Courses available for booking
Also available as workshop sessions.
For further information contact Vetta Alexis

1.The Tree of Life - Art, Myth & Metaphor
The Tree of Life occurs frequently in Art, Myths and Legends from many cultures. From Mondrian to the Kabbalah, and from Jung to the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Life has been a potent and powerful symbol of mysticism and inner growth, of development and new life. Working with these ideas, and images of the Tree of Life from diverse cultural traditions, participants will be encouraged to explore the image and meaning of the Tree of Life in their own lives, using a medium, or media of their choice - drawing and painting, collage, appliqué and embroidery, calligraphy & illumination...

2. The Illuminated Letter
In this course, we will look at beautiful examples of Illuminated Letters from Illuminated Manuscripts from a variety of traditions, including Christian, Jewish, and Islamic. We will also look at Illuminated Letters in printed books, as used for example in Fairy Tale books. Students will have the opportunity to draw, paint and illuminate their own Illuminated letters, inspired by the diverse letters shown during the course. Materials will include gouache, watercolour, ink and gold leaf.

3. Fairy Tales
We all remember our favourite fairy tales from childhood. In this course students will have an opportunity to explore Fairy Tales from a variety of perspectives. We will look at Fairy Tales from diverse cultural traditions, see how tales have travelled through history, read commentaries on Fairy Tales, including psychoanalytic and anthropological perspectives, look at how Fairy Tales used to be for adults and didn’t always end ‘happily ever after’, look at Fairy Tale films and musicals, and students will even have an opportunity to write a fairy tale of their own... We will also look at Fairy Tale illustration, and students will be encouraged to develop their own fairy tale illustrations.

4. Mythical Quests
In this course/workshop we will look at the theme of ‘Mythical Quests’ as creative journeys. This idea is found in many fairy tales, religious stories, and even contemporary advertising. From the voyages of Alexander the Great, to the Quest for the Holy Grail, and from the film of Pan’s Labyrinth to the Wizard of Oz, the quest plays an important part of our collective narrative. The idea of the Mythical Quest gives us all hope that in some way we can transform our lives in the way that heroes and heroines do. In this course, participants will have an opportunity to explore these tales, and to explore the quest story of our own individual lives, in visual narrative form.