WHEN:
Monday 1 – Friday 5 July 2024
TUTORS:
Caroline Ross
VENUE:
The Old Postern, Schumacher College, South Devon
AGE SUITABILITY:
PRICING (Bursaries are available):
COURSE FEE
£620
(Or secure your place with a £150 deposit)
COURSE FEE PLUS ACCOMMODATION
£830
(Or secure your place with a £150 deposit)
About this course
Join artist Caroline Ross on this journey through art and nature, using techniques from the Paleolithic to the Renaissance to create art materials that do not cost the earth.
Discover a more sustainable and fulfilling approach to painting and crafting as you learn to create professional-quality paints using colour from the earth itself: the rocks, clay and soil.
Foraging for pigments and creating paints from scratch is both life-affirming and fascinating, and Caroline introduces us to new skills and helps us engage more deeply with the land around us.
You’ll leave with a natural container full of inks, paints, pens, brushes and more made from the living world, from materials you have brought along, a selection Caroline has previously collected, and what we find around us during the week. You’ll learn skills that can be applied in almost any landscape, and gain a deep appreciation of our ancestors, who made their art without recourse to plastics or laptops.
on this course you will
- Make traditional natural paints: gum paints, watercolour & gouache, egg paints, tempera & glair, vegan paints and more.
- Learn the basics of botanical inks from abundant local resources, and how to make 100% paint from local earths.
- How to choose plants that might make good inks, and how to brew up your colours. You’ll also learn how to select rocks, clays, and earths for paint, how to grind and refine them, and simple methods for wonderful watercolour paints with tree gums, eggs, and plant waters.
- Learn about paint-making through history and gain an overview of natural art materials.
- Make and use different kinds of ink including oak gall ink, tannin inks, botanical and berry inks.
- Learn about lightfastness, and the basic chemistry involved when using iron, or when modifying pH of inks.
- Make traditional quill (feather) pens, reed pens, feather brushes and improvised natural drawing tools.
- Learn what to look for when identifying and gathering plants, rocks, feathers and more to make our materials.
- Create simple sketchbooks sewn with natural fibres.
- Learn how to make artists’ charcoal.
- There’ll also be abundant time to experiment and make art with all our newly made kit.
what participants said about this course
‘Caroline Ross is a very special person. I came to learn some practical skills for my practice and had an unexpectedly deep and meaningful experience on this course.’
‘What did I take away? The practical skills I came to learn (making inks and paints from natural materials), additional practical skills I hadn’t expected (making brushes and notebooks) as well as a week to reflect more deeply on my purpose as an artist, a woman and a human being in this moment. Caroline is a great enabler.’
‘A lot of interesting inputs, friendships and a new drive to experiment.’
typical schedule for short courses
- Check-in to the room is between 3-3.45pm on the day of arrival. Check-out is 11am on the day of departure, although if travelling by public transport, luggage can be left at the Welcome Centre until the course has completed.
- Teaching generally begins at 4pm on the first day and ends at 2pm Fridays or 4pm Sunday (whichever is the last day of the course).
- The daily timetable can start at 9.30am and end around 9.15pm, with free time available at set times throughout the day.
- For residential participants breakfast is included, followed by a morning gathering and community work groups on weekdays, which are open to all participants and the college community. Non-residential participants can pay extra if they wish to have breakfast on one or more of the days.
- Lunch for all participants is between 1-2pm and supper is 6.30-7.30pm (both meals are included in the residential and non-residential course fee).
If you have any questions about your course schedule please contact shortcourses@dartington.org
what to bring
There will be opportunities during the week to explore the beautiful Grade II-listed gardens at Dartington and the countryside on the estate.
Please bring appropriate footwear and clothing. If you have a small foraging basket or cloth bag, that’s worth bringing too. All equipment and materials are provided, but you are encouraged to bring found feathers and shells, some rusty iron, any soft colourful rocks from your travels, saved paper that takes your eye, and anything else you think might make something interesting. Also bring old clothes or an art apron, as some of the materials we will use can stain fabric.
TUTORS
caroline ross
Caroline Ross from Found & Ground is a natural materials artist and teacher from Bournemouth. She is the author of the upcoming books 'Found And Ground - a Guide to Making Foraged Watercolours', due for release by Search Press in Spring 2023. She forages and finds most of her materials both in the countryside and in urban settings. She encourages people to replace acrylics and single-use plastic in their art practice and to rediscover the joy of working with materials of the earth.
OUR LEARNING COMMUNITY
Our courses are part of the wider Learning programme at Dartington, and you will join a community of students on site studying at Schumacher College and Dartington Arts School as well as other short course participants, volunteers and visitors.
While you are here we invite you to take part in our learning community life by attending morning meetings, taking part in activities such as meal preparation and clearing, and evening social events. This is entirely voluntary, but participants tell us that taking part adds to their experience at Dartington.
accommodation
We recommend that if possible, you stay on-site during your course. All our courses are best experienced holistically: through studying, relaxing, eating and staying with other course participants, volunteers, staff and tutors.
When you book your course with accommodation this includes one of our hostel-style single rooms with shared facilities and easy access to your main learning space. They are the perfect base to rest your head, relax and recharge. You can find out more about the rooms here.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included throughout the duration of the course, each made with fresh, locally-sourced produce by our award-winning team.
Accommodation is available at a discounted rate for course attendees, and on a first come, first served basis only. Choose this option by selecting ‘Course Fee Plus Accommodation’ at checkout.
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optional: upgrade to a courtyard room
It is also possible, subject to availability, to upgrade your accommodation to a single or double en-suite bedroom in our beautiful and historic courtyard. Upgrade pricing is as follows:
For courses starting before 1/9/2023
- Single room with en-suite bathroom: additional £27.25 per night
- Double room with en-suite bathroom is an additional £43.60 per night
For courses starting on or after 1/9/2023
- Single room with en-suite bathroom: additional £31.07 per night
- Double room with en-suite bathroom is an additional £49.70 per night
If you would like to upgrade, please first book with residential option included, and then contact our Guest Services team on 01803 847150 or email guestservices@dartingtonhall.com to check availability. Our Guest Services department is open daily, 8am–8pm.
Should you decide to upgrade to our en-suite accommodation, please be aware that this is 20 min walk, or 3 min drive, to the Old Postern site, where some of our courses are held. There is car parking available near to all venues on the estate.
OPTIONAL: STAY ON OUR CAMPSITE
You may like to stay on our beautiful and relaxing campsite, amidst the stunning rolling hills and ancient woodlands of Dartington. Find out more about the campsite here.
Should you decide to stay on the campsite, please be aware that this is 10 min walk, to either Schumacher College or Dartington Hall, where our courses are held. There is car parking available near to all venues on the estate.
Book now
Begin your online booking below. You will receive an e-ticket for this event. You are welcome to email us at shortcourses@dartington.org or call us at 01803 847008 with any queries you have. Full Short Course T&Cs can be found here >
If you place a deposit, you will be contacted by us four weeks before the course start date to pay the outstanding balance. You will also be contacted with full details about the course before you arrive.
Please note that in most cases bookings for all our Short Courses close at midday on the Thursday before the course begins. This enables us to give you the best possible course experience and ensures all bookers receive the relevant course materials before they arrive.
