| Courses |
For the one
week courses students and partners will be invited to get together
at Gleanings on the Sunday afternoon before the course starts.
A buffet and refreshments will be provided and we feel that
this will give students and tutors the chance to get to know
each other in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. The course will
then start on the Monday morning and will finish on the Friday
afternoon.
We thought it would be a great idea if everyone had an afternoon
off to discover the beauty and history of Shropshire and the
Welsh border country. There are so many places to choose from
- for those that like history there are castles at Ludlow, Shrewsbury
and Welshpool (Powys Castle - with glorious gardens) and Ironbridge
Gorge with the wonderful bridge and many museums. Then, of course
you have the small market town of Bishop’s Castle with
it’s own breweries - The Six Bells and Three Tuns, or perhaps
you would prefer to visit Shrewsbury or Ludlow for shopping
or sightseeing. The list is endless.
During the week we hope to arrange a meal at a local hostelry
and for the music students perhaps a visit to a traditional
pub for a session. On the Friday evening there will be a gathering
in Gleanings for an informal concert when we will be joined
by local music enthusiasts. Where possible we have arranged
a concert by the tutor on the Saturday evening in the local
village hall and hope that many of you may wish to stay on
for this.
Accommodation List will be provided upon request. |
| Music |
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Sat. 30th - Sun. 31st October
Rees Wesson - A weekend of melodeons
Rees will be running two workshops over the weekend. On the Saturday evening there will be an informal session in Gleanings so that the tasters can get a taste of the real thing and the early arrivals for the East Anglian day can get warmed up. It would be great if all could get together, and even better if you could bring food and drink to share. This looks like the recipe for a night to remember!
Sat. 30th October - Workshop 1. Melodeon Taster Session.
The melodeon is a small button accordion. It has different notes on push and pull just like a mouth-organ. It is a true folk instrument in that no musical knowledge is required in order to knock out a few simple tunes.
Fancy having ago? Come and spend the day in the company of melodeon wizard, Rees Wesson.
Instruments will be supplied.
Sun. 31st October - Workshop 2. East Anglian Melodeon.
Learn how to play in this highly rhythmic style with Rees - Polkas, Stepdances, Jigs, Waltzes, Schottisches, etc.
Copies of the East Anglian tune-book "Before The Night was Out" will be available to purchase (in advance if required)
For more information: www.myspace.com/reeswesson - www.melodeons.com
Cost of each day: £50 and this includes a yummy homecooked 2-course lunch, plus snacks and refreshments |
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Sat. 20th - Sun. 21st November
Bill Caddick - Songwriting
A wonderful weekend of songwriting and wit with fabulous singer/songwriter, Bill Caddick.
A quote from John Kirkpatrick sums this man up - "The man's a wonder. Unique. Masterful. Magnificent . .
On this same weekend Bill's wife, Katherine Soutar-Caddick, will be running a Classy Christmas Card Workshop in the Stable at Gleanings - See Art and Craft Workshops
www.billcaddick.com
Cost of weekend: £90 and this includes a lovely homecooked 2-course lunch, plus snacks and refreshments |
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Sat. 27th - Sun. 28th November
Polly Bolton - "Singing from the Souls of Your Feet"
Whether you are an experienced singer or just beginning to dip your toes into finding your voice, Polly will lead a weekend of vocal exploration through singing harmony songs. She will start with some basic vocal techniques and teach a wealth of songs from many cultures, including many traditional British folk songs and some of her own compositions.
Polly believes that singing with others is a joyful experience resonating deep in our souls and DNA memory. All our songs will be taught by ear, so there is no need to read music. To miss out on the experience of a cappella singing is to miss out on one of the good things about being a human being. She believes that for too long our western music has been divided into performers and audience which prevents many people from having a go at singing with others.
Polly will also be teaching some vocal ornamentation, to garnish the folk songs we will be learning.
Polly has sung and recorded folk and jazz since the 1960’s and for the last 12 years has been a Natural Voice Practitioner and led her community choir, Ludlow Larks.
She is regarded as one of the country’s leading exponents of vocal ornamentation.
Wear loose fitting comfy clothes and shoes!
More details about Polly from www.pollybolton.co.uk
Cost of weekend: £90 and this includes a delicious homecooked 2-course lunch, plus snacks and refreshments. |
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| Arts & Crafts |
The pattern for the week
art courses will be similar to the music courses with the exception
of the Friday evening where there will still be a social gathering
arranged with the added bonus of being able to display your
work in Gleanings should you wish to.
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1st - 7th October
Art Exhibition of Shropshire Artist, the late Val Gunnery
This is a unique opportunity to view original paintings from the studio of the late Val Gunnery from Shropshire
Preview on Friday, 1st October at 5pm till 8pm where you will be welcomed with a glass of Wine and Nibbles
Open daily thereafter from 11am to 6pm. There will be the opportunity to purchase original paintings as well as prints during the exhibition time
Val Gunnery B.Phil.Ed
Val was born in February 1950 in the English border county of Shropshire. She painted for a number of years gradually developing her unique style. She lived in Birmingham for five years and at the time worked mainly in charcoal obtaining her effect by removing layers of charcoal to create a misty, nebulous effect.
Moving to Brazil in in 1979, she transferred this technique to working with oils and modified the style with the introduction of colours to suit the tropical environment. Her inspiration was influenced by the cool tranquility of the English countryside tempered by the heat and abundance of the Brazilian forest where everything is interlaced and intertwined.
Val once said, "In my paintings I am attempting to parallel music in terms of rhythm, pace and colour. I am making a complex world which bears a relationship to the one I experience, both internally and externally. I want my work to contain a magical, enchanted quality; movement caught and held as though permanently fixed within a state of constant change. If the onlooker sees it as a tangled web of emotions or a futuristic landscape and is moved by it then I have succeeded in my intention."
Val died on the 4th July 1982, aged 32. |
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Sat. 9th - Sun. 10th October
Paul Bennett - Beginners Photography Course
Paul is Director of Unique Photo's Ltd and his course will be aimed both at complete beginners and people who want to improve their knowledge of basic photographic techniques. You will not need to have sophisticated equipment as most of the basics can be applied to the simplest camera equipment; although it's ideal for anyone with a new camera that they're unfamiliar with or who is looking to purchase a new camera and wants some direction.
Although Paul will be using and expect most delegates to work with digital equipment, traditional film equipment will also be covered.
The syllabus will include a little theory and a lot of practical field work covering:
- Exposure control with shutter speeds and aperture control
- Control of colour – White Balance setting
- Appropriate selection of shutter speeds and apertures to control pictorial effects
- Appropriate choice of viewpoints and lens focal lengths to control pictorial effects
- Effective use of compositional techniques
- A study of light and shadow, both ambient and supplementary (flash etc.) sources and how to make the most effective use of them
- Simple post production editing, although this will not be an in depth study of Photoshop etc. (that’s an entire course in itself!)
Cost of weekend: £90 and this includes a delicious homecooked 2-course lunch, plus snacks and refreshments. |
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Sat. 16th October
Mark Bardsley - Cartooning and Caricaturing
Come and enjoy a day developing your cartoon style with experienced illustrator Mark Bardsley. Mark will be providing tuition and insight into the art of caricature and cartoon character creation as well as his humorous take on illustrating wildlife and rural subjects. The workshop will be interactive, so bring sketchpads, (watercolour gear as well if you have it). This is an opportunity to learn some trade secrets from a professional cartoonist! There should also be time for a bit of portfolio appraisal. Mark has also been an Art foundation course lecturer in illustration so if you have work that you'd like to get some professional feedback on, do bring some along.
www.markbardsleyillustration.co.uk
Cost of Day: £50 and this includes our homecooked 2-course lunch, plus snacks and refreshments |
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Sat. 23rd - Sun. 24th October
Jackie Williams - A Weekend of Crewel Embroidery
Come along and learn the delights of this traditional and beautiful form of ancient embroidery using wool, with experienced tutor of needlecraft, Jackie Williams.
Cost of weekend: £90 and this includes a delicious home-scooked 2-course lunch, plus snacks and refreshments. |
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Sat. 6th - Sun. 7th November
Ivan Williams - Observational drawing and composition through to intaglio printing – with a difference!
Intaglio printing using the dry-point technique is very direct and versatile. A simplified description for anyone not familiar with the process is as follows:
The printing plate on which the image is drawn can be made from a variety of materials, so long as the plate is of a softer material than the stylus that you draw the image with.
To create a plate you simply move the hardened stylus, a needle-type tool of varying thicknesses, across the surface leaving scratch marks. These marks can be incredibly fine or coarse (it’s not hard work).
The marks then have special ink rubbed into them and the ink left on the surface is wiped off.
The plate is then placed on a roller press (etching press). A dampened sheet of paper is placed on the plate and passed through the press. The pressure forces the damp paper into the scratch marks and in so doing, lifts the ink out.
The course will explore a technique that quickly and easily gives results that I am sure will thrill you. This, linked with the initial design of the plate, will give you a course with a difference.
Cost of weekend: £90 which includes a home cooked lunch each day, plus snacks and refreshments |
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Sat. 13th - Sun. 14th November
Pippa Scott - Make a Square Willow Basket
This workshop is an introduction to square basketmaking using a simple method suitable for those with little or no previous experience of basketmaking. For the more confident it will also be possible to learn advanced methods.
There will be an emphasis on practising borders, corners, and handles. This will enable participants to make useful baskets suitable for A4 sized papers, and with the addition of handles, you will be able to make a basket for shopping, etc.
This is Pippa's second workshop at Gleanings and she has been asked back by popular demand. Her workshops are full of fun and this gives the chance to make new friends as well as new skills. Pippa will also be covering the growing, harvesting and preparation of willow. There will be a small charge for materials.
Cost of weekend: £90 which includes a home cooked lunch each day, plus snacks and refreshments. |
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Sat. 20th - Sun. 21st November
Katherine Soutar-Caddick - Design your own Classy Christmas Cards - to be held in Gleanings Stable
These will not be the usual home made Christmas Cards - some will be funky abstract and at the other end of the scale, they can be painted in watercolours with beautiful rhymes. Katherine is a much sort-after artist not only in her home territory of Ironbridge but nationwide with book illustrations, CD covers, etc. To find out more about Katherine and to see her paintings log into her website: www.dancingcatdesign.co.uk
This promises to be a very exciting and creative weekend and lunchtime should be great as we shall be dining with Katherine's husband, Bill Caddick and his course participants as Bill is running a Songwriting Workshop at the same time in Gleanings.
Cost of weekend: £90 which includes a home cooked lunch each day, plus snacks and refreshments. |
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Sat. 4th December
Catherine Murphy & Bernard Edwards - Hedgerow Garlands and Corn Dolly Christmas Decorations
Collect your own garland material from the hedgerows in the fields around Gleanings and have a fabulous day creating your Christmas decorations and Garlands whilst warming your toes by the log burner.
Cost of Day: £50 which includes a home cooked lunch, plus snacks and refreshments |
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Sat. 11th - Sun. 12th December
David Turner - 'Belting Up' - Make your own hand-embossed leather belts - a unique Christmas Gift
By the end of the weekend each participant will have made two stamped belts. One at 1" wide and one at 1 1/4" wide. These will be fitted with a brass or nickel finish buckle. We will start with a bit of background into what sort of leather we will be using and why, plus the use of stamps and other tools to achieve our aim. You will be able to choose which stamped design you wish to put on your belt from a range of samples. Then after some basic practice we will get started on our individual tasks.
Leather stamping is fun, creative, satisfying and rewarding. It should be a real belter of a weekend!
Cost of weekend: £90 which includes a home cooked lunch each day, plus snacks and refreshments |
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| We've archived previous courses >>HERE<< |
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