Monday Makers is a free series of ten-week courses, for unemployed people, funded through Better Connect Community Grants 5. The course provides skills and knowledge to help people on their journey to self-employment, employment or further education/training.
For 2021, we have seen a great uptake of all three courses taking place this year.
We are now nearly halfway through our second Monday Makers course and have been very proud of the progress that our groups have made!
Our first ten-week course, kicked off back in May and our participants learnt a variety of skills in textiles. We explored a three-week cushion project that included learning indigo-dyeing and applique techniques, we learnt how to create intricate macrame wall hangings and we also investigated printmaking, freehand machine embroidery and beading, to elevate our designs.
Macrame textiles course
Macrame textiles course
One of the most positive things about the growth of the course, since it began back in September 2019, is how we have been able to include so many artists on this years’ course, to tutor, mentor and pass on their skills and experience to our participants!
For our textiles course we had workshops taught by artists CarolAnn Allen, Poppy Oldham, Linda Breckon and Sorcha McCole, and we also had a marketing talk delivered by Faye Levi; an online photography tutorial delivered by Holly Wheeler, and a business talk delivered by Sara Mason of White Rose Sewing Room.
We are also looking forward to the artists who will be delivering workshops in our next courses, with artists Michelle Wade, Jane Burnley, Kay Latto and Linda Breckon, delivering workshops for our ceramics course, which we are currently half-way through.
Ceramic owls
Ceramic pumpkins, squashes and gourds
Our ceramics-course has been particularly popular for Monday Makers, with 12 participants in total. So far, we have explored pinch pot techniques, to create pumpkins, squashes, gourds and owls, as pictured.
We’ve also learnt slab rolling techniques to create our own clay houses. Last week, we had Jane Burnley along to teach polymer clay jewellery, which produced some beautifully colourful and bright pieces!
We’re very proud of how well everyone has taken to the courses, and everything they have produced so far, and we look forward to seeing more of what they make! Be sure to keep an eye out on social media to follow their progress.
To find out more about Monday Makers, visit this page. For enquiries, get in touch by emailing sorcha@ruralarts.org or call 01845 526 536.
