On this three-day course you will focus on a selection of bulbs from the alpine section’s collection at the Botanic Garden – including Iris reticulata, Narcissus and dwarf tulips.  Time will be spent drawing the plants in accurate detail, both in the classroom and the Glasshouse Range. You will then move on to painting in watercolour and achieving the accurate hues for each plant subject.  Reinhild will use a combination of group demonstrations, but particularly individual tuition, to help you to improve your drawing and painting techniques.

Why do we look like our parents and siblings? What is a species? How are organisms adapted to suit their environment? What is a gene? Plants have been used for centuries to help answer these and other similar intriguing questions. Whether we are talking about natural selection, inheritance, the discovery of genes that can jump, or about one of the first multicellular organisms to have its entire genome sequenced, it is to plants that we must look.

Farming has often been blamed (with some justification) for the decline in British wildlife. However, many farmers, supported by national and international programmes have tried to manage their land with wild plants and animals in mind. Owen has spent most of his research life looking at both the impact of farming and ways to encourage plant life on farmland. This course will examine changes in the flora of arable land over the past century and the actions taken by conservation agencies, NGOs and individual farmers to bring the wild flora back onto arable farmland.

During the three days you will look at the structure of the flowers and draw them first before painting them in watercolour. Instruction will be given on mixing appropriate colours. There will be a variety of plants with different structures and colours taken from the collection grown at the Botanic Garden. The seed heads are also lovely to draw and the plants have striking dark green leaves. The course is open to students of mixed abilities, and who have painted before.

Gardens and flowers have often been the first choice for artists looking for a subject or motif – from Renoir and Monet in France to the American Impressionists of New England. In this session, we will discover the places that inspired great art – the homes and gardens of solo painters and artists’ communities – and find out more about the lives and motivations of some of our greatest painters.

In this beautifully considered exhibition, explore the inventive ways artists in the 18th and 19th centuries recorded fleeting moments in nature, capturing the effects of light, drama, and atmosphere first-hand in the open air.

Early Years Studio is a fun, creative, immersive experience for children aged 0-4. The sessions are designed with early years development in mind. Artists draw upon their expertise as early years facilitators and use the Kettle’s Yard ethos and collection to create sessions where babies, toddlers and their carers can experience and learn together.

Join us in our Clore Learning Studio for free, practical art making workshops. Respond to the displays and exhibitions to make your own artworks. Get creative with artists and our education volunteers, no previous art experience needed!

Activities are for all but most suitable for children between 3 and 11 years. We like to encourage parents/carers to create alongside their child.

If you would like to attend you will need to pre-book an entry slot. Each slot lasts for 30 minutes. Please book one ticket for your whole family.

Join us in our Clore Learning Studio for free, practical art making workshops. Respond to the displays and exhibitions to make your own artworks. Get creative with artists and our education volunteers, no previous art experience needed!

Activities are for all but most suitable for children between 3 and 11 years. We like to encourage parents/carers to create alongside their child.

If you would like to attend you will need to pre-book an entry slot. Each slot lasts for 30 minutes. Please book one ticket for your whole family.

Join us for a late-night opening of Sutapa Biswas: Lumen at Kettle’s Yard. Explore the exhibition after hours, enjoy a drink and have fun.

Drawing on Sutapa Biswas’ collaborative practice, the evening will bring together a range of artists, organisers and creative practitioners to reflect on the themes that underpin her solo exhibition Sutapa Biswas: Lumen at Kettle’s Yard.