Workshops

Weekend, day and half day workshops are available in the following:

  • Mosaic making
  • Felting
  • Knitting
  • Weaving
  • Fabric Sculpture
  • Silk Painting
  • Photography
  • Spinning

Workshops are an opportunity to take part in an art retreat under the guide of an experienced tutor/practising artist. You can book a workshop alone, with a friend or with a couple of friends. Some workshops require more time than others and an overnight stay might be needed. This can be easily arranged. Accomodation is available either at Lobly Arts Studio or nearby. You are welcome to plan an overnight stay either on your own, with your partner or with a friend. The Studio is located on the outskirts of Warrnambool, overlooking the glorious southern ocean and non-workshop participants should find plenty of things to occupy them selves while you are having your art retreat.

Attending workshops is always more fun if there are a couple of you, then the ideas really flow, so to encourage you to really enjoy yourself, we have a special offer. If you book with a friend(s) or other participant(s), then you both (all) receive a 10% discount on your workshop costs.

The Workshops

Mosaic Workshops

Mosaic making is another fairly physically demanding workshop. A fair amount of concentrating and reasonably hard on your hands as you are cutting tiles, glueing, applying grout (which is very messy). The end product is well worth the effort though.

1.     Mosaic pot

You will have fun creating a beautifully decorated planter pot. This is the most basic of the mosaic classes. You will cover elements of design, preparation of the surface, cutting the tiles, attaching tiles to the pot and applying grout to the finished mosaic.

This workshop takes three teaching sessions of three hours.

Workshop cost $200     Materials $30

2.     Mosaic bowl

In this workshop you will create a beautifully decorated large bowl. Again you will cover elements of design, surface preparation, cutting tiles, attaching tiles and finally grouting the finished article.

This workshop also takes three teaching sessions of three hours

Workshop cost $200     Materials $35-40

3.     Mosaic mirror

This is an advanced mosaic class. You will create a beautiful mirror with mosaic surround. Again you will cover elements of design, surface preparation, cutting tiles, attaching tiles, grouting the finished mosaic, mounting your mirror into the frame and attaching hanging wires.

This workshop takes four teaching sessions of three hours at least.

Workshop cost $270     Materials $50

 

                             

Felting workshops

Felting workshops are reasonably energetic – you don’t damage fibre without a bit of rough handling! The process is very hands on and there is plenty of slopping around with water. Great for getting rid of tensions!

1.     Felted cobweb scarf

This workshop provides a basic introduction to felting. You will learn about the principles of felting, colour and fibre selection, preparation of materials, the felting process, fulling or finishing off. At the end of the workshop you will have created a beautiful cobweb scarf which you will wear with pride or give as a very special gift to someone.

This workshop takes one three hour teaching session

Workshop cost $75       Materials $14

 

 

 

 

2.     Felted clutch bag

This is a slightly more advanced felting workshop. You will cover the principles of felting, colour and fibre selection, preparation of materials, setting up a pattern blank for hollow felting, the felting process, fulling/finishing off and applying embellishments.

This workshop requires two three hour teaching sessions

Workshop cost $150     Materials $25 - 30  

Knitting workshops

            Knitting workshops are about enjoying the experience, there will be much time spent sitting, knitting, chatting, having cups of tea, listening to music, enjoying the company and the time out from our busy lives.

1.     Sock knitting workshop

This workshop teaches you all you need to know to create a wonderful funky pair of colourful socks to keep your feet warm and cheer your heart. It does require some basic knitting skills – casting on, knitting on four needles, increasing and decreasing. There will be some pre-workshop knitting to do, so that we can cover the whole topic over a two day workshop.

This is a two day workshop, requiring four teaching sessions.

Workshop cost $270     Materials $28

  

 

2.     Beanie knitting workshop

This workshop is a slightly more basic knitting workshop. It can be done with limited knitting skills, or a more advanced version is available. The basic beanie is knitted flat then sewn up and pompom or braid or other trim added. The more advanced version is knitted on four needles and decorative features can be adding during the knitting. Either way you end up with a wonderful unique funky beanie to wear with pride or give to a loved one. Again this is a two day workshop.

Workshop cost $270     Materials $18

 

            basic beanie                           

                    Basic Beanie                                                       Advanced Beanie

Weaving workshops

Weaving workshops are a two day experience, there is much to learn, but there is also quite an amount of time spent simply sitting and weaving. As with the knitting it is a peaceful time, during which you can chat, enjoy a cuppa, listen to some music or just savour the ambience.

1.     Weave a scarf in a weekend.

We will cover the skills you need to weave a scarf in either tabby or twill – both simple weave structures. You will learn how to choose your yarns, including different weights of yarn and use of novelty yarns, as well as how to calculate the quantities of materials needed for a project. You will learn how to wind a warp and the process of warping up the loom. We will touch on the different types of looms available and their purpose. You will learn how to use the shuttle and how to create the structure of the weave. You will also cover the finishing or fulling required to make your garment stable and by the end of the weekend you will have created a lovely scarf you can wear with pride.

Workshop cost $270     Materials $30-40

 

 

Fabric sculpture workshops

Fabric sculpture is great fun. The solution which hardens the fabric permits all the structure and drape of the fabric to be inherent in the piece. We need two days to create the fully stable sculpture. This is another fairly hands on and messy workshop.

1.     Fabric sculpture figurine

You will create the structure of your figure by building a wire armature. This is then padded and wound with strips of cloth before being coated with the special solution which hardens and waterproofs the structure. The figure is then mounted on its base and the garments are created. Each step being coated with the hardener. It all takes time and patience and several coats of hardener, but gradually our little person will take shape and you will take home your own unique little piece of sculpture to show off to your friends and family. It is wonderfully messy, but fortunately water based, so as long as we clean up before it hardens things aren’t too bad. Once the solution hardens it is permanent and waterproof! This is another two day workshop.

Workshop cost $270     Materials $50

 

 

 

 

Silk painting workshops

Working with silk is a delight. It is such a luxurious texture and takes the colours of the dyes so beautifully. This is another messy workshop, but exciting because the results can be unexpected.

1.     Shibori Silk Scarf

In this workshop you will create a wonderfully colourful random patterned silk scarf. Shibori is the Japanese method of folding, pleating and stitching fabric before applying the dye, to create patterns in the dye process. We will fold and pleat our silk then wind it onto a tube before applying our dyes. We then steam the silk to set the dye and iron our lovely creation before taking it home with pride.

This workshop requires a full day.

Workshop cost $150     Materials $25

 

 

 

 

2.     Painted silk scarf

For those who wish to create a full work of art to wear, come along and spend a weekend making a painted silk scarf. We will design your project, stretch the silk, draft the project, draw the pattern with gutta, then colour our scarf with dye, as a painting. Once our creation is dry enough we then have to wrap and steam it to set the dyes, followed by washing and ironing.

The project is lots of fun, very creative and a bit messy as well. This takes two days to achieve.

Workshop cost $270     Materials $30

Photography workshops

1.     Making friends with your camera

So many people are afraid of their “new fangled” camera. When you bought it, it seemed like a good idea, but are you really using your camera or are you just pointing and clicking and hoping for the best? Come and spend some time learning about your camera and what it can do. We will also discuss how to compose your pictures, what things to look out for when taking a photo, what makes a photo something more than a snapshot. We will go out and practise what we have learned, then talk about what happened and how to improve. We will be inspired by excellent photographers and see how they put their images together. By the end of the weekend, you should feel a lot more confident and friendly toward your camera and be able to use it as a tool, rather than have it bluff you!

This workshop requires two days to be of full value

Workshop costs $270

You will need your own camera and memory cards. Please bring your instruction manual as well.

 

 

 

 

Please contact if you are interested.

 

Details will be posted on this website for upcoming workshops.

Click here if you would like to see the workshops on offer.

 

 

 

 I am also experimenting in a few new areas, which may filter through to my store, or more certainly, could become workshops available. We have a rush of babies happening and I have been exploring art quilts as gifts for these precious little newcomers. More particularly our first grandchild will be arriving this year! Here's a sneak preview of a couple of quilts I've created.