LESSONS FROM CREATIVE DAY IN THE COUNTRY

I recently had chance to spend a full day in the English countryside for a decorative painting course and thought I’d share some of the lessons I learned not just about “art,” but really about living. With all the news these days, it seems we need things to keep us centered- and this workshop did just that for me. Hope you are well & that these pix and words might give you a lift too….

First lesson is to find someone whose work inspires you — in my case, Tess Newall. I first heard her name when my daughter Avery & I went to the amazing Callow Hall estate (decorated by Isabella Worsley, with bespoke details by Tess below).

A former movie set designer, Tess now creates homewares (inc. recent collaborations with Liberty and Matilda Goad) and bespoke murals & furniture for the likes of Kit Kemp and Beata Heuman.

She was even more thoughtful in person than I could have imagined - ushering us into a beautiful barn studio and sharing all her design books and references with us as a starting point….

Yes, the workshop was held on an actual FLOWER FARM that supplies the most stylish London weddings….

Lunch was catered from nearby farms, thanks to the delicious **Field Food** team.

Tess let us borrow fabric samples from her huge collection to use as a jumping off point for our designs. I chose this loose block print design as I didn’t want my design to be too precious….

Which leads me to the second lesson I learned — DON’T BE AFRAID TO BE A BEGINNER. Man, this is a tough one for me, as I hate doing things badly….but Tess made the whole atmosphere one of playfulness, collaboration & experimentation. And she gave us card stock samples to practice on, which really helped loosen us up to try more bold designs.

Using props of masking tape & sketching out in pencil lowered the pressure once we had to paint on the real lampshade

Ta-da! My finished lampshade below, placed onto a lamp base created in Tess’ husband’s design studio. (Alfred Newall’s furniture and carved pieces are exquisite, by the way.)

But far more important than the end result was the whole process - getting my hands dirty, trying something new, and Lesson #3: Connecting With Other Like Minded People. I was introduced to my friend Kathleen of Return on Interiors through fellow blogger & iPhone photography expert, Linda Holt. Kathleen was the one who found the workshop info - so it was through a virtuous cycle of connections that I ended up in Sussex, England with a roomful of other people with same creative hopes. Magic.

It always surprises me how doing something you love (ANYTHING - sports, art, stamp collecting, you name it) brings the energy of other people with the same passion into your world and expands it. In 5 minutes, my friend Kathleen and I met a whole array of people who had the same creative bug — some painted lampshades, others painted mirrors or candlesticks….It didn’t matter what you painted; all of us were chatting and designing together for hours - a real mental escape and a nice feeling of community.

The ever generous Tess helped finish off some final details of the glazing process….and as you can see, was full of good cheer throughout the long day with packed house of students.

If you’d like to replicate your own experience of this day, sign up for Tess’ course on Create Academy as soon as it launches. I have taken the online courses taught by interior designer Rita Konig & blockprint artist Molly Mahon - I can’t recommend them highly enough!

I hope you are safe and healthy wherever you are — please drop me a line at Lee@ElegantMayhem.com if there’s anything you are eager for me to cover here. I’ll be back next week with some Fall/Winter fashion updates - stay tuned & thanks for checking in!

Cheers,

Lee