Short Courses

3 day course: Friday 18 to Sunday 19 September

This is an exciting, hands on and physical workshop designed to provide an introduction to the art of blacksmithing. Choose from a selection of projects while learning to use the gas and coal/coke forge, anvil and hammer, employing techniques fundamental to blacksmithing. You’ll be introduced to hot punching, riveting, twisting, morticing, drawing out, plenishing, texturing and general hand forging.

Level: All | Cost: $495 + $90 materials

Steve Hogwood has worked as a film director, writer, designer and fine artist. His blacksmithing and metalwork career started over 40 years ago working with a wheelwright in Parkes NSW. Here he found passion for the old crafts and historic restoration, chiefly in hand forged metalwork. Steve has studied traditional hand forged metal work around the world and worked on numerous films and TV commercials. Steve is a tireless advocate of the old crafts, particularly blacksmithing and its relevance to today and contemporary society. 

For more information on Steve and his latest work visit: https://1910bc.com/

2 day course: Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 September

Learn the ancient art of Japanese rock wrapping and the pleasure of simple whittling in this 2 day workshop, to construct a mobile or hung installation. With emphasis on using foraged materials and producing zero waste, Penny Simons will guide you in creating elegant, environmentally aware artworks with a minimal footprint. 

Level: All | Cost: $330 + $65 materials (includes whittling knife)

Penny Simons is a maker, sculptor, weaver and educator. One of the founding partners of ‘Cloth’, Penny now refers to herself as a ‘rural artisan’, living and working in the Southern Highlands of NSW. Penny’s practice blends the eclectic disciplines of weaving, horticulture and design to create works from materials sourced in the local countryside. Her aim is to capture and bring awareness to the vulnerability, beauty and essence of nature, while creating minimal impact on it. For more information on Penny and her latest work visit: http://pennysimonsatruralartisanliving.com/

Join Alice Whish for a jewellery studio workshop focused on your existing jewellery collection. Explore and rejuvenate your jewellery, discovering what you love to wear, what you can repair, treasure, gift and discard. Use old pieces to inspire a new jewellery design or sustainably remake and restore an existing heirloom! 

During this 2 day workshop you will clean, repackage your treasures and repair earrings, brooches and necklaces. You will also redesign an old piece reusing fragments you’ve brought to the class. 

Level: All | Cost: $330 + $20 materials

Alice Whish is one of a distinctive group of Australian jewellers who have come from a rural background in New South Wales. Her work continues to have a strong connection not only to the wide brown land, but also to the sky above. Over 10 years she has worked with women in north-east Arnhem Land on collaborative jewellery projects. She holds a Bachelor of Visual Art from Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney University, a Master of Art, Fine Art in Gold and Silversmithing from RMIT and a Master of Higher Education from the University of New South Wales.

A two-day workshop introducing the principles of this fascinating variation on twining.

On day one you will begin by looking at the different types of cords which can be used, where to source them and how to make your own. You will then work three small samplers to learn the basic stitches and how single-colour, multi-colour and 3-ply cords behave within the structure.

On Day Two, we will make a small vessel to experiment with how this technique may be started and finished in the round.

Pre-prepared linen cords and a grip-fid (the tool used for Ply-Split Braiding) will be supplied.

Level: All | Cost: $330+ $70 materials

Angharad Rixon is a technical textile historian specialising in lace and passementerie; her studies in Italy, Switzerland and Spain have led to her skills in a variety of off-loom techniques. Angharad lectures in Milan and Florence and consults for museums and universities around the world.

Timber offcuts don’t need to be thrown away – you can transform them into useful, hardwearing utensils for the kitchen and table. In this two-day course you’ll have the opportunity to work with beautiful seasoned hardwoods to hand carve cooking and serving spoons, scoops, spreader knives and more.  We’ll learn a variety of techniques working with traditional hand tools and explore finishing options, hand tool maintenance and sharpening.  You’ll take home all the pieces you make, as well as the confidence, skills and further resources to continue your own spoon carving journey at home.

Level: All | Cost: $330+ $35 materials

Fiona Glover has a lifelong interest in woodcraft and design and was drawn to spoon carving due to its gentle and meditative process. She initially learnt traditional techniques in greenwood carving and has since developed her practice to also work with seasoned hardwoods that are recycled or offcuts from furniture making. Fiona shares her love of spoon carving, teaching workshops in Canberra and Sydney.

Fiona’s hand carved woodenware is sold under the label Twig to Table at selected outlets in Canberra including the National Gallery of Australia Shop ACT, the National Library of Australia Bookshop, the Canberra Glasssworks and Craft ACT. Fiona is a student of the Furniture studio at the ANU School of Art and Design

Instagram is a brilliant tool to promote your arts practice and market your work to new audiences. This course aims to help artists capture great quality images of their work, create engaging posts and Instagram Stories that achieve business impact. You will start with the basics of setting up an account, then learn how to write Instagram posts and employ hashtags and other tools to make your work easier to find. We’ll cover tips on photographing your work and watermarking those images to protect copyright.

Level: All | Cost: $330+ $10 materials + apps (up to $30)

Corinne Podger is a world leader in teaching the use of smartphones for photography and video. She has taught journalists and NGOs in over 16 countries to use smartphones for photography, video production, documentary-making and podcasting. She has lectured on Digital and Mobile Journalism at the University of Melbourne, and is the author of “The Mobile Journalism Manual for Reporters and Newsrooms” (2018). Corinne brings 20 years of experience as a multimedia reporter with the ABC and BBC to her teaching.