Earth Pigment Retreat

The retreat

Your time at the Manor

Day by day

• Dates 24–29 May 2026 · 6 days / 5 nights
• Skill level All levels welcome

Over six inspiring days, you’ll immerse yourself in the alchemy of earth and pigment, colour and cloth. Guided by expert teaching, you’ll discover how simple, natural processes can transform textiles into rich surfaces alive with texture, depth and story.

The Cow Shed Studio, a light-filled rural space, offers both the focus of a working studio and the ease of retreat. Here you’ll find time to experiment, share ideas, and let the surrounding gardens seep into your work.

By the end of the retreat, you’ll leave with more than a bundle of samples and techniques — you’ll carry a grounded, tactile knowledge of pigment and cloth, and a renewed sense of creative possibility.

What you’ll do

•  Making soya milk and thickened soya paste
•  Creating liquid and thickened soya paints (“soypig”)
•  Applying paint with brushes, rollers, thermofax screens, calligraphy tools, resists, mono printing, and more
•  Working on plain and pre-coloured cloth
•  Collecting and preparing your own earth pigments, alongside purchased pigments
•  Making pigment sticks and crayons
•  Using layering, post-sizing, curing, and considering whether to wash or not to wash
•  Introducing hand stitch before or after pigment application