OUR TUTORS

Jane has a degree in Visual Studies and History of Art. Much of her work is influenced by her love of Charleston Farmhouse and the Bloomsbury Group. As a naturally loose and painterly artist, obsessed with colour Jane’s style is expressionist and she inspires confidence to just get the paint down! As a result of teaching at Curious House, Jane is now the artist behind ‘Bloomsbury Revisited’ painting individual lampshades that grace some of the best homes in the land.

bloomsburyrevisited.co.uk

Lucy has always loved handwriting and all things stationery, so discovering the new version of calligraphy means it is no longer exclusive and achievable by a select few. It can be learnt, practised and enjoyed by anyone. When not writing, Lucy is a Lifestyle Stylist and Art Director.

lucyberridge.com

Victoria trained at Camberwell College of Art and is a professional painter. She teaches art courses in London and Italy and leads guided walks on the 19th-century landscape painter Samuel Palmer. As an artist, her work is both figurative and abstract. Recently she has begun to combine her interest in meditation with the practice of drawing.

victoriathrelfall.co.uk

Maia has a degree in 3 Dimensional Art and Design and is a multidisciplinary artist whose skills include mosaic, jewellery making, collage and printmaking, to name a few. As well as working as a community and schools artist for nearly 20 years, she has also worked as a prop maker for Glyndebourne Opera House and made work for the Channel 4 programme ‘George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces’. Her teaching style allows participants the space to play and explore gaining new creative skills.

maiaeden.co.ukuk

Alison studied at Rochester and then later at Brighton University where she graduated with an MA in Sequential Design and Illustration. She currently paints and teaches from her home studio in Sussex and regularly exhibits her work in the South East.

alisontrask.com

Dominic is a Sussex-based basket maker, willow grower and teacher specialising in traditional frame baskets, organically woven willow forms and beautiful strong plant supports. His clients include The National Trust and Kew at Wakehurst.

sussexwillow.co.uk

Sue Gaisford is a journalist and a teacher. She has written features, interviews and reviews for many newspapers, including The Economist, The Independent and the Financial Times, and for magazines, principally RadioTimes and Harpers. Woman and Home and Country Living. A former Literary Editor, Sue is also on the judging panel for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and is currently writing two memoirs simultaneously, which may be unwise.

With a background in architecture and archaeology, Clare’s passion for art expresses itself in printmaking, which she uses on fabrics, prints and her own books. Her interest in art and architecture was sparked at an early age by visiting old buildings and villages growing up in the Sussex countryside. Social history, the natural world, scale and old technologies are recurring themes in Clare’s work. Her most recent publication is Ponds, Pools and Lidos.

claredales.com

With a background in fashion and publishing, Dani is now the curator and artist in residence at Wing Gallery in Wadhurst. Her work is much respected in the art world. She frequently exhibits at the RA Summer Exhibition, and The Florence Biennale regularly features her show representing the UK. Until recently Dani was Vice-President of the Society of Women Artists for many years, and she has also written books on painting for Search Press Ltd.

danihumberstoneart.com

Katy is a photographer with over 25 years of experience as a portrait, lifestyle and beauty photographer. Her work has taken her around the world and has been featured on the covers and inside many magazines in the UK and the Middle East, has been exhibited internationally.

katydonaldson.com

Caroline is a self-taught embroiderer with no formal art training. After school, she trained as an opera singer and then qualified as a solicitor. She discovered antique textiles and took up stitching in her late 30s when her work was spotted by Country Living magazine. Her first show in 2000 sold out and now her delicate, painterly embroideries and collages made from antique papers are much sought after.

Caroline is the author of Childhood Treasures, The Hand-Stitched Home and Virginia Woolf’s Garden, a book inspired by the garden she and her husband restored and maintained on behalf of the National Trust. Her most recent endeavour is as editor and publisher of The Stitcher’s Journal.

carolinezoob.co.uk

Lindsay is one of the pre-eminent fabric and wallpaper designers in the UK, with over 30 years of experience. Originally designing prints for, among others, Liberty, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, she launched her own Interiors collection in 2009. Many of her designs are inspired by the Arts & Crafts movement and are made with lino blocks and hand-silkscreened in England. The collection is sold at Liberty of London and can be seen in The Pig Hotels & other boutique hotel interiors. Lindsay was a lecturer in printed textiles at ‘Instituto Europeo di Design’ in Milan – and now at Curious House!

lindsayalker.com

Evangeline Armstrong is a figurative artist and designer who graduated with First Class Honours from Central Saint Martins in 2015. Her career started in jewellery design winning awards and collaborating with global companies, including Topshop, Theo Fennell, AZVA and the V&A. Life drawing has been at the heart of her creative practice and the foremost means of learning to truly see and draw. Life drawing informs Evie’s artistic endeavour and she sees it as 'going to the gym' for any creative!

evangelinearmstrong.com

Hastings based designer and painter, Melissa creates bespoke pieces for domestic, commercial and heritage interiors including the fabulous wallpaper in our classroom at The Bell in Ticehurst. Her love of surface patterns has drawn her towards diverse projects including The Queen’s summerhouse at Buckingham Palace. Melissa has collaborated with many prestigious brands resulting in award-winning wallpapers and fabric for Lewis & Wood, Zoffany and Kit Kemp. Her style is imbued with a historic, artisanal, and painterly feel that has its roots in wall painting of old.

melissawhite.co.uk

UK based textile artist Anne Kelly is an award-winning artist, author and tutor. Her multi-layered and densely stitched textiles have been described as ‘small worlds’. Trained in Canada and at Goldsmiths College in London, she creates wall hangings and objects using a mixture of mixed media collage and hand and machine embroidery. Her inspirations are taken from travel, memory, nature and especially folk art.

Anne tutors and teaches fine art and textiles to a variety of groups in the UK and abroad. and is a member of the Embroiderers Guild UK, the Crafts Council Directory and the Society for Embroidered Work. She also exhibits and curates group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Her four books for Batsford are widely collected and studied by students of all ages around the world.

annekellytextiles.com

Mandy is an award-winning writer and workshop leader who has spent her career working in the creative industries. For a couple of decades, she was a radio director running one of the top audio production companies in London . Nowadays she teaches creative practice, facilitating workshops that encourage the development of professional skills through the exploration of creative talents. She teaches at Lincoln University and the London Film School as well as a wide range of corporate organisations. As a writer she works across commercial and creative writing: prose, scripts, ads, non fiction—she’s done the lot. Her workshops draws on her training in improvisation, clowning and storytelling, with a focus on developing spontaneity and removing blocks to creative expression.

punchitup.co.uk

Genevieve Stevens teaches poetry at Royal Holloway, University of London and Poetry School. Her poetry, reviews and essays have appeared in various publications including PN Review, The Moth, New Statesman, The London Magazine, Poetry London and her poem ‘Bird on Ground’ was recently shortlisted for the International Moth Poetry Prize, judged by Nick Laird.

In 2020, Genevieve was awarded the Royal Holloway University scholarship and is now in the second year of her practice-based poetry PhD under the supervision of Lavinia Greenlaw and Eley Williams. Genevieve lives in East Sussex with her husband and two young children.

A countryside childhood developed Isobel’s relationship with the local plants and through her curiosity, she has acquired safe knowledge about foraging plants and fungi for edible, medicinal and creative purposes. On completion of a History of Art degree at Edinburgh University, Isobel trained as a gardener, learning first at Perch Hill and Charleston Farmhouse, she now works as a gardener for Sissinghurst Castle Garden. Conscious of the impact humans have on earth, Isobel’s approach to foraging is not about consumption but connection, focusing on slowing down and appreciating the often-overlooked beauty in nature.

Isobel is a ceramic artist working in a studio granted to University of Brighton alumni from 3D Design and Craft course. She creates sculptural work minimal and crisp in form; some abstract, some more figurative. She specialises in teaching a range of ceramic hand-building workshops to both adults and children at her studio and now at Curious House.

isobelroope.com

Natasha Hulse is a bespoke fabric artist for interior design based in West London. In 2018 she launched her business, specialising in hand crafted fabrics for interior design and bespoke furniture. Natasha’s love for surface design, colourful patterns and nature is integral to her fabric designs. This can be seen in every element of her work, which combines the traditional techniques of art and appliqué, into unique three-dimensional designs. Each piece of furniture and fabric showcases a botanical design that is hand-painted and appliqued together. Natasha has worked with many interior design household names and showcased her work at prestigious events such as Chelsea Flower Show and Belgravia in Bloom.

natashahulse.com

Seb started Terrapy to share his love for terrariums with others, and as a catalyst for positive change addressing some key issues we face as a society; chiefly mental health, social equity and climate change. After training as a lawyer and spending several years working in the city, Seb’s passion for plants and all things nature grew into a full-time hobby and eventually a career. His terrarium workshops help people to reconnect with nature and appreciate the measurable impact of plants on wellbeing. You can read more about his mindful terrarium ethos on his website.

terrapy.uk

Em Williams is a sign painter and artist specialising in hand-painted lettering, reverse glass signs and gilding (a fancy word for applying gold leaf, which looks similarly fancy). She combines traditional methods of painting by hand and various gilding techniques with the highest quality materials to produce beautiful handcrafted typographic signs.

Em not only paints but also holds a Masters’ degree in Typeface Design and has fifteen years of experience working commercially as a Brand, Print, Graphic and Typeface Designer. The love of letters has always been at the forefront of her work — only now it’s applied with paint, gold leaf, and precious materials like mother of pearl, making it even more of a joy.

lettersbyem.studio
Instagram: @lettersbyem.studio

Joanna is a professional artist with over 20 years painting experience working across many genres and mediums. She has exhibited internationally and has notable collaborations with Osborne & Little and renowned German porcelain producer Goebel. Her original artworks, prints and bespoke wallpapers can be found in Luxury hotels and cruise ships as well as private collections worldwide. Her repertoire is mostly inspired by nature, depicting birds and botanical subjects, often simple and pared back compositions and gold leaf artworks. Joanna’s aim is to instil a sense of calm and serenity and to convey her reverence and love of the natural world.

www.joannacharlottedesign.com
Instagram: @joanna.charlotte

Sally has worked in Art related environments, more recently for Art Logistics in London. Following many well received commissions for collaged people, pets and places, she now focuses on running her Collage Workshops.

Instagram: @sallyhunter_creativecollage