We have quite a few workshops coming up this year in Cumbria, Gairloch and Shetland – here’s a summary of what we’re up to, then simply scroll down or click on the link to take you to further details, costs, and how to book.
| Dates | What | Where |
| 7th July to 26th August | Waterline exhibition | Gairloch Museum, Scotland |
| 7th July | Waterline talk (hybrid) & preview (in person) | Gairloch Museum |
| 10th; 14th; 15th July | 1 day Weave the View workshops | Gairloch Museum |
| 11th – 13th July | 2 or 3 day Weaving Water workshop | Gairloch Museum |
| 29th July | 1 day Summer Tapestry Weaving workshop | Farfield Mill, Cumbria |
| 21st – 25th August | Landscapes of the Heart – masterclass with Joan Baxter | Gairloch Museum |
| 9th September | 1 day Tapestry Weaving workshop | Farfield Mill, Cumbria |
| 23rd September – 1st October | Waterline at Shetland Wool Week, with associated activities | Weaving Shed Gallery, Hillswick, Shetland |
ACTIVITIES AT GAIRLOCH MUSEUM
JULY & AUGUST 2023
Waterline exhibition
We’re delighted that the Waterline exhibition will be moving to Gairloch Museum for July and August 2023. Please join us for the Private View and a Talk on Friday 7th July, or just drop in to see the exhibition any day from then until Monday 28th August. The museum will be closed on Sundays – check out their website for full details on their opening hours, ticket prices and lovely cafe.
In addition to the exhibition we are running a range of workshops and activities 7th to 16th July and then 19th to 26th August – see below for details.
Waterline project talk
On 7th July, just before the Private View, Joan, Irene and Anna will be talking about how the Waterline project came about, what was involved and how it all worked, as well as giving insights into the tapestries. It’ll be a hybrid event, so you can join us either in person or via Zoom. Tickets are on sale via the Gairloch Museum website, priced £5.
Weave the View Workshops
Explore nature and the Gairloch landscape through tapestry weaving
One day: Monday 10th July; Friday 14th July; Saturday 15th July.
10am – 4.30pm, Gairloch Museum
Enjoy some creative time observing the colours, textures and shapes of nature, then use the age-old technique of tapestry weaving to create your own small piece of woven art.
New to tapestry weaving? No problem, we supply all materials and equipment, we’ll show you the basics and help you to design and complete a simple tapestry to take home with you.
Some experience but never woven outdoors? It’s a different way to approach weaving, as you seek to simplify what you see and choose your focus, but rewarding in what it’s possible to capture within a relatively short amount of time.
We’ll start the day looking at the many ways in which woven tapestries can evoke the sense of a place, including a quick look round the Waterline exhibition, before taking a short walk to learn how to observe the world around us with a weaverly eye. We’ll help you to choose suitable inspiration from the local landscape, views and nature that we see as we walk, and we’ll then help you to design a simple tapestry. You’ll spend the rest of the day weaving, with our help and guidance, learning a range of simple techniques as we go.
If the weather is fine we will aim to weave outdoors, but if it’s not, we’ll be comfortable weaving in Gairloch Museum’s Activities Room.
Refreshments are included. Lunch is available to purchase from the Museum’s An Bàrd Café or other local providers.
Each session is designed to be a stand-alone one-day experience, but you are welcome to book for a second day, using it to complete a second woven tapestry or to continue what you begin on the first day, perhaps exploring tapestry techniques in more detail.
Tickets are on sale via Eventbrite, £70 per day including refreshments (tea & coffee etc) and all equipment and materials.
For more information, or if you have any queries, please email Irene.
Weaving Water Workshop
Explore ways to capture the pattern and movement of water in woven tapestry
Two or three days: Tuesday 11th, Wednesday 12th and optional Thursday 13th July 2023.
10am – 4.30pm, Gairloch Museum
Come and join us for a few days of fun and relaxation weaving the endless changes in colour and the ever-present movement of water. Suitable for those who have woven before, we will explore tapestry weaving techniques that help us to capture water in a range of forms, taking our inspiration from observing the watery landscapes around us and the tapestries in the Waterline exhibition.
Water will be all around us: the sheltered waters of Gairloch Harbour; waves lapping sandy beaches; white water tumbling down mountain burns; big sea vistas over towards mountains and isles. We can also examine the different ways that water has been interpreted by the weavers who took part in the Waterline project. As weavers trying to create our own artistic renditions of what we see, how can we capture the essence of water in our work? What is it that excites us? What should we focus on? How can we simplify what we’re looking at? What weaverly techniques might work best?
On the first day, we’ll spend some time studying water as a way to get inspiration for subject matter and ideas for weaving methods. How have other tapestry weavers tackled the subject, and what techniques have they used? We will have the Waterline exhibition on hand to see this in real life, as well as examples of other weavers’ work. What can we learn from the ways other artforms have represented water? What does water look like in real life? What methods can we use to capture the essence of water in order to develop a suitable tapestry design? We will spend some time outdoors looking at water, its patterns and forms, but will also work indoors, developing our ideas. By the end of the day, we’ll each have chosen what we would like to focus on, and have produced a simple design.
The next day, we’ll start to weave. This will be your time to weave your design, and with the opportunity for the group to review one another’s work and to offer hints and tips, ask for suggestions and direction, learning from each other as we go.
At the end of each day, we’ll celebrate our work that day – what’s worked, what we’re learning, what we are now inspired to try to weave next.
The workshop is not suitable for absolute beginners, however you do not have to be an advanced weaver to take part. Early stage weavers are definitely welcome, please get in touch with us if you’re unsure!
It’s your choice whether you want to weave with us for two or three days (see below for costs of two and three day workshops). Each day will start at 10am and finish at 4.30pm, with a break for lunch.
The Weaving Water workshop will be based at Gairloch Museum, where we will have sole use of their Activity Room. Refreshments (tea, coffee etc) are included in the fee. Lunch can be bought at the Museum café Am Bàrd or from other local providers.
Accommodation is not included in the fee. Gairloch and the surrounding areas are very popular with visitors (for good reason!), and there are many different options ranging from basic camping to smart hotel; our only suggestion is that you don’t leave it to the last minute to book!
Please bring your own weaving equipment (frame, bobbins, scissors etc) and warp thread. If this is a problem, we can provide these at a small extra cost; please get in touch. Some items of equipment will be available for sale. Please also bring suitable footwear and clothing, as we will spend some of the time outdoors. You are welcome to bring your own choices of yarn to weave with, although we will have a selection that you are welcome to use, included within the cost of the course.
Tickets are on sale via Eventbrite, £140 for two days, £205 for three days including refreshments and yarns. Click here to buy tickets for two days; click here to buy the additional third day.
Landscapes of the Heart
Masterclass with Joan Baxter
21st – 25th August 2023
Gairloch Museum
Inspired by the landscapes and the rich Celtic/Norse heritage of the Scottish Highlands, this masterclass aims to explore the immediate surroundings of Gairloch, as design sources for a tapestry. We will consider the stunning landscapes, local archaeology and the Museum’s Heritage collection as part of our research.
Joan says: “My work over the past 3 decades or more has been rooted in my passion for my adopted ‘Landscapes of the Heart’. In this class I will aim to share some of the ways we can research and translate into tapestry, our responses to the landscapes and stories that will inspire us.”
Suitable for intermediate / advanced weavers, participants will be researching, designing and weaving samples in class for a tapestry to be completed at home, guided by Joan Baxter. We will have two full teaching days (Monday & Friday), and will be working on our own ‘Landscapes of the Heart’ projects in between these, with Joan available for discussion at specific times on those middle days. We will be based in the Museum’s activity room, including being able to use that space to meet and discuss our projects, or simply as a wet weather option, on the days when we are researching ideas, developing designs and working on our samples.
Cost: £250 (including refreshments- tea, coffee etc)
Accommodation is not included but we have organised some optional shared accommodation for those interested, and can also put participants in touch with each other to share travel.
Further information can be found in this downloadable pdf:
Contact Anna if you have any queries and to book.
WATERLINE AT SHETLAND WOOL WEEK
After Gairloch, we are taking Waterline to Shetland Wool Week (23rd September to 1st October). We will be running a series of short workshops alongside the exhibition at the Weaving Shed in Hillswick, as well as giving a talk about the Waterline project. The activities will be bookable via the Shetland Wool Week website – details should be available soon! If you sign up for their newsletter you will get early warning of when bookings open – places can go quite fast…!
Other activities…
WORKSHOPS AT FARFIELD MILL, SEDBERGH, CUMBRIA
Anna runs regular workshops at Farfield Mill, Cumbria. We take our inspiration from the hills, river and the Mill itself, taking our ideas back indoors to explore them through weave. We also look at the exhibitions and the tapestry that Anna is weaving up on the top floor. If there is a tapestry exhibition on at the time, we talk through the different techniques and approaches used by fellow weavers, providing insight into the wider world of tapestry weaving. Suitable for both beginners and improvers.
The next set of workshops at Farfield Mill will be on 29th July and 9th September, with further dates being advertised in the Autumn. Places can be booked via the Farfield Mill website.
Contact Anna or Farfield Mill if you have any queries.
TAPESTRY CLASSES IN SEDBERGH
Anna now runs regular tapestry classes in Sedbergh, for beginners and beyond. Contact her if you would like to know more.
NEARLY WILD WEAVING EXPERIENCES
In our Nearly Wild Weaving Experiences, Irene and Anna will take you outdoors to explore the natural world with a ‘weaverly eye’. Enjoy a relaxing experience weaving in the fresh air, surrounded by nature, enhanced, of course, with homemade lunch and cake!
Suitable for beginners and more experienced tapestry weavers. If tapestry weaving is completely new to you, we’ll show you the basics so that you can create your first woven tapestry. If you have experience, this is an opportunity to take your tapestry weaving practice out of the studio and try a different approach.
It’s a chance to share relaxed and creative time with like-minded people, observing the colours, textures and shapes of nature, then creating your own woven tapestry with guidance and support from Irene and Anna.
A bespoke Nearly Wild Weaving Experience?
Perhaps you’ve got particular dates in mind, or you’d like us to come to you. Maybe you’re an established group or just a bunch of friends. Anna and Irene are happy to look at how Nearly Wild Weaving can do something specific to meet your needs. We love exploring new places, so we’d be delighted to look at coming to you
Please email irene@nearlywild.org if you would like a bespoke Nearly Wild Weaving Experience. Let’s have a chat about what we can do.
Nearly Wild Weaving 