March Pigment Making

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Inspired by Thomas Stiddolph’s sand painting in The Amelia Scott’s collection, join artist Polly Bennett for a pigment making workshop using natural materials found in the local area to create artist's pigments.

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On this pigment making workshop participants will learn how to grind and purify natural pigment and subsequently turn the finished pigment into paint. The pigment used will come from earth sourced from nearby the location of the workshop celebrating a sense of place and environmentally-friendly practices. At the end of the workshop, you will take home a hand-painted colour chart, purified pigment and watercolour paint.

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IMPORTANT: Please bring a glass jar and lid, and apron.

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On the workshop participants take home:
Handout with notes and reading recommendations Hand-painted colour wheel
Watercolour paint
Purified pigment that they can continue to purify more at home

April Paint your own Hand-Fan

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Join artist Polly Bennett in painting your own hand-fan inspired by the Georgian collection at The Amelia Scott.

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In this session you will have a go at making watercolour paints from organic and recycled pigment, such as earth, bone and plant/lake varieties, to make an array of colours. You will use these paints to design and paint a hand fan inspired by the The Amelia Scott’s collection of Georgian hand fans.

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On the workshop participants take home:

Watercolour paint
Hand-painted hand fan

May Illumination

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Learn the art of illumination, or gilding on paper, with artist Polly Bennett.

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Using gilding size to apply 23.5 carat gold leaf, you will illuminate and decorate a letter, or capital, of your choosing, reminiscent of the style of manuscripts in the Middle Ages. You will then embellish the capital with watercolour paint made with earth, bone and plant pigments.

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‘Illumination’ refers to an image within a manuscript that has been embellished with gold or silver.

Capitals were decorative elements that indicated the beginning of a new piece of text and would highlight the importance of the words that followed. Types included illuminated (a gilded letter), historical (a letter containing a scene or figure, which would usually relate to the text), zoomorphic (an initial partly or wholly composed of animal forms) and pen-work (an ornamental initial produced entirely with a feather-pen or single-haired brush, generally using the same ink as the text).

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On the workshop participants take home:

Illuminated capital on paper

June Bundle Dyeing and Hapa-zome 

Join artist Polly Bennett in a dyeing workshop to learn the techniques of bundle dyeing and hapa- zome.

Using organic material you will design and create a unique and colourful silk bandana. Choose from a variety of dye powders and flora including rose petals, scabiosa, chlorophyll, onion skins and madder to wrap and steam your silk. Open up your silk bundle to reveal how your organic dye material has spread, mixed and brightened!

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Hammers at the ready! Hapa-zome / leaf dyeing / hammer dyeing is a Japanese art technique that uses hammering to transfer plant pigments onto fabric or paper. Choose from a selection of seasonal flowers and leaves to hammer a mandala design onto cotton for a home craft project.

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On the workshop participants take home:

Dyed silk bandana
Dyed cotton fabric

- PLEASE NOTE: THIS SESSION HAS BEEN MOVED TO NOVEMBER -

July Mark-making with nature! 

1.30pm to 3.00pm    

Join artist Polly Bennett making horsehair paint brushes and earth-pigment egg tempera to explore and experiment with mark making using collected organic objects. Use leaves as templates or stamps, draw with sticks, squash blackberries and paint with your fingers!

On the workshop participants take home:

Original artwork

August 2025 Learn the art of pinning butterflies!  

Learn the intricacy and tradition of pinning preserved butterfly specimens, whilst exploring the amazing collection of pinned butterflies and moths in The Amelia’s collection.

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On the workshop participants take home:

Pinned butterfly and frame

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Please note, all butterflies have died from natural deaths.

September 2025 Draw and observe the museum collections with oak gall ink

Join artist Polly Bennett to cook up oak gall ink - an ink recipe so old it was used by Gaius Plinus Secundus, Pliny the Elder (AD 23 - 73), and make traditional feather pens that create unbelievably fine lines. Use your historical recipe and tool to make observational illustrations of the The Amelia Scott’s fossils, shells and insects. Think old Victorian black and white diagrams!

Oak gall/apple/knopper is the name for a round or knobbly gall found on oak trees. They are caused by chemicals injected by the larva of gall wasps. Female wasps lay single eggs in developing oak buds and the larvae feed on the gall tissue modifying the oak bud into the gall.

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The ink’s continuous use is thanks to its various properties:
1. Waterproof
2. Permanence - the the combination of iron water, ferrous sulphate and the tannic acids means it darkens with age, making it perfect for important documents, such as the Magna Carta
3. Readily available and cheap

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On the workshop participants take home:

Oak gall ink
Observational ink drawings

25th October 2025 Nature Shrine

Join artist Polly Bennett in creating 'earthworks' inspired by the 1700s pantiles of Bath Square. Rather than shaping and firing clay, you’ll use another - but equally historical - technique of clay/ earthen plaster, where you mix clay, straw, and sand to form a rustic plaster base. Transform your 'earthwork' into a unique piece of art by embedding organic elements like leaves and acorns into the plaster, creating patterns that evoke ancient fossils or footprints. Once set, your creation will stand as a timeless tribute to the beauty of nature!

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On the workshop participants take home:

Nature shrine

29th November 2025 Mark-making with nature! 

1.30pm to 3.00pm    

Join artist Polly Bennett making horsehair paint brushes and earth-pigment egg tempera to explore and experiment with mark making using collected organic objects. Use leaves as templates or stamps, draw with sticks, squash blackberries and paint with your fingers!

On the workshop participants take home:

Original artwork