WEA courses

Are you looking for a relaxing hobby to help you unwind? Creating moments of calm in the day is essential for our emotional well-being and mental health. Step into the world of mindful crafts with this course and enjoy art for relaxation. This creativity course allows you to explore your art and craft skills to find practices that soothe you. Whether you enjoy drawing, painting, origami, or craft-making, art courses can help you find a relaxing hobby.

During this creative and inspiring course, you will continue to collect your artistic ideas in sketchbook form. You will be developing your skills in drawing, painting, collage, note taking and sticking in reference to a range of inspirational material. You will continue to generate your own personal visual language as a starting point for larger work. This course will encourage you to consider the many themes, concepts and artists that resonate with you. The Sketchbook is a useful tool for the artist to offload their many artistic ideas and influences and try out new techniques and materials. This can be used in the safe space created in the classroom or wherever you go!

Explore the therapeutic benefits of arts and crafts with our Art Practical: Progression Arts and Crafts for Health and Wellbeing course. Ideal for individuals looking to enhance their well-being through creativity.

The Victorian years saw unprecedented industrialisation which changed the face of Britain but also attitudes. Industrial developments were perceived as both positive and negative, but the countryside was viewed as a tradition, community and continuity. Yet images of the country, as well as the town, reveal the complexity of a society adapting to the modern world. Depiction of idyllic country scenes and grimy urban life reveal deep tension in Victorian society. This course will reveal that complexity and the contradictions which characterised the years 1837 to 1901 by examining paintings, engravings, photographs cartoons and the literature of the period.

Discover the art of journalling with our Craft: Art Journalling for Beginners course. Learn techniques for creating beautiful and personal art journals. Ideal for individuals looking to explore creative self-expression through journalling.

This course in art appreciation provides close attentions to particular works of art from two important artists working in Italy in the fifteenth century, Sandro Botticelli and Piero della Francesca. The focus will be upon specific paintings and drawings in relation to who the works were for, how the decisions about visual presentations were determined and the integration of pictorial practice with contemporary ideas. There are no requirements from students prior the beginning of the course. Students would benefit from access to online sources during the course. Papers and images will be made available to students through the WEA Canvas site. You will need to have access to the internet to access the papers for this course. The course uses a secure digital learning portal for all the classes and for communications with the tutor and access to learning materials. The course would be appropriate for both experienced viewers of art and those new to the subject.

Learners will work with the tutor to improve confidence in their ability to develop their artistic skills and creativity within oil painting. You will be developing the skills to create a detailed landscape painting; challenging yourself to try new and different subjects. You will learn using a range of different teaching and learning activities, to include watching and following step by step demonstrations, with one-to-one help and guidance from a friendly and encouraging tutor. You will learn in a safe, welcoming and supportive environment, working together with your fellow learners and the tutor. This course is suitable for a complete beginner but also for those wanting to improve their existing skills in painting. No prior knowledge is needed, just a desire to learn and begin your journey to develop your artistic skills.

This course will focus on a geographical area that may be intriguing for many of us: the North of Europe. Lately, in films and TV series, novels, and design, the Nordic touch has been quite popular. What about the visual arts? If you would like to know more about the history of Nordic art, this course is for you! In this course, you will learn about artists from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. We will cover Viking objects, Norwegian stave churches, Danish and Swedish medieval church frescoes, Finish national romantic painting and the Skagen painters. We will also study the art and craft of the Sami people.

Discover the beauty of botanical illustration with our Art Practical: Botanical Illustration course. Learn techniques for drawing and painting plants and flowers with precision and detail. Ideal for artists and nature enthusiasts.

This course will cover a discussion of the importance of the social and sexual mores of the times in history. There will be four weeks to look at the life and work of these remarkable women, Sofonisba Anguissola, Artemisia Gentileschi and Lavinia Fontana. We will cover the problems that faced them because of their place that their sex ensured they were kept in. Then at the ways they employed to get round these societal problems. Then we shall study their body of work under the context of the moment of history that they lived in.