Get creative with textures and shapes as Clare Youngs guides you through botanical-inspired mark making and collage fun.

Join us for a day-long workshop with illustrator and collage artist Clare Youngs, exploring texture, pattern, and the expressive possibilities of mark making and collage, inspired by the natural beauty of Goodnestone Park.

The day begins with a gentle wander through the gardens, observing shapes, forms, and seasonal details in the surrounding plants and foliage. Along the way, you’ll gather inspiration, and perhaps a few fallen twigs, grasses, or pine needles, to create your own simple mark-making tools.

Back in the Coach House, Clare will guide you through a series of playful and accessible techniques, including wax resist and inventive ways of creating texture using everyday materials such as cardboard, worn brushes, and your foraged tools. These processes will help you build a rich and varied collection of hand-crafted paper samples.

In the afternoon, you will begin to cut, arrange, and compose your collages. Drawing on your observations, you might create semi-abstract botanical studies using simplified organic forms, or take inspiration from the bird life in the gardens, translating these into layered, expressive compositions.

The day concludes with guidance on creating a handmade sketchbook, a beautiful and personal way to gather and present your finished pieces as a cohesive collection.

Open to all levels, this workshop offers a relaxed and inspiring introduction to collage as both a creative and mindful practice.

.Once regularly visited by Jane Austen, Goodnestone Park carries a gentle, historic charm that makes it an ideal setting for a botanical painting workshop. Set within 15 acres of beautifully designed gardens, the estate blends elegant formality with peaceful woodland paths and wide, open views. The Walled Garden, reflective ponds, terraces, and sweeping lawns provide an abundant array of seasonal blooms and foliage; perfect subjects for creative study.

Throughout the grounds, quiet corners invite slow wandering and focused looking, allowing participants to gather inspiration and connect with the subtle shapes, colours, and textures of the natural world. With its historic house, tranquil atmosphere, and ever-changing interplay of light, colour, and scent, Goodnestone Park offers a nurturing landscape where you can pause, observe natural forms in a setting that feels both timeless and deeply nourishing to the creative spirit.

Description supplied by the event organiser.