Botanical Ceramics with Clare Mahoney
Course Suitability: Suitable for all
Maximum Participants: 12
Course Description:This workshop highlights our connection to the natural world, encouraging us to slow down, and look closely at nature.
The intricate structure, texture, and beauty of foraged botany, the hedgerows we drive past every day.
The clay impression is used to form a mould.
The mould is flooded with plaster and Cornish stone, Creating a positive mirror image of the clay piece.
The clay is removed, and the Botanical relief is revealed.
Just like a Botanical monoprint it’s simple and effective, bringing out all the unnoticed detail.
A really enjoying and immediate process.
Materials Required:
All materials will be supplied at a charge of £7.50, paid on the day.
About the artist:
Clare’s ceramics reflect her love of the natural world, capturing its textures, patterns, and rhythms through the malleable medium of clay.
Her pieces are made using porcelain, and traditional hand building techniques.
The surface imagery is created through printmaking, drawing, and low relief inlay.
She draws inspiration from the beauty of human connection, and the everyday world around her. Creating elements, multiples, and small sculptures that are then collaged together.
Places are on a first come first served basis.
To secure your place on this course a £25 non-refundable deposit is required.
All courses are £59 per day for members, £75 for non-members
Spring Landscapes with Jonathan Newey
Course Suitability: Absolute Beginners Beginners Improvers
Maximum Participants: 12
Course Description:
Sketching Spring Landscapes with Pen and Wash is an engaging two-day course designed for artists of all levels. Participants will explore the art of capturing the beauty of spring using pen and wash techniques, combining fine ink lines with delicate watercolour washes. During the course you will learn how to sketch trees, flowers and buildings in a spring landscape with waterproof pen marks and how to add vibrancy with watercolour washes, emphasizing light, shadow, and texture. The course encourages creativity while teaching practical skills in a relaxed, inspiring environment. Perfect for beginners and people with some knowledge of the mediums
Materials Required:
The tutor will provide the required materials for course participants. The cost per person will be £30 (cash) which will be paid to Jonathan by the participants on the day of the course.
Should the students wish to use their own tools and materials rather than buying a set from the tutor then they are welcome to bring them along.
A full list of what is needed can be obtained from the tutor.
About the artist:
Jonathan Newey is an award winning artist with over 25 years of experience in teaching in adult education. He has experience in a wide variety of mediums and subjects including landscapes, wildlife and architecture in acrylic, watercolour and coloured pencil.
Places are on a first come first basis.
To secure your place on this course a £25 non-refundable deposit is required.
Courses are £59 per day for members, £75 for non-members.
Course Suitability: Beginners – Improvers
Maximum Capacity: 12
Course Description:
On this one-day course, you will make plant climbers, plant supports, trellises and decorative Garden Hurdles, all out of willow and hazel grown in Somerset and Gloucestershire.
Helen will guide you through each stage of the process, whilst introducing you to the different varieties of willow/hazel which you can use to make your creations unique.
By the end of the day you should have been able to make 3-4 items to take home to put in the garden.
Materials List
The tutor will provide the required materials for course participants. The cost per person will be £12, to be paid to the tutor on the day of the course. (Please try and bring the exact change)
Artist’s Profile
Helen Lomberg has been making Baskets and using Willow and other Hedgerow materials for many years now. Twelve years ago she set up The Gloucestershire Arts and Crafts Centre in Westgate Street, Gloucester.
Course Cost:
A £25 non-refundable deposit is required on booking. Full course price is:
Members of Nature in Art: £59
Non-members of Nature in Art: £75
Nature in Miniature: May 6th – June 8th
An exhibition of exquisite 2D and 3D works celebrating wildlife and nature in miniature by members of the Royal Miniature Society. Founded in 1896 the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers promotes and champions the genre of miniature art. This show will include close to 200 exhibits.
While the traditional subject matter of portraiture continues unabated, today’s Miniaturists incorporate a very broad range of subject matter, including landscapes, still life, marine and wildlife, as well as fresh and innovative styles and subjects.
So, what is a miniature? Whilst there is no definitive answer, a miniature can be described as a fine work of art with exquisite detail in a frame size no more than 15 x 11.5cm or under 20cm for sculpture. Eizabeth Meek MBE, who was the Society’s President from 2004 – 2013, described working as a Miniaturist as the most demanding of all painting genres, ‘Concentration, stillness of mind and body and a dogged perseverance for perfection — the perfect miniature needs to be devoid of errors.’
The Society’s 130-year legacy still endures with over 90 of its members and non-members contributing to its activities.
See an RMS member at work on 24th May and see miniaturist sculptor, Philip Nelson, at work 3rd – 8th June.
Bee on sea holly with Karen Coulson
Course Suitability: Absolute Beginners Beginners Improvers
Maximum Participants: 12
Please email Hattie at niamarketing@natureinart.org.uk to book
Course Description:
Explore the techniques required to complete this Bumble Bee on Sea Holly using assorted colour pencils. A watercolour pencil is used for the first layer of the background.
Materials Required:
All materials supplied within session.
Places are on a first come first basis.
To secure your place on this course a £25 non-refundable deposit is required.
All courses are £59 per day for members, and £75 for non-members
Rhododendron Flower with Karen Coulson
Course Suitability: Suitable for all
Maximum Participants: 12
Course Description:
Assorted Colour Pencils on Mount Board
Explore the techniques of colour blending and layering required to complete this Rhododendron flower using assorted colour pencils.
A line drawing is supplied.
Materials Required:
All materials supplied within session.
Places are on a first come first basis.
To secure your place on this course a £25 non-refundable deposit is required.
All courses are £59 per day for members, and £75 for non-members
Lapwing with Karen Coulson
Course Suitability: Suitable for all
Maximum Participants: 12
Course Description:
Derwent Coloursoft Pencils on Mountboard
Explore the techniques of colour blending and layering with colour pencils to achieve the many colours of the feathers in this beautiful bird.
No need to worry about drawing freehand as a line drawing is supplied.
Materials Required:
All materials supplied within session.
Places are on a first come first served basis.
To secure your place on this course a £25 non-refundable deposit is required.
All courses are £59 per day for members, and £75 for non-members
Ros Wise Garden Paintings
A special display to coincide with the National Garden Scheme Open Day. This is a feast of large canvases capturing the contrast in tones and colour, and the vibrancy, energy and beauty found in gardens, alerting us to the power that nature holds for us.
Growing Together: A Photographic Exploration of Community, Heritage, and Healing Through Gardening
Growing Together explores how gardening connects people and improves well-being. 
Social prescribing provides activities that support emotional and mental health, as is evident each week, when a group gathers at an allotment in Gloucester, where the simple act of gardening becomes something powerful.
Here, people facing disabilities, mental health challenges, and social isolation find healing through nature and community bonds. Beyond growing vegetables, allotments bring people together, foster connection and support, creating a space where nature unites.
Historically, allotments have been safe havens for working-class people, providing food, purpose, and pride. These spaces hold deep cultural significance, reflecting resilience, creativity, and shared traditions.
Through portrait photography, Stefania Distante captures the heart of this community, highlighting the strength, heritage, and transformation that flourish in these gardens. This project celebrates how gardening fosters botanical, personal and collective growth.
Special MONDAY opening on 19th May
Come and see Nature in Art’s garden as part of the National Open Garden Scheme which raises millions of pounds each year for charity.
The whole museum will be open too, plus you’ll be able to
- meet experts from Master Composters
- meet Nature in Art’s beekeeper, Brian, who will show you their new observation hive (see what’s going on in the inside!) ,
- browse our plant and garden book stalls (in aid of Nature in Art)
- see special exhibitions by Rosalind Wise , the Royal Miniature Society and Stefania Distanti
£6.50 entry (all proceeds to NGS)
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Coffee shop open for drinks and light snacks.