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Granary Creative Arts CIC
An independent not-for-profit creative arts centre in the South Downs
Stone Carving Workshops
3 workshop options for all skill levels.
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Small class sizes
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Expert tuition
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Friendly atmosphere
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All skill levels welcome!
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Prices from £57, working in Maltese Limestone
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Take the leap and book your stone carving workshop today. We believe that everyone should try stone carving - it is a unique craft that taps in to mindfulness, creativity and the pleasure of physical skill. There is nothing quite like the joy of transforming this solid material with your own hands. Go for it - you won't regret it!
A 5 hour workshop run on a Sunday afternoon, an ideal taster at just £50.
Carve a 'green man' or your own design on a mid sized block over the course of a weekend - £150
We provide all tools and materials, as well as refreshments and plenty of encouragement
A 5 hour workshop run on a Sunday afternoon, an ideal taster at just £50.
Now taking bookings for 2023
Email us at granaryartsinfo@gmail.com to express interest
Create a piece of art for your home or garden
A stone carving is a piece of creative joy that can sit in pride of place in your garden or on your mantel. Every time you see it, a little smile is bound to escape. The sense of satisfaction one gets from carving in stone cannot be underestimated. When you finish your piece you will be guaranteed to cherish it for life. And they make wonderful gifts too.
Beginners welcome
We encourage our beginners to feel bold. Stone carving is not as complicated as it looks, and it is a very accessible skill. Even people who have absolutely no experience carving (in any medium) can come away with something spectacular. Your only limit is your imagination, ambition, and time.
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This video shows 5 lovely people at one of our workshops. They were all beginners. You can see how some simple designs can be truly striking. We were really impressed with their work!
Meet the tutors
Kezia Hoffman, Sculptor and Art tutor
Alex Waddell, Winchester Stone Mason
Kezia Hoffman is a visual artist and sculptor who has been teaching art for almost 20 years. She has facilitated more than a 1000 art & community engagement workshops at schools, youth groups, festivals, pupil referral units, hospices and at charitable foundations. Over the course of her career she has developed her own style of teaching - helping people to feel empowered to take risks, make mistakes, let go, and just have a go in what she calls 'The Art of Play' method. "I feel part of 'whats missing' from our lives is our connection with hand tools, and old skills and the encouragement to explore them. My mission is to provide the workshop, materials, tuition and encouragement to allow a space for people to build confidence, take creative risks, build skills and develop ideas. I like to encourage mistake making when I teach teenagers and adults and love drawing out people's confidence through a mixture of methodical techniques and brave exploration. We all have creativity and feelings and ideas that need to be expressed and the trick is in removing the obstacles."
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Alex Waddell is an award winning stone mason, carver and sculptor. Alex trained as a Stone Mason at Winchester Cathedral, and has utilised his skills on restoration and conservation projects in stone across the country. He is a great repository of knowledge for all things stone - he knows many different traditional techniques and is an expert in problem solving the best way to do a particular design or achieve a particular effect. Alex performs regularly at stone carving competitions
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Workshop Options
Read on to find out about the 3 stone carving workshops we offer throughout the year. You can keep an eye out for upcoming dates via our Facebook page, or email us to register your interest and we can let you know when the next set of workshops will be.
Small Stone Taster
Run by Kezia Hoffman, this taster workshop is perfect for beginners, and our cheapest option at just £57. You will have the chance to learn the basic skills while carving a small design of your choice onto a 18cm x 18cm x 6.5cm Maltese Limestone Block.
The workshop starts at 11am and goes on until 3.30pm. Tools, stone, hot drinks, cake and plenty of encouragement are all provided.
Green Man/ Mid-Sized Stone
This workshop will be run by Kezia Hoffman. The price is £155 and includes tools, materials and refreshments.
You will have a mid-sized piece of gorgeous Malteste Limestone to carve your own design into. It is the perfect size for carving a green man, or animal design but we are happy to help you achieve any design you choose.
No previous experience required. If you do have any questions don't hesitate to send us an email.
Gargoyle/Large Stone
Be big, be bold, be beautiful and dive in to this immersive experience.
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You will have a large piece of gorgeous Maltese Limestone to transform over that period of time. It is the ideal size for a gargoyle, and can be transformed into any design that you wish (we've had everything from goblins to greek gods to krakens in the past). We will guide you through the process of taking your design from sketch to clay model, to planning out your initial cuts to make your 3D design, and finishing with the detail.
For the £350 price you will get one-on-one guidance from stone mason, Alex Waddell, all tools and materials provided, refreshments, and heaps of encouragement.
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It is a bonus if you have previous experience, but it isn't necessary. We will equip you with all the knowledge you need to take your idea into reality.
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Don't hesitate to email if you have any questions at all!
Reviews
"Had a lovely weekend learning the art of stone sculpting. I'm definitely not a natural at this, but Ross the tutor's patience was infinite and I will definitely be having another bash at it ( literally) the venue itself is beautiful and relaxing. A little gem that is well worth seeking out."
Donna Mcghie July 2017
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"A wonderful venue for the stone carving workshop. Beautiful buildings and surroundings." Angie Macmillan February 2017
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"An oasis of creativity and right-thinking. Get along and engage, money well spent."
Jonathan West January 2017
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Low income discounts and bursaries
Here at The Granary Creative Arts Centre we are passionate about making the arts as accessible as possible. If Stone Carving is something you are really interested in, and what is stopping you is the price then please do email us to introduce yourself and what you are interested in. We do set aside grant money whenever we can to make concessions and bursaries possible. We can't guarantee anything, but when funds aren't available we can put you on our list and let you know about future opportunities.