courses

An outdoor painting course with acrylic paints exploring the many possibilities this material has to offer. 

We will be experimenting with painting techniques, from treating acrylic as a translucent medium to applying it in textural opaque layers. 

The sessions will also have a specific focus on the difficult colour green in the context of landscapes, as well as dealing with colour for expressing depth and atmosphere in each session.

Both large and small scale paintings will be daily 'on the menu' in order to explore a wide range of compositional ideas. These will also allow you to develop your own art at home.

VISITING ARTIST: Stella Auchinleck

Introducing the technique of batik, using hot wax and dyes on paper, this course will see us produce semi opaque/ transparent images that can be backlit or folded into 3D forms to create light shades suitable for many settings. 

We will use the local flora and fauna as well as traditional Hungarian Folk Art as an inspiration. The 20th of August is Hungary's Constitution Day, with major celebrations of our heritage and culture, so this course includes an extra full day spent in Budapest in the festivities!

An introductory printmaking course where we explore the possibilities of a range of printing techniques from mono-printing to screen printing.

The process of layered printing aims to bring subtle detail and the power of shapes together into a cohesive whole in the form of a series on small scale prints you might not want to give away! 

Visiting artist: John Mallinder

A still life course inspired by Wayne Thiebaud's famous cake series. This course is simply about capturing gorgeous objects and their infinite meanings and charms with delicious colours and delicate details. 

Our 'research' will take us to Hungary's famous cake shops and porcelain museums. This course is a halfway house between looking at and making art.

A chance to use glass and iridescent tiles to glam-up your own mosaic image. We have a huge range of colours and thicknesses of ceramic and stone tiles with which to vary the surface of your wall piece. 

An introductory ceramic course working with different types of clay and a range of construction and bas-relief techniques. Also experimenting with various glazes and firing in the studio kiln! 

After preliminary exercises in different mediums and techniques this course made me appreciate what intense work and detailed observation goes into portraits and a kinda fearless honesty too and that I guess is what makes them real drawings! 

A close observational and expressive  drawing course looking at the nature and qualities of line created with any conceivable and inconceivable media that can make a mark. 

We will explore the possibilities of both expressive, gestural mark-making and sensitive observational study-drawings.

The surrounding garden and woodland will serve as a starting point for creating your own concertina book mapping the flora (and your memories) of Hungary.

A contemplative course using translucent materials in which structures are created to surround a light source. From lanterns to orbs and light-vessels, the essence of this course is architectural, playfully exploring the effects of light and transparencies. 

There will be many methods to chose from to build your structure onto which we apply coverings of tissue paper and recycled . Sketches or photographs from evenings in Budapest will be our suggested inspiration for this stage. 

Resident artist: Paul McCormack

A mixed media course connecting music, stories and visual expression. We will be exploring the possibilities of translating rhythm, melody and harmonies into unusual combinations of materials to create stunning textures.  

Surfaces that evoke mood and a sense of place will be used to make iconic images of meaningful, symbolic objects chosen from Manna and Paul's extensive collection or from museum visits.

Visiting Artist: Wendy Randall

A fun, discovery-based drawing course for those who would love to learn to draw but always insisted they can't! 

Yes, you can.

A collector's sketchbook course, incorporating found objects and museum ticket stubs alike into our visual notes in small notepad form. Visit and explore Budapest's rich cultural heritage in museums, galleries and architecture both historic and modern. The course aims to help you create your individual journal that reflects personal experience and remains an aide- memoire for a lifetime.