Explorations within the Woodland:

Adult Learning Programme

In early 2024, the Tim Stead Trust delivered a series of hands-on workshops at The Steading as part of the Scottish Borders Multiply Adult Learning Programme.

While the original proposal set out a broad framework, the programme evolved through delivery, shaped by the artists involved and the materials available on site. What emerged was a series of practical, small-scale workshops centred on wood and natural materials, offering participants the opportunity to work directly with processes connected to the Trust’s collection and setting.

Artist Richard Goldsworthy led two workshops exploring wood as a material. In the first, participants created small carved wooden blocks which were then used as pyrographic printing tools, producing charcoal drawings as part of his ongoing pyrographic printing approach. The second workshop focused on trees as a sensory material, beginning with a short drawing study before moving into engraving, drawing on the engraved surfaces found within Tim Stead’s own sculptural work.

Katie Warner led a willow weaving workshop, where participants created trivets informed by forms and techniques visible within the Trust’s collection. Heather Wilson facilitated a clay building and mark making session, with participants producing vessels that responded to the textures, patterns and details observed during a tour of The Steading.

David Lightly delivered a two-part workshop in wood collage. Using offcuts of burr elm from the Trust’s workshop, participants developed wall-based pieces, assembling and setting the material in resin to create display panels.

Materials for the workshops were prepared locally within the Steading’s own workshop, maintaining a close connection between making, place and material and delivered at an intimate scale;The programme provided space for close guidance and shared learning. It also offered an opportunity to test how the Steading can support practical, material-led education, an area that continues to develop as part of the Trust’s wider work.