Look, Learn, Make: Papier-mâché Picasso with Katrina Cowling

Develop your creative skills in this two-part workshop run by artist Katrina Cowling. Paint and create your own papier-mâché or sculptual object, experiment with mark-making, colour, and gesture techniques, and take home your creations! This is a creative, two-part workshop taking place on: Thursday 5th November, 6 – 9pm Thursday 12th November, 6 – 9pm *Please note, you are unable to purchase tickets for just one workshop. Discover the joyful world of artist-made vessels in this two-part creative workshop led by Katrina Cowling. As the first event in our Look, Learn, Make series, Papier-mâché Picasso combines art history, discussion and hands-on making, inviting participants to learn from artists of the past and present while creating their own unique artwork. Taking inspiration from the ceramic works of Pablo Picasso, you'll explore how vessels can become expressive artworks rather than simply functional objects. Picasso was a prolific maker of plates, jugs, vases and sculptural ceramics, experimenting with painted surfaces, engraved textures and playful forms. His work is full of colour, character and imagination, often featuring animals, mythological figures and expressive faces. As part of the workshop, you will place Picasso's work within a wider artistic and cultural context. Together you will consider the influences that shaped his practice, the complex legacies of modernism, and the ethical questions that continue to surround some of art history's most celebrated figures. Rather than viewing Picasso in isolation, we'll reflect on how artists borrow and take from, respond to and influence one another across different times and cultures. Whilst making your piece over two sessions, you will learn about the history of modern and contemporary vessel-making through the work of artists including Grayson Perry, Lindsey Mendick and Donald Locke, considering how artists use ceramics and everyday objects to tell stories, explore identity and challenge traditional distinctions between craft and fine art. You will develop your own papier-mâché creation, choosing from forms such as a vase, plate, jug, plant pot, coaster or sculptural object. Through experimentation with painted mark-making, colour and gesture, you will transform your piece into a personal artwork inspired by a rich and diverse history of artist-made vessels. Suitable for beginners and those with creative experience, this relaxed workshop offers an opportunity to look closely, learn critically and make creatively. By the end of the course, you'll leave with a beautifully painted vessel or object to display at home.