cas holmes : 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.

Forthcoming workshops are listed below (private studio, educational, Guild workshops are not posted here)

In the UK

West Dean College Short Courses (see my page)

Personal Journals-Sourcing Inspiration for Textiles 26-29 November

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, capture and develop ideas from your immediate environment.

Land-marks – paint, collage and stitch, experimental textiles 2 to 5 February 2018.
Be inspired by the colours, textures and shapes found in the 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.

Dutch Blue

Diva Design Studios I am 'North of The Border' , Logie Staeding near Inverness in September with two linked workshops:Price includes lunch in The Olive Tree Cafe at Logie Steading and teas/coffee and biscuits

23 – 24th September. Wild Gardens . £140 for 2 days. 25th September. Postcards from the Landscape £70 for 1 day.

Stitch Sketches Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Gallery Sat 10th Feb 2018 - 10:30 - 15:30 £40 A mixed media workshop using paper, textile, mark and stitch, inspired by wild flowers and referencing the Herbarium collection at the museum. Use a variety of floral and recycled fabrics from your collections to build up images and textures to create ‘Stitch Sketches’.

SPACES PLACES TRACES, 3 day workshop 16-18 June with Stitch Retreats at Hothorpe Hall The colours and textures in the urban and natural landscape, from light raking over a ploughed field, bright summer flowers, to buildings reflected in water can provide stimulus for the creation of pieces reflecting the narrative, formal or abstract qualities to be found in textile and mixed media work as part of this explorative process.

Kent Adult Education various including 30 week drawing and painting classes on Thursday and Fridays starting 29 September and new one day courses.Enter my name under tutor search for courses 2017-18

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)

Europe and Beyond:2018

Stitch-Sketch-Books:Textile Books The Alpine Experience, 27th June-4 July 2018. Enjoy mountain meadows and stunning views, (and incredible food) on this course making reference to images and narrative drawn from your own sources and the location to create a book or scroll inspired form. (This is not a book-binding course).

Places, Spaces, Traces.Crafty Retreats 19-26 July 2018, in stunning rural France. We will draw inspiration from the locality and landscape as we take a another look at the overlooked details of the everyday from patterns and shapes in domestic objects to the features and textures in the buildings and gardens around us.

Returning to Australia in March-April 2018 under the invitation of Fibre Arts Australia. I will be at Ballarat amongst a fabulous programme of artists. (My course filled overnight) I will also be at a new venue Woodlawn and have one added 3 day workshop in Traralgon.(both courses are full).

I am delighted to be running a short two day course Mark, Layer and Stitch on 12-13 April 2018 at Go Create in New England, Australia. You can find details of all the courses on the calendar here. I will also be running a workshop in Rockhampton, Queensland. More information will be posted late September.

Edges of Australia

Cup and Euclyptus Flower

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

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Workshops-Education