The Paper Wildflower X Easdale Island Retreat
Do you dream of getting away from it all?
PERHAPS IT'S TIME TO TAKE A BREAK...
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How would you like to experience life on a car free island?
To take a break from your every day stresses, breathe the clean air of a remote Scottish Island, and immerse yourself in nature? And... to have some time for yourself and your creativity?
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Come away with me to Easdale Island, and enjoy a unique, creative nature retreat, organised by Easdale Experiences.
Spend time with a small group of like minded people, enjoy home cooked food, and take some time to smell the flowers. Explore your creativity within a small group setting, discovering the incredibly mindful art of paper flower making, focussing on local wildflowers.
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Our three night creative break in May 2023 allows you time to reset away from your everyday environment. Come away to Easdale Island to:
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​enjoy home cooked food and comfortable accommodation
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breathe in deeply and enjoy the incomparable fresh air on this tiny, car free island
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discover local flora and fauna and identify seasonal trees, plants and wildflowers
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practice mindfulness and learn a new craft....
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...looking closely at flowers and learning from our course tutor and botanical artist how to recreate them using nothing but paper, glue and wire
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explore sustainable craft through plant dyeing, creating your own palette of artistic papers
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if you are brave enough, take time to enjoy the invigorating and restorative power of a wild sea swim!
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above all, enjoy time away from it all and connect with nature
The Easdale Island Retreat happens in May 2023. The first course runs from 13th -16th May and the second from 17th - 20th May. This course is facilitated by Arts Council England supported botanical artist Ling Warlow and internationally acclaimed photographer and host Colin MacPherson.
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Follow and get to know us on Instagram @paperbydragonfly @germanocean
2022 Workshop Schedule
An Introduction to Plant Dyes
Learn how to dye your papers using natural colours. I often dye my own papers to create my paper flower art, using plants and vegetables. The beautiful flowers in the picture above are dyed using a combination of onion skin, tumeric, nettles, beetroot and red cabbage. Use your kitchen waste to create something beautiful.
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This autumn a special session - on Friday 4th November - will teach you the basics of plant dyeing for paper. Using simple ingredients you can find in your kitchen we will create a palette of coloured papers for your craft projects.
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The session is from 10am - 3pm at Studio 3, Wood Street, Hoylake. Materials, refreshments and lunch will be provided.
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Paper Wildflower Workshops
Learn how to create your own beautiful arrangement of paper wildflowers so you can enjoy these lovely flowers throughout the year. The skill in making wildflowers lies in looking closely, really closely. Each family of flower requires a different approach. Come and learn in a friendly and intimate environment.
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A one-off series of 2.5 hour sessions introducing the skills and techniques of working with crepe paper, to create some of our most iconic wildflowers. From the humblest dandelion to the towering foxglove, you will learn the skills and steps to create the following flowers:​​
Dandelions and Hawkweed 18th October​Cornflowers 1st November
Foxgloves (two part course) 9th & 15th November
Sea Holly & Grasses 22nd November
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I love making paper flowers, especially wildflowers.
My life's mission is to encourage everyone to look more closely at the beautiful wildflowers which grow in our hedgerows, waysides, woods, parks and meadows. Maybe I was inspired by a childhood reading Flower Fairy books, now, though, I feel an urgency to encourage all people to look, look closely. Fall in love with the wonder of nature, connect with the natural environment
Your tutor is Ling Warlow, the founder of Paper by Dragonfly, whose work has been featured on ITV, and has been exhibited at The Design Museum in Kensington, London.
Ling has been funded by The Arts Council England to develop her practice and has worked in schools across Merseyside teaching children about art and nature. Her works are sought after by commission and she runs popular workshops sharing her skills and enthusiasm with others.
Committed to building a sustainable creative practice, Ling has a particular interest in wildflowers and can often be found dyeing her own papers with vegetables and foraged materials from the plant kingdom.