Workshops-Education

'Hands on, experimental with a strong emphasis on using found materials and inventive applications of textile and mixed media processes as part of the exploration of developing a 'creative language (West Dean College).
War and Gardens, Garden Museum and Age UK Bromley and Greenich
Images kind permission of the Garden Museum and johonephotography

Workshops and commissions are delivered in response to groups, exhibitions or projects, with an emphasis on individual development of ideas.
The overlooked details found on a daily walk or favourite place combined with the use of found materials can be rich resources for inspiration. Find beauty and meaning in things retrieved from the everyday connection to the urban and natural elements of landscape. Is Stitch Art'  on the Embroiderer's Guild website provides an interesting perspective on this area of practice.
Contact me for availability and information or to discuss your ideas for a project or workshop.

Workshops and Art Retreats (private studio, educational and Guild workshops are not posted here)
I have a number of workshops planned which are listed here. Many are full but there are still vacancies on courses into 2019.

West Dean College Short Courses (see my page)
Paper, Text and Image, 11-9 December 2018.
Taking inspiration from everyday domestic objects or natural forms as a starting point, develop a study on a small canvas with a still life or nature inspired theme. You will explore ways of transferring images, creating layers, collage and stitch with fabric, paper and text into a textured mixed media work (Course Full)

Personal Journals 10 to 13 December 2018. Discover ways of creating and exploiting your journals and sketchbooks as a starting point for mixed media, textile-based projects or three-dimensional designs. Using unconventional drawing techniques, collage and photography.

Be inspired by the colours, textures and shapes found in the natural or urban landscape. Using mark-making, print, collage, free machine embroidery, hand stitch and other processes, create surfaces to combine into mixed media textiles to create your own collages.


UK workshops

Happy and Glorious, Cranbrook. 18th November 2018.
 Come and spend an afternoon at this lovely little shop and create your own piece of stitched art inspired by nature.(Full)

Hope and Elvis in Nottingham  Two workshops:
Paper, Mark and Stitch, 30th and 31st March 2019 and


Stitch-Sketch-Book, 1st and 2nd April 2019 (only a few places left in each workshop)
Spaces Places Traces at Lund Studios  in North Yorkshire Tuesday 25th to Thursday 27th June 2019.
The colours and textures in the urban and natural landscape, from light raking over a ploughed field, bright summer flowers, to shadows and shapes in building provide the stimulus in the creation of mixed media textile and painted work.


Bath Summer School 2019, 19 and 20th August, Mark, layer, stitch – the sketchbook workshop  22 and 23 August Layers, Lines and Images-Textile Books. Two workshops which can be linked to make a four day course.

International courses (update soon)

Regular Courses locally
Kent Adult Education various including 26 week drawing and painting classes on Fridays starting 21 September and new one day courses.Enter my name under tutor search.
Limited Edition: Workshops for 2-5 people from my home workspace by arrangement. Explore different approaches to textiles and mixed media work in a relaxed creative environment with an emphasis on individual development. I am happy to discuss specific details of projects or offer one to one tuition and guidance. (contact me for details)

Comments from students on recent courses:                            
The entire workshop experience was packed with artists of lively talent and heart. In fierce heat, these 15 women filled 36 hours with intense focus and concentration. Led by a mightily energy of about 5'5" who really knows her stuff! Cas Holmes is a masterful artist and teacher. Those of us able to attend felt honored and privileged to be with her. We took away many new skills and I left feeling brave as an artist for the first time in 15 years, (I haven't been able to call myself an artist for that long either).
 From the Land Jessica (San Diego Book Artist)
pintrest

We explored the unique  world of the  lost and found creating simple books to explore our projects alongside  paper/textile layering, pasting techniques. Drawing our narratives from the overlooked and imperfect akin to Wabi Sabi (Art of Imperfection) working sometimes collaboratively, at others individually we tore, cut, reconstructed and stitched our ways to new collages and objects.It helped me to open my eyes to the world around me 
(Student on Personal Journals course, West Dean)

It has been a little over a week since my return from West Dean and the experience has been much in mind.  I gained more than I think I could ever say from being on the course with Cas Holmes.  It was great to spend time in the beautiful location, not only did it  enrich my own practice, but so  generative in regard to the work that I do in mental healthcare settings and the community. (Extract from student letter who attended Tracing Shadows course at West Dean) 
 
Some images of Tea Flora Tales donated by San Diego books arts in workshop.
Marion work in progress. Here is a lovely link to feedback from a students perspective on a recent workshop at Eaubrink studios by Marion on Artmixter blog. 
This is the second workshop I've attended led by Cas Holmes, and all I can say is that personally, I find her an extremely inspirational teacher, and someone who encourages a very relaxed, serendipitous attitude to the techniques that she teaches. If you get the chance, I can thoroughly recommend one of her classes.  Cath  reporting on (Small Objects- collographs) and an image of the work in progress. See more by Cath on Stitchclothcolour )

Below-a selection of images from my workshops. Many thanks to the students who gave me kind permission to use the images of their work in progress.
 
 Marks on Cloth,  a drop-in community workshop on board LV21.

What did I learn?? Hmmm, it is really hard to describe.... I learned to be less precious and to dive into the work. Not to worry so much, each layer can be changed, altered, built up, stripped back and added to......I had a very enjoyable day and learned so much.

Below:Images and Narratives, folding books   Milton Keynes Arts Centre,
A piece in progress by Julie Leach
I really enjoyed both of your courses and felt that I gained a tremendous amount. As much as your book, (The Found Object in Textile Art,) is excellent, the opportunity to see you applying your own techniques was very special. Most of all though I loved your teaching approach. You constantly made us think for ourselves and challenged what was possible. I always think it's the quality of the questioning that is key and that is where the experienced practitioner prepared to teach creatively can take a student so much further than the painting by numbers approach can ever achieve. As I said on the day you are a teacher not an instructor and I know that requires a lot more personal investment. I, for one, really appreciated it.
Julie Leach, Course at Artwork Milton Keynes

Work from one day courses at my home workshop looking and print and layer: Work in progress in the studio top left: Jean and Elise, Top Right Jenny. Below Text and Image workshop  (Claire)

Extreme Stitching Red at the Huguenot Museum, Rochester.



    
Students on a Memories on Canvas course at Maidstone Museum referred to old historic Ladybird book illustrations to draw upon their favourite memories from camping, to a childhood swing in a garden in this work in progress inspired by Ladybird books in a Ladybird Childhood exhibition. 

Below:images Of Cloth, Pattern and Clothing and Text, Paper Image from workshops organised through Fibre Arts Australia  Recent reports on workshops and visit to Australia with here.

 
 Pieces for Tea-Flora-Tales and work from students
      Annette Glare                                   Annette Packett
Tanya Davies
Below: Report from  Extreme Stitching workshop and talk with Cork Textile Network
On the back  cover of a West Dean brochure  with work by the same student, Katie Boucher's work in progress featured here.























Exploring marks in Drawing for Textiles  translating into stitch and back again.Top left to right, Lindi Bundfuss, Karen Butti, Noura Almehain, Helen Mason, Carol Hilary Bartlett, Sarah Eaton. www.westdean.org.uk

Images of workshops by kind permission of participants
All images and text copyright Cas Holmes 2016.
All rights reserved.
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