Courses 2024

Hardstone & Gemstone carving
Intensive 5-day workshop courses
4 students per course

All course places for 2024 now full.

 6 – 10 May (Full)
 1 –  5 July (Full)
22 – 26 July (Full)
 9 – 13 September (Full)

Campers are given priority for summer courses in July

COURSE

Course Times

  • Monday – Friday 9.30am - 6.00pm

  • Best to arrive on the Sunday.

Payment

  • £800 for one week’s course of 5 full days.

  • £200 deposit must be paid in advance to secure a place. This deposit is non-refundable as it covers stone and tools specially bought for use on the course.

  • The remaining £600 to be paid before the start of the course by Bank transfer, Cash or PayPal. 

  • Payment details will be sent on request. Payment reference: your name.

  • Camping £5 per night: includes use of kitchen and loo, with shower in house.

Course Teaching and Equipment

  • Maximum 4 students per course

  • Individual teaching

  • All equipment is provided together with a piece of semi-precious hardstone to carve. A variety of stones is available to choose from.

  • The full range of equipment includes: saws, grinders, carving spindles and micro motors as well as burrs, files and polishing pastes. This will take you from sawing a piece of rough stone to blocking out the design, carving it and polishing the finished article all within a single week’s course.

  • We work mostly with the chalcedony & quartz family so you will be well prepared for moving onto more valuable gemstones in due course.

  • If you would prefer to pursue drilling and trimming, rather than full carving, you are also welcome to apply.

  • If only 3 students apply for a course it may have to be cancelled in which case deposits will be returned.

Covid

  • The studio is out in the countryside: it’s spacious, light and airy and all windows and doors are kept open throughout the summer months.

  • Work benches keep students well spaced apart. Masks are provided and are anyway needed, particularly when working at the bench, to avoid breathing in stone dust.

Advance Preparation – PLEASE NOTE

  • It may be difficult to decide what you want to carve without seeing your piece of stone. But to attend the class you do need to make and bring a small three-dimensional model about 2in/5cm square or oblong in shape. It doesn’t matter what it’s a model of – it may not even be what you choose to carve. But it allows you to demonstrate, and me to assess, your spacial ability to design in 3D, which is a crucial part of carving. The model is an important part of the course and your time will be less productive if you don’t make it beforehand.

  • SO PLEASE MAKE A MODEL BEFORE ATTENDING AND BRING IT WITH YOU.

  • The model can be made from any material: plaster, wax, wood, fimo, even plasticine (though that’s rather too soft). Note, however, that although your model can be larger than 2”/5cm, your piece of stone will be roughly that size.

ACCOMMODATION


Camping

  • There is plenty of outdoor meadow space for camping in summer, with a kitchen and loo in our small barn and a shower in the house available for campers.  The kitchen has a large fridge, freezer, microwave and small hob, with cutlery, plates and cooking pans also available. 

  • All students can use the kitchen to prepare food, whether camping or staying elsewhere, as B&Bs rarely provide dinner. There is a small supermarket in the nearest village, two miles away.

Camping Charge

  • There is a charge of £5 per night to cover gas and electricity, use of kitchen, loo and shower in house.

Local B&Bs

  • B&B and AirBnB rooms can be found locally via the internet, but you’ll need to bear transport in mind.  IF STAYING IN B&B YOU WILL NEED A CAR or BIKE.  The studio is two miles from the nearest village and taxis are very expensive and tricky to organize in the countryside.  I have information about three B&Bs in the locality, but none within walking distance. It’s best to book early.

Location

  • We are deep in the countryside: 16 miles from Norwich, and 2 miles from Hingham and Hardingham, 7 miles from both Dereham and Attleborough, and 10 miles from Wymondham.

Nearest Train Stations

  • Attleborough 7 miles – trains from King’s Cross London via Cambridge.

  • Norwich 16 miles – trains from Liverpool St London.

  • Check both routes to see which is cheaper at the time you are coming.

Routes from London by Train

  • London Liverpool Street Station > Norwich then Norwich > Attleborough

OR

  • London Kings Cross > Cambridge or Cambridge North
    then Cambridge or Cambridge North > Attleborough

  • Check prices on both routes, as they can vary, with one markedly cheaper than the other.

Arrival

  • We can pick up from Attleborough but students all need to arrive together on the same train the day before a course starts (i.e. the Sunday).  You’ll be put in touch with each other to coordinate arrangements. If you arrive in the afternoon before 4.00pm we can stop at a supermarket to pick up provisions on the way back.

  • Taxis at other times: from Attleborough £20 and from Norwich £30.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions at : info@charlottedesyllas.com