Courses 2025

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


All Courses For 2025 Now Full

Course Times

Payment

£1000 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 £800 to be paid before the start of the course by Bank transfer, Cash or PayPal.
Payment details will be sent on WhatsApp on request. Payment reference: your name.
Camping £8 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.

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. I have information about three B&Bs in the locality, but none within walking distance. It’s best to book early.

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 £8 per night to cover gas and electricity, use of kitchen, loo and shower in house.

Transport

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