A Not So Still Life

Course Dates: 26^th- 28^th November  2025 (Wednesday - Friday)

Katie loves and has used the subject of still life in one way or another in her work for a very long time. However, it is always as a reflection of her own domestic space and life rather than the staged set up of perfect flowers, an elegant bottle, a poised book. Her practise of using meditation within teaching ties in perfectly with her interest in the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi. The perfect imperfection of daily life are noticed and celebrated; the washing up bowl, the discarded socks on the floor, the accidental shadow between the washing up liquid hand soap and a jam jar on the kitchen window sill. The dead flowers in a vase. The beauty of the everyday. The impermanence of it all.

Still life does not have to be still. Think about the objects that regularly move around the house, in the kitchen - the frying pan shifting from front to back hob, the salt cellar on and off the table, the napkin draped over the back of a chair; or the keys, unopened letters, and wallet that hang about at the top of the stairs willing themselves not to be forgotten.

In this course you will be working fast and freely from a still life set up in the studio (to which you are invited to contribute) with both drawing and painting materials, and anything in between. The objects will not be still, they will move, or rather, be moved - by Katie, by you, by other participants on the course. You may work on canvas, but will be encouraged to work on any surface, including scraps of cardboard, paper, loose canvas, fabrics, table cloths etc that can be moved around themselves, pinned to the wall in various configurations as you work. You will be encouraged to cut, collage and rethink the composition every now and then throughout the day.

Working in this free and flexible way enables the artist to work much more intuitively. The resulting paintings and drawings have a directness, playfulness and an animated energy. It keeps work fresh from the beginning to the resolution of the piece. The process enables layers and imagery to evolve and grow in a way that can only arrive through this kind of approach.

See Course Details for further information