Our Mentoring Courses are designed to offer support and valuable feedback to those working on their own work. Our monthly Mentoring Course offers working space for 8 Artists at a time, with two tutors to enable you to push and develop your practice. We also offer intensive 3 day courses for those looking for a short sharp injection of input into their work!
"I have now been on three residential courses. Two at Durham Kirkpatrick and one at Ettrick Valley- Over Kirkhope Farm. I have absolutely loved them. The accommodation at both has been outstanding, so comfortable and set in beautiful countryside. Jemma is a wonderful teacher so patient and encouraging and Lynsey makes it feel like staying in a 5 star hotel with her tempting home baking and superb meals. I really have loved my time on the courses, meeting interesting people and making new friends. I can't wait for the next one."
"It was an absolute pleasure to spend 3 days with you at Cockenzie; I enjoyed every minute of being part of the course. I really liked the structure that begin with a specific focus on the first day and then moved on to more artist led sessions. Jemma’s input was invaluable and I feel extremely fortunate to have benefitted from her expertise. I finished the course feeling much more confident about my work and what I want to achieve. I was able to develop my ideas during the 3 days to the point where I felt very excited that I’d really ‘turned a corner’ and was looking forward to getting started with new work. Since I returned home, I have taken a piece of work to the framers for the first time! Thank you very much for a fabulous course, and I can’t wait to be able to join you again in the near future."
"The 3 days proved to be very supportive, full of learning but fun too. I feel I have gained the confidence to experiment and take risks more whilst also being more focussed and aware of where my interests lie. I know I wouldn't have reached this point without Jemma's guidance and patience. Since completing the distance learning course, I had wished I lived near enough to attend the monthly mentoring sessions but logistically this was too difficult. I am really happy therefore to have had the chance to attend your 1st 3 day mentoring course which fit my needs perfectly. I am already looking forward to attending another!! "
"An inspiring workshop yesterday in the lovely wild garden at Cockenzie House. Starting with an illustrated talk on artists who have painted gardens, Jemma followed with a demonstration on the use of mixed media. The rain didn't hinder our efforts in making initial sketches, we just looked out of the large windows! After a delicious lunch, we went out into brilliant warm sunshine to each create (based on our initial sketches) a large finished painting. An exciting day, where I learnt how to layer up acrylic paint over coats of household water based varnish, over which I added details using oil pastels and monoprints (very useful for tree trunks and branches). A truly enjoyable day which I hope Jemma and Lynsey might repeat in order to capture the Autumn colours. Thank you both!"