Lagou Raxi Country Hotel

These week long courses are suitable for beginners and more advanced participants Capture a sense of place in authentic Greece Painting Courses 2023 Acrylic 10-17 June Watercolours 06 – 13 May & 23 – 30 September COURSE TUTOR Anna Martin Anna Martin is an artist who started her career at the Chelsea School of Art and then later went on to study in New York at the Parsons School of Design. She further developed her training in personal development and performance coaching. She is half Spanish, half English and has worked for many years in Spain. She now lives in Cheltenham UK. Anna has escorted groups on painting holidays along the Mediterranean coast for many years and loves to encourage ...Read more >

Auch in deutscher Sprache! COURSE TUTOR Katja Katholing-Bloss It really all began in 2008 with a spontaneous trip to the ‘Botanica’ exhibition at Sydney’s Botanical Gardens, where Katja came across unbelievably realistic and detailed sketches and paintings of plants by botanical illustrators and artists. Born and raised in a place called Hof an der Saale, in the northern-most part of Bavaria, Katja grew up always surrounded by flowers. Her mother’s florist shop was an early formative inspiration that remains strong to this day. She spent her early career working in industry, initially in Germany and then over a decade in England and Australia. After initial training as a botanical ...Read more >

The aim of this course is to explore the possibilities of historical calligraphy that lead to the abstraction, by starting with 5 different old manuscripts from Medici's Library in Florence, and 4 different hands (choosing one). Each manuscript is unique of its kind and in its form as it is linked to a series of fortuitous, unrepeatable factors: its historical context, the precise moment in time, the calligrapher’s hand and his emotions. Methodology During a calligraphy course of this kind, it is usually the teacher who provides a pre-constructed and pre-elaborated model of writing, but in this case the teacher will be there to encourage each student to study the fascinating letters of ...Read more >

Course Tutor: Carol Woodin Carol Woodin has spent thirty years immersed in painting plants in watercolor. She enjoys spending time out in the fields and forests looking at and making studies of plants for future paintings, especially orchids and other rare plants. She began her career painting native orchids that grew near her home in upstate New York. Her work has been exhibited and collected around the world; recent venues include the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Kew UK, Museo della Grafica, Pisa Italy, Museum de Buitenplaats, Eelde Netherlands, and Newhouse Galleries in New York. Among the awards she’s received are an RHS Gold Medal for the orchid genus Paphiopedilum, the Lankester Award ...Read more >

Course Tutor Dr. Helen Bodycomb Methodology Helen will begin with introducing a brief history of mosaics. She will then provide a range of design options offering varying tiers of complexity so that students can choose a design approach that matches their skill level in mosaic. Helen's emphasis will lie in the interpretation of classical design and concept development, in order to make works that are distinctly contemporary. Students will use glass smalti and/or marble, hand-worked using both hammer & hardie, side nippers and wheeled nippers. Course Tutor Dr. Helen Bodycomb is well known as one of Australia’s few contemporary artists working primarily in mosaic. She is widely ...Read more >

Spring wildflowers and orchids “Colours and Textures of the Mediterranean” Course Tutors Shevaun Doherty Inspired by the flora and light of the Middle East whilst living in Egypt, Shevaun taught herself watercolour painting. She graduated from the SBA DLDC in 2012 with distinction. Shevaun works full time as an artist and tutor, she has exhibited regularly in Ireland and internationally and has won many awards. She travels exten-sively giving workshops and demonstrations, runs her own online course and is a tutor on the SBA DLDC. Shevaun has used her skills as a botanical artist to raise awareness of the environment with a special commis-sion of her bee artwork being featured on Irish ...Read more >

A 10-day natural dyeing and ecoprinting workshop 2024 dates to be announced soon Botanical contact printing, or eco printing as it is often known, is a technique for transferring the image of leaves and flowers, with the aid of heat and pressure. Plant materials are “bundled” with the fabric and processed using steam. Each bundle is unique and the “reveal”, or unbundling, is magic every time! This mark making is combined with natural dyes to produce designs for garments, accessories and home décor, as well as works of art. The workshop Internationally renowned instructors will offer teaching for all levels of experience. Beginners will learn to get crisp clear prints from the start, and ...Read more >

This walking holiday is based in Lafkos in the heart of Pelion’s vast network of kalderimia. Hikers will stay at Lagou Raxi and be driven to the start and finishing points of each day’s section of the South Pelion Trail https://www.topoguide.gr/mountains/thessaly/advs_pelion/pelion_southern/Pelion_Argalasti_Xynovrysi.php Pelion Peninsula Water and the sea is always present in Pelion, whether visible or not, presenting stunning views to far away islands on the Pagasitikos Gulf or Aegean Sea. On the spine of the peninsula are a wide variety of trees and shrubs, often in bloom, stone bridges, white-washed mansions with stone or ceramic roofs and charming villages to explore, many of them ...Read more >

Classic and Contemporary Mosaics” 2023 Workshop in Marble 23 – 30 Septem & optional Pre-Course Tour ALL LEVELS * All sessions take place at Lagou Raxi Country Hotel, Lafkos, Greece, and include six hours tuition per day unless stated otherwise. * This is an intensive course with daily mosaic sessions. If possible, participants are encouraged to add some extra days on either side of the course to make the most of this remote and stunning location either relaxing by the hotel pool, exploring the nearby villages or sampling some of the outstanding local tavernas. Course Tutor: Helen Miles A mosaic artist with a reputation as a maker of finely executed pieces often inspired by ancient ...Read more >

COURSE TUTOR Suzie Chaney I am an artist living and working in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the South of France. Originally from the UK, I graduated from Norwich School of Art in 2004 with BA(Hons) in Fine Art/Sculpture. My work is inspired by the land, forms, animals and water that surround me. I use traditional materials but often in unconventional ways. My sculpture practice is strengthened by my sketchbooks, drawing, printing and making books. I have taught several online classes for over 15 years. I love to share my passion for handmade sketchbooks and process, and ran a very successful Concertina Retreat online twice during lockdown in 2020. This provided grounding and nurturing ...Read more >

Vincent Jeannerot’s “Early Days of Summer in Greece” 20 to 27 May 2023 & “Last Days of Summer in Greece” 9 to 16 September 2023 Botanical Painting and Illustration Courses Tutor Vincent Jeannerot For more than 30 years the botanical watercolours of Vincent Jeannerot have passed on the emotion that he feels when he paints from nature in the most intricate detail. Vincent paints the pure and natural beauty of life with all its tones and nuanced equilibrium, awakening in this way our own personal emotions. He participates in national and international exhibitions and teaches as well in his own gallery to be found in Lyon, France, his home city. He has been invited to teach his botanical ...Read more >

AIMS & OBJECTIVES This 9 – day course opens up the spiritual world of iconography, helps participants to comprehend the principles, the philosophy and the specific techniques of this art which is still practised widely today. The experience will broaden your knowledge in iconography whether you are a beginner or an advanced artist. This workshop offers an opportunity to learn or refine techniques in this sacred art form. COURSE TUTOR Theodoros Papadopoulos From the city of Larissa, Central Greece Theodoros lives there still with his family. His artistic studies began in 1987 at the Municipal School of Fine Arts of Larissa. Theodore’s fascination with iconography began with his first ...Read more >

Course Tutor: John (Jack) Muir Laws Jack is a principal leader and innovator of the worldwide nature journaling movement. Jack is a scientist, educator, and author, who helps people forge a deeper and more personal connection with nature through keeping illustrated nature journals and understanding science. His work intersects science, art, and mindfulness. Trained as a wildlife biologist and an associate of the California Academy of Sciences, he observes the world with rigorous attention. He looks for mysteries, plays with ideas, and seeks connections in all he sees. Attention, observation, curiosity, and creative thinking are not gifts, but skills that grow with training and deliberate ...Read more >

TREES OF PELION – WALKING & SKETCHING 30 September to 07 October 2023 Seven unforgettable days in Greece with David Lewis and Anna Martin Greece is always surprising and nowhere more so than the Pelion peninsula, home to the eponymous mountain where mythological Centaurs roamed and taught Achilles. Pelion features every shade of green, from centuries old olive and plane trees to huge sweet chestnuts, majestic oaks, ash and pines with mid-sized carobs, judas and smokebush (Cotinus coggygria). In the autumn deep red apples, figs and pomegranates as well as srawberry trees (Arbutus unedo) offer their precious gifts. For the first time our course participants will have the opportunity ...Read more >