing rigid ideas about how things "ought to be" and opening yourself to creative solutions and transformation." - Deepak Chopra
- Creative Writing
- Floral Design
- Flower and Plant Painting and Drawing
- Watercolours
- Christmas Cookery Demonstration
Creative Writing - Saturday 29th May, Saturday 4th September, Sunday 31st October
Presenter - Mark Ellis
This course will focus on the creation of short stories as a means of expressing and interpreting the questions, challenges and experiences that enter our lives. Mark plans to make use of the surrounding natural beauty as means of a gaining inspiration.
The approach and subject matter will, to a great extent, be dictated by the group, however, participants will be required to engage with a degree of theoretical learning as a means of understanding and honing the pieces that they produce. This course is suitable for student writers of all levels though not for absolute beginners. If you've put pen to paper before and want to develop your understanding of the techniques used to craft stories then this is the course for you.
Cost - £55 + VAT per session or £150 when booking for all 3 (includes lunch)
Reserve your place
Floral Design - Friday 21st May, 10am - 3pm - repeated on Saturday 22nd May
Presenters - Stephanie Fasold and Sue Morriss
During the morning session experienced floral designers, Stephanie and Sue, will demonstrate a Moss Basket, a Garland, a Mantle and a Hearth arrangements along with a Wreath, a Lily of the Valley Door Basket and a Hand Tie.
After lunch they will create a couple of larger and more formal displays and then, under Stephanie's and Sue's helpful and friendly supervision, all the participmnts will have the opportunity to try out the new techniques they have learned by creating their own hand tie to take home with them.
Some of the floral material will come from Cold Cotes's extensive garden and be combined with the flowers Stephanie and Sue will bring up from Covent Garden.
Cost - £85 + VAT (includes lunch and your floral arrangement to take home)
Reserve your place
Flower and Plant Drawing and Painting - Saturday June 19, 10am - 4pm
Presenter - Richard Squire
This is an opportunity to take part in an introductory one day art course that will explore drawing and/or painting of plants and flowers by encouraging the development of one's unique creative view of the world. Cold Cotes has a superb garden and a marvellous range of plants and flowers to enjoy and work from. The use of one's own plants and flowers and/or images is also a possibility.
A variety of ways of thinking and approaches will be discussed and explored using one's own choice of media and materials. You will be free to develop your work using your preferred approach. For example; figurative, abstract or botantical. You can choose to complete a series of images or a sustained piece of work. It will be possible to work indoors or outdoors. It's your choice. It WILL be a sunny day :-) The day will focus in part on taking a new and positive view of oneself as an artist. Through drawing and painting plants and flowers one can be inspired to find a deeper artistic self.
You will need to supply your own; easel, board and paper plus your chosen media, brushes, pencils etc. We will supply a range of back-up materials for those items you overlooked or the ones you left in the hallway.
Cost - £55 + VAT (includes lunch) - Reserve your place
Watercolours - Saturday August 7th, 10am - 4pm
Presenter - Chris Bent
The painting day is aimed at those people who have started their journey with watercolours . It will provide an opportunity to share your experience with fellow enthusiasts in the stimulating surroundings of Cold Cotes and its gardens. The painting day will be supervised by Chris Bent an experienced watercolour artist who will share with you his approach and techniques on a one-to-one basis. It will provide an opportunity for you to discuss your work and for this you are encouraged to bring along a portfolio of recent paintings and drawings.
The day's activities will consist of plein air painting and drawing in the beautiful setting of Cold Cotes Accommodation and Events Centre with its inspiring gardens and surrounding countryside. The working format will be flexible with an opportunity for those who wish to develop their observations from the morning session into a more elaborate and experimental studio painting. Time will be set aside at the end of the afternoon to share the results of the days activities.
You are required to bring along appropriate art materials and equipment for the day.
Cost - £65 + VAT (includes lunch) - Reserve your place
Christmas Cookery Demonstration - Sunday October 24th, 10am - 2pm
Presenter - Kevin O'Connor
Those of us who have had the great pleasure of eating Kevin's amazing Christmas pudding can atest to his skills as a cook. During this session he will share his secrets for making this and other fantasic seasonal goodies. Following the demonstrations you will have the opportunity to taste them for yourself with a glass of wine during lunch.
Cost - £55 + VAT (includes a lunch where you can sample the dishes Kevin will
demonstrate) - Reserve your place