Ladies that doeth art – retreat

Getting together with other artist friends is always such a pleasure – the stylish and generally arty Jane Rendell, award winning artists Marianna Magurudumian-O’Reilly and multidisciplinary artist Julia Clay, who was our host at her home in the countryside, just outside a small town near the Ebro Delta. The plan was loose: bring art materials to share, guide each other through workshops, and see where the creative energy led us. Between us we had a gelli printing plate, watercolours, acrylics, stitching kits and more.

On Friday

We settled into our spaces — I was lucky enough to stay in a beautiful yurt – after a guided tour of the house and land, we headed down to the local bar for amazing tapas. It felt like the calm before a creative storm.

By Saturday

We started making art over breakfast. The day unfolded in ways none of us could have predicted. Around the big table, we began working on pieces simultaneously, passing them along so that each of us could add something. Materials and ideas piled up: wool, textiles, glue gun, print marks, collage, ribbon, left-handed drawings, brush splashes, even a piece of found snake skin. Layers built up into compositions that carried something from each of us – a shared language made of fragments.

Gallery of 2D collaborative art

For me, the goal was to loosen up. I didn’t want to produce anything polished; I wanted to step away from my usual illustrative precision. And I succeeded – I felt myself shedding that tight style and leaning into something freer, wilder.

Creative walk in nature

In the afternoon, during a short creative walk around the land, while some added seeds, sticks and leaves to a basket, my eyes turned to the flashes of colour of discarded scraps of rubbish poking through the ground.

3D assemblages

We tied together found objects, remnants of litter and nature into 3D hanging bundles, I was inspired by another local artist Sarah Misselbrook who literally turns herself into nature to make her art. We gave our 3D compositions stories, as if they were strange artefacts.

Nature video clips

I also found natural earthy pigments — chalky white and deep ochre — which I painted onto the skin of Jane and Marianna. Marianna is a natural performer and I shot some short video clips of her.

And Sunday

The weekend ended perfectly: Marianna drove us to join her local arty crowd for a private view at Artamill gallery. There we experienced the paintings of Dolors Molas — abstract paintings that echoed with ghostly layers and broken lines.

Marianna Magurudumian-O’Reilly

You can find out more about Marianna’s multidisciplinary art practice and her radio show on her website: https://www.theunstitute.org/Marianna_Home.html

The feeling afterwards

BBQ lunch with the artists

It was a time of play, experimentation and connection – it was a brilliant feeling being immersed in a collaborative energy all weekend. I can’t wait to put what I’ve learned into practice!

Art retreats

With Julia Clay

Julia is planning on holding art and craft retreats and workshops from 2026.

If you are looking for a venue, a teacher to lead an art making session or if you think you might like to organise a group, please get in touch with Julia through her website: https://juliaclay.com/

Making art with Emma Plunkett

If anyone wants to book me for leading fun arty workshops, get in touch. I can bring all the materials to your creative table or we can go to Julia’s!