Adult Workshops and Talks - Rugby Art Gallery & Museum
Adult Workshops and talks
A packed programme for our 25th Anniversary year
Please scroll down the page to see the full range of workshops and talks available. All workshops must be booked unless stated otherwise.
April 2025
First Thursday Talk
Great Gods in the Gardens
With Michael Brown
3 April 1-2pm
£5
Statues were placed in gardens throughout history for decoration and perhaps to suggest that the owner resembled the figure in the statue, bravely heroic in the case of Hercules. Learn the stories behind the statues.
The making of modern Lutterworth
With Rugby Archaeology Society
Guest speaker: Dr Pamela Fisher
Saturday 12 April 2025
Meeting and Talk 10am-12pm
FREE no booking required.
Life Drawing
Thursday 24 April, 6-7.30pm
£10
Develop your skills and enjoy the relaxing benefits of this self-guided lifedrawing session.
Suitable for all abilities, welcoming beginners and professional artists alike.
Creative Counsel
Community Gathering
Thursday 24 April, 4 – 5pm
FREE
Network, discuss and share your memories of the Art Gallery and Museum over the last 25 years.
Clay Heads and Techno with Beccy Roberts
26 April, 9.30am – 3.30pm
£50
Come and have a fun time with Clay & Good Vibes!! Great for Total Beginners as our aim is to Have Fun AND Sculpt a Head! .. of your choice!… from lovely lovely Clay! To help us all relax we’ll be enjoying Fnoob Radio too…. lots of Demonstrations and one to one Tuition included.
There will be lots of Instruction and Demonstrations of Techniques including one to one help & encouragement!!
All equipment is provided. You can keep your Head to continue at home … and once dry it can be painted/ glazed and fired.reat for total beginners as our aim is to have fun and sculpt a head of your choice! All equipment and materials are provided.
May 2025
First Thursday Talk Lady Dorothie Feilding at War
With Christine Cluley
1 May 1-2pm
£5
Join researcher and writer of the book ‘Lady Dorothie Feilding at War: Right at the Heart and Pulse of Things’ for this talk on the Rugby born heiress and decorated WWI volunteer nurse, who was the first woman awarded the Military Medal for bravery.
Stonehenge and archaeoastronomy
With Rugby Archaeology SocietyGuest speaker: Professor Clive Ruggles
Saturday 10 May 2025
Meeting and Talk 10am-12pm
FREE no booking required.
Coral reef felted picture workshop
With Eve Marshall
17 May, 9.30am – 3.30pm
£50
Learn how to create a wet and needle felted Coral Reef Picture using colourful Merino wool, silk threads and lots of other vibrant textures.
Begin by choosing all your favourite colours of wool and we will lay them out to create the ocean background. Learn how to layer lots of textural fibres to embellish the background and make it look like an underwater paradise. This class will focus on how to create bold shapes and patterns in your wet felted art plus add realism in your needle felting.
In the workshop we will be working with wool and fairy liquid. If you are allergic to either please bring gloves. Aprons are not required, but feel free to bring one along. Please bring along a small hand towel, all other materials will be provided.
The wet and needle felting process will need some hand and arm strength. The whole process can be done while sitting down. This process takes about half an hour of using your hands and requires some arm strength.
Your finished piece will be approximately 40 cm square once felted and it can be displayed on a wall or sewn onto a cushion or bag later on.
The major finds of Tripontium
A Rugby Archaeology Society eventGuest speaker: Dr Irene Glendinning
Saturday 31 May 2025
Meeting and Talk 10am-12pm
FREE no booking required.
June 2025
First Thursday Talk Rugby's Early Photographers
With John Frearson
5 June
£5.00
This talk will provide an insight into early photographic businesses in Victorian and Edwardian Rugby. Covering twenty Rugby photographers from the 1840s, including the prolific E H Speight and his family, and the interesting stories they had to tell.”
Creative Counsel
Framing advice with Anna Lorimer
Thursday 26 June, 4 – 5pm
FREE
Join local framing expert Anna Lorimer for tricks and tips on framing your artwork for selling and exhibiting your work.
Life Drawing
Thursday 26 June, 6-7.30pm
£10
Develop your skills and enjoy the relaxing benefits of this self-guided life drawing session.
Suitable for all abilities, welcoming beginners and professional artists alike.
Monoprinting with Leicester Print Workshop
Saturday 28 June, 9.30am-3.30pm
£60
Come and join us for a day full of colour, layering and experimentation. Under the expert eye of LPW tutor Nichola you will discover a world of unique Printmaking - with no two pulls from the press being the same you can be sure this will challenge and delight you. Suitable for complete beginners or those wishing to push their usual image making or simply have a fun day of shared activity.
July 2025
Engaging with Conservation with Pieta Greaves
With Pieta Greaves3 July
£5.00
Discover local archaeological conservation and research initiatives in the Midlands, exploring how these efforts are preserving history for generations to come and revealing untold stories.
Stacking Ring Workshop
With Zoë Hodgson
12 July, 10am – 3pm
£65
With guidance from Zoë you can make three silver rings to stack together, using a variety of textures to pattern the surfaces. Learn how to texture, saw, shape, file, solder and clean up, starting at the design process and ending up with your finished handmade rings.
September 2025
Willow Weaving - Berry Basket
With Kate Morrell
27 September, 9.30am – 3.30pm
£ 95
Kate will take you through the process of weaving your basket and will help you to achieve it in the time given so everyone goes home with a finished sculpture
Price includes all materials and refreshments
October 2025
Willow Weaving - Duck Sculpture
With Kate Morrell
18 October, 9.30am – 3.30pm
£ 95
Kate will take you through the process of weaving your Duck and will help you to achieve it in the time given so everyone goes home with a finished sculpture
Price includes all materials and refreshments
November 2025
Two day graphite pencil workshop: Clouded Leopard
With Jamie Boots
Friday 7 & Saturday 8 November,
9.30am – 3.30pm
£90
Subject: Clouded Leopard
Join Jamie for a two-day exploration into the nuanced world of graphite pencil art. This class delves beyond basic sketching, offering insights into the subtle techniques that breathe life into your creations. Participants will discover the art of manipulating pencil sharpness, pressure and tones to convey fine details such as fur, skin textures and expressive eyes.
All materials will be provided to be used for the duration of the class. Tables are provided but if you prefer to work from your own easel please feel free to bring one. Any reference material that we use in class is always copyright free so there is no restriction on use.
Macrame Angel
With Sally from Knot Sew Simple
Saturday 29 November,
1.30pm – 3.30pm
£25
This beginners workshop is a great way to get started with macrame. You will be given step by step instructions and guidance from Sally in this 2 hour workshop to create what is needed to make an Angel decoration that can be hung and displayed on your Christmas tree at home.
Each person will be given a kit with everything they need to create an Angel. The rope used is recycled cotton of the finest quality and eco friendly.
All materials are provided and worksheets can be taken home.
Participants could bring fabric scissors with them but not essential.