Ruth Wilkinson runs day long mosaic workshops at Ramsgill Studio, just 10 mins out of Pateley Bridge. The workshop costs £65 including all materials, a 2 course lunch and refreshments.
The drive to the village of Ramsgill, near Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale, winds through some of the most beautiful countryside in England. The day with Ruth starts brilliantly and the spirit cannot helped but be lifted and inspired by the splendour of our natural world.
The studio welcomes you with warmth and colour and is full of lovely things - pictures, mosaics, ceramics and fabrics. Ruth very quickly put our small group at ease and introduced us to some simple 'rules' to help ensure our projects were successful. We could each explore our own ideas and, with the help of books, we were soon busily working on individual projects. Ruth quietly encouraged us with helpful suggestions - we worked together in a supportive friendly atmosphere.
The whole day was freer than expected - more 'have a go and do what you think' and this helped build some confidence. Craft workshops can feel daunting to those of us who are not 'arty' but this was a marvellous day to be enjoyed at every level.
To work on a creative project is to be so absorbed as to lose all other concerns and worries and the studio filled with a quiet, calm industry. I quickly realised just how brilliant Ruth's own mosaics are - her sense of shape and colour is incredible and her work is unusual and very finely crafted.
Time passed too quickly and I would have appreciated another hour but we had already overrun the stated times. This meant the final grouting was done in a bit of a rush but Ruth supplied enough powder to finish off at home.
I definitely want to pursue this craft further and have already bought tiles and cutters so I can practice my skills at home. Another day with Ruth will definitely be my treat to myself next year. We were lucky to be taught by such an artist and I'd recommend this mosaics class wholeheartedly.
