Rebecca Merry Workshops
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If you're looking for fun and interesting ways to express your creativity this summer, you're invited to join our workshops this June & July! Choose from our six options below, hosted at the private Chateau de Saint-Germain-des-Pres.
No experience required. Each workshop includes all supplies and buffet-style lunch at the chateau. Free cancellation up to two weeks before the event.
Coming from out of town? We are offering 2- or 3-night stays, including breakfast.
Enjoy a 10% discount on your 2nd & subsequent workshops! Book your 1st workshop & we'll email a discount code.
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About Rebecca Merry
Rebecca is an English painter and illustrator who trained at the Royal College of Art in London. She has a adult education teaching certificate and taught at the V&A in London for several years. She describes herself as a figurative, narrative painter and works primarily in the traditional technique of egg tempera.
Her work hangs in private collections across the world, from the Caribbean to Australia. She has lived in France since 2014 and describes arriving here for the first time as ‘coming home’.
Six Workshops to Choose
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No experience required.
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Each workshop includes all supplies and buffet-style lunch at the chateau.
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Free cancellation up to two weeks before the event.
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Book each workshop separately (tickets managed via Eventbrite).
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Enjoy 10% off your 2nd and subsequent workshops!
Sacred Geometry: Number, Pattern & Symbol
June 19 & 20 | 2 Days
Celtic Art: Key Patterns, Knotwork and Spirals
July 11 & 12 | 2 Days
Design and Paint Your Own Mandala
June 27 | 1 Day
Decorative Patterns from Natural Forms
July 17 - 19 | 3 Days
Paint Your Own Illuminated Letter
July 5 | 1 Day
Intro to Egg Tempera Painting
July 24 - 26 | 3 Days
Sacred Geometry:
Number, Pattern & Symbol
June 19 & 20 | 2 Days
Sacred Geometry means ‘the measure of the earth’ and has been used since ancient times to explore patterns in the Natural World. A compass and a straight edge is all that is needed to make complex interlocking patterns originating from points made on a single circle.
In this workshop participants will learn how to make two designs: The Cross and Star pattern, also known as the ‘Breath of God’ and a twelve pointed star representing the twelve months of the year.
There will be an opportunity on the second day to paint one of the designs using handmade gouache made from pigment and gum arabic.
Design and Paint Your Own Mandala
June 27 | 1 Day
The word Mandala comes from Sanskrit and means circle. Although originally used in Hinduism and Buddhism these graphic diagrams have also more recently been used in the West as an aid to meditation.
In this workshop participants will have the chance to create their own mandala using traditional methods.
This will start with the drawing of a geometric pattern with added symbols and shapes to reflect each person interests. Having transferred the drawing to paper, colour will be added using gouache made of pigments and gum arabic. The final image created can then be used for meditation, to focus attention or just to have on the wall to admire.
Paint Your Own Illuminated Letter
July 5 | 1 Day
Books have for centuries reflected of the art and culture of society they are produced in, and this is particularly so of the beautiful illuminated manuscripts of the Medieval period in Europe.
In this one day workshop, create your own Illuminated letter using traditional techniques from the Middle Ages. Learn how to make paint from pigments and how to apply gold leaf to the painted initial. Templates for the letters will be provided but there will be an opportunity to add decoration and colours of the students own choosing.
Celtic Art:
Key Patterns, Knotwork & Spirals
July 11 & 12 | 2 Days
The Origins of Celtic art lie far before the coming of Christianity to the British Isles. Its unique construction using grids and circles to create complex, swirling vibrant ornamentation is still today a source of fascination for many.
This workshop provides the chance to unpick and reconstruct three types of Celtic motif, the key pattern, knotwork and spirals. From simple beginnings participants will learn how to make complex designs which can be transferred onto a variety of surfaces – wood, paper, ceramic and textile.
There will be an opportunity on day two to choose a design to work up into a painted image using paint made from pigments and egg.
Decorative Patterns from Natural Forms
July 17 - 19 | 3 Days
Inspired by the work of the 19th century design William Morris, this three day course combines geometric patterns and organic forms to develop a series of individual designs inspired by the natural world.
Participants will learn about laying out pattern in an organic way using basic geometric principles. Day two will be spent drawing from nature picked from the chateau gardens to then stylize and combine with the geometry. The final day will be spent working up the design using body colour as used by Morris in his wallpaper and textile designs and an exploration into next steps of transferring designs into other media such as fabric and print.
Introduction to Egg Tempera Painting
July 24 - 26 | 3 Days
Egg tempera was the primary painting medium of the Middle Ages before the invention of oil paint. It uses pigment and egg yolk to create a bright durable paint still used in Orthodox Icon Painting today.
In this three day workshop participants will learn how to make and apply egg tempera paint, the individual properties of pigments and how to handle them and some basic gilding. A plaster (gesso) panel will be provided to work on approx.15x15cm to create a small panel painting either from either a personal image or from a selection of resources provided.
Stay at the Château
A stay at the Château de Saint-Germain-des-Pres is available for the 2- or 3-day workshops.
Stay for 2 or 3 nights, €95 per room per night, includes breakfast.
Click on the images to discover the chateau and bedroom facilities. We're constantly improving, so rooms may not be exactly as shown.
Free cancellation up to the night of your stay (although advance notice is appreciated).
Available Dates
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June 19 - 20 : Sacred Geometry
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July 11 - 12: Celtic Knotwork
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July 17 -19: Natural Forms
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Jul 24 - 26: Egg Tempera
You may arrive the day before the workshop or stay until the day after. Minimum 2 night stay.