‘Into the garden’ Slow Stitch, Paper and Textiles with anna corba
DATES 28th May - 2nd June 23
We are excited to announce that Anna Corba is tutoring a Spring retreat at
Court House Farm in 2023.
Anna Corba's creative workshops are filled with her love of collage, vintage ephemera and textiles, hand stitching and the intermingling of delicate objects of beauty.
During this retreat, inspiration is drawn from the overflowing late spring garden at Courthouse Farm. Beeswax, pressed flowers, grasses and buds, as well as botanical and other nature inspired imagery, all come into play.
What’s Included?
Accommodation in a stunning medieval manor (1300sAD) or adjoining Tudor Manor house (1500sAD) the opportunity to stay in a beautifully renovated country house, steeped in history
Fully catered, chef prepared meals: breakfast, ‘elevensies’, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner with selected wines
Daily guided mindfulness sessions (optional)
Inspiring and engaging History of Art talk.
Flower Picking and Arranging in our beautiful flower garden
Fulfilling conversation with likeminded individuals
A local shopping trip and visit to Brunels suspension bridge or the prettiest pier in England!
opportunities for estuary walks to see the stunning setting sun.
What will you learn?
Our first class begins with creating a pocket sized journal perfect for garden notes or gathering small specimens on a morning walk. Using vintage imagery and decorative papers from her personal collections, Anna will guide us through the process of collage, discussing layering, colour and composition as well as the delicate balance of intuition and decision making that arises during the creative process. We'll learn Anna's signature beeswax technique as a finishing glaze, as well as a Coptic stitch binding using colorful waxed threads.
Elements of collage will again be explored as we make our own unique flower press the following day. The outside cover will be treated as a personal art piece, while the interior will hold a secret surprise to be enjoyed by you and the flowers gathered neatly inside.
Furthering the theme of nature's bounty, we'll also create a bouquet of notecards, as well as a small tapestry using hand dyed linen remnants, vintage piecework, pressed flowers and a selection of embroidery stitches. These tender contemplative compositions are perfect for framing or giving as gifts. A small stitch sampler made as a prelude to these projects can be tucked into your sewing kit for future use.
Anna's classes are suitable for all levels of experience. Surrounded by the beauty that is Court House Farm and Gardens, her hope for this lovely retreat is to add skills to your maker's quiver while also nurturing your imagination and sense of personal creative expression.
A little about Court House Farm…
which isn’t really a working farm at all! It’s more of a lovely cluster of charming historic buildings, the site originally dating from pre doomsday. The remaining Manor and smaller Manor are medieval and Tudor, dating from 1350, with some characterful outbuildings. (you may be making things in the cowshed- but no cows and clean!) we have 4 acres of land around the buildings with a little flower farm, and we are right in the heart of a small estuary sea-side town of Portishead in Somerset ( with a lovely little high street, Marina and stunning coastal walks and the most fabulous setting suns ). Do look at more information on the website and for photographs of the interiors and exteriors. During your stay, we will have some additional fun interludes and entertainment ( we must show you our neighbouring little seaside town called Clevedon- with the prettiest Pier in England ) and of course plenty of flowers!
FURTHER DETAILS & TO BOOK
This is a 5-night residential retreat from the 28th May - 1st June . (5 nights accommodation and full board with 4 days teaching from Anna ).
The price is £2550 for single occupancy, own room with ensuite, £2350 for single occupancy own room sharing a bathroom, £1950 shared room (both attending the retreat booked together. Contact us if you would like a non-participating partner to attend).
The booking deposit is £500. (please get in touch for other currency)
The balance will be due 6 weeks prior to the retreat. Payments can be made by Paypal or Bank Transfer ( although we do charge for the pay pal fee)
The Course Fees are non-refundable once paid, but of course, if we cancel for any reason all payments will be refunded, or mutually agreeable alternative dates offered.
If you are coming from abroad or feel you may want to spend a day on either side of the retreat for rest and relaxation, do, please discuss this with us.
If you have a question or need further details please contact us using the button below. Alternatively, secure your place by paying a deposit at the button below.
Payments are securely taken via Paypal. If you don’t have a Paypal account, just use the same link and checkout via debit/credit card. If possible, add a note on Paypal indicating your preference for room type, otherwise we will follow up once the deposit has been made - thank you.
More About Anna Corba
Anna Corba's journey in collage began when her vintage collections refused to lay tame on her studio shelves. With a degree in Art History from the University of Michigan and further studies in Fine Art at The Academy of Art in San Francisco, Anna's paintings began to incorporate ephemera and notions that she had gathered throughout the years.
Wanting to make use of these gently worn items more often, Anna developed her own product line, a collection of artful objects including journals, tags, small art pieces and notecards. Made by hand in her California studio, her eponymous line has been showcased in specialty boutiques across the globe, as well as larger emporiums including Anthropologie and Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic.
Anna is the author of 5 books on the art of paper crafting, including 'Vintage Paper Crafts' and 'Doodling in French'. She has been featured in various US publications including 'Country Living', 'Victoria' and 'Evoke', and her studio is featured in the original hardcover edition of "Where Women Create".
The past decade has found Anna heeding the siren call to share her creative passions and aesthetic within inspirational settings. She has greatly enjoyed designing a series of ever growing workshops that are presented in her own studio as well as venues in the US, France and England.
During the past 2 quiet years of staying closer to home, her garden became a great solace, resulting in a new series of projects that are being unveiled this year...including at Court House Farm and Gardens.