Crochet day school with Lesley Crawford (11 Feb 26)

We had a great turnout for our crochet workshop (day school) with our very own Lesley, who taught us the basic crochet stitches. 

It was not an easy task teaching so many of us at once, although thankfully some of our members were not complete novices, and Isobel provided support to those of us who needed a bit more of it. 

The morning was spent practicing chains, doubles and trebles, and after lunch we started on our scarves. 

There was a lot of concentration and counting going on!

Hopefully we'll soon have pictures of everyone's finished scarves! 

Thank you Lesley! What a great workshop. It's always great to learn a new skill! 

Talk by Liz Dulley: Japan and Kimono (4 Feb 26)

We were delighted to welcome the talented Liz Dulley for a talk on the influence of Japan and Kimono in her work.

Liz is a watercolor artists whose delicate detailed paintings are layered with texture and detail. 

Weather permitting, she likes to be outdoors, in nature, painting flowers, manipulating paint to create interesting surfaces. 

But after being dressed in a kimono, sleeping in a kimono textile studio, and visiting a kimono exhibition in Ueno, a whole new painting style emerged. 

Somee of Liz's recent work doesn't even include the use of a paint brush. For example, it sometimes includes Japanese paper on the painting surface, collected during visits to Japan. 

And recent work also explores using symbolism such as the ties used in kimono and shoes that each have different purposes

Drawing on shape and pattern with attention to detail, Liz finds a place, through Japanese style, she can really relate to. 'Sometimes I think I was already living in a parallel world, without even knowing it!'

Through an abundance of slides, short movies, fabrics, kimonos ( One which an AETA member kindly gifted to Liz! ), architecture and artifacts, Liz was delighte to share her explorations and unique journey behind many of her most recent paintings. Some of which have already been exhibited with The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour. 

After the talk, we had the opportunity to try on some of the kimonos that Liz brought in....

We look forward to our upcoming workshop with Liz creating miniature works using bit and pieces! 

Meanwhile you can admire Liz's work in person at upcoming exhibitions: 

And find out more at www.lizdulley.co.uk

Thank you Liz! 

cyanotype workshop with Jeni Reid (14 Jan 2026)

We started 2026 with a cracker of a workshop with the lovely Jeni Reid. Jeni is a multi-talented artist who works with a variety of mediums, including photography and cyanotype prints, which share some elements.

While conventional photography captures images via lens and film/digital sensors, cyanotype involves directly exposing sensitized material (paper, fabric) to UV light, resulting in a vibrant blue and white print. 

Jeni had prepared various fabrics and paper with the chemicals in advance, so we immediately got stuck in experimenting with a huge variety of items... Everything from grasses, leaves and dead seed pods, to discarded bits of lace, Xmas decorations, beads, crystals, netting, feathers, wool curls and much more....

We layered our items onto the pre-treated fabric, covered this with a sheet of glass to hold everything down firmly and ensure close contact with the fabric. 

We then placed our creations in a box or tray and exposed it to a UV light over the top for about 10 minutes.

The fabric or paper could also be placed outside in the sun, but then it would need to be left a bit longer (about 90 minutes) and it would really need to be a sunny day. 

The chemicals on the fabric react with the light. The items placed on the fabric block the UV light and therefore leave a negative print. The fabric is then immediately rinsed to remove the remaining chemicals, and the print reveals itself. 

After the first trials, which were already amazing, the group became increasingly experimental and the variety of designs produced was fabulous. 

Sally even experimented with a drawing of a fish on a sheet of acetate and bringing in some other elements to create an "under the sea" themed print, which was very clever indeed! 

who would have thought that wool curls could look like seaweed?!?

We all had the most amazing fun time. Thank you Jeni for sharing some of your vast knowledge with us and giving us the chance to play. What a brilliant way to spend a cold and damp winter's day!