Dear Friend,

We had a cracking four weeks of watercolour painting with our Artist in Residence, Sandra Strohschein, and followed that up with another fun-filled week with our new tutor from England, Andrew Geeson, who shared the secrets of his deceptively simple loose style.

Now we are enjoying our Italian Language course with the delightful Giulia Balestri of Langues Services, not only learning the language, but also practising it ‘live’ as we go on excursions in this unspoilt region of Tuscany, where hardly anyone speaks English.

We’ve only a few places left on this year’s creative courses (details below) and bookings are already flowing in for 2019. We’ve already taken some 85 bookings for next year, out of a potential total of 240 or so. So we are already more than a third full, 10 months before the beginning of the 2019 season!

If you want to be sure of a particular tutor or a particular bedroom, now’s the time to secure your place, especially with our tempting offer: if you book a 2019 course before 1 September 2018, you can have a place in 2019 at 2018 prices. Again, there are more details and links below

In this month’s newsletter there are also stories on:

• The few remaining places on our 2018 creative courses
• A non-painting partner enjoys a visit to the stunning Carrara marble mountains
• Creativity and gastronomy
• A masterly result from a joint painting effort
• Are you a writing gardener or architect?
• A reminder of the Watermill photographic competition
• A preview and a tempting offer on our 2019 creative courses

Intrigued? Read on…

The picture top left shows guests practising Tai Chi on a Watermill roof terrace, at the beginning of the day during one of Sandra Strohschein’s courses (and our thanks to Watermill guest Pam Paszke for organising that; picture by another guest, Steve Harger.) The picture top right, by non-painting partner Ray Warren, is of the sensational marble quarries of Carrara. There’s a report on his visit later in this newsletter.

At bottom left is a ‘joint venture’ painting of the Watermill and the river, made together by members of one of Sandra’s groups (story below), and at bottom right, some ‘symbolic spaghetti’, reminding us of the delicious food served during our creative courses. (Thanks to Emily Muhlberger for the picture.)

Cheer up! Let’s go to the Watermill!

Bring a partner: there’s plenty for them to do

Why not bring your friend or partner? They don’t have to participate in the course, but they will be able to enjoy the wonderful hospitality of the mill and, whenever they want, to come out with you to our beautiful locations. We also offer a range of Alternative activities for partners on all our 2018 courses, as well as a generous £GBP 250 discount if they share a room with you.

A trip to the marble quarries of Carrara: brace yourself and have fun!

Watermill non-painting partner Ray Warren fancied a trip to the marble mountains of Carrara while his wife Carole was enjoying her painting course with Andrew Geeson. We fixed him a trip to see the marble quarries with the Cave di Marmo tour company which, he says, was “excellent and expertly done.”

Here’s his report: “From Carrara Avenza Station the trip in the Landrover Defender weaves through the streets past the 17 individual factories that shape and polish the marble. They operate individually but co-operate when large orders need to be filled,a sort of strange broken family who begrudgingly help each other out as often as they step on each other to win the business in the first place. In typical Italian style our driver described it as a mother-in-law to daughter-in-law relationship where cooperation is needed but contact not sought.

“It takes about 15 minutes to reach the shop, the starting place for the tour proper and where our vehicles were allocated. The journey up starts with steep hairpin bends on firm roads but soon we were on rough marble and rocks, the road getting ever steeper and the drop-off over the side ever more sheer. The Landrover is the best tool for this terrain and eats up the ground quickly and noisily. Then you remember that the lorries with tons of marble use the same roads. This is dangerous work and surely very skilful.

“At the first stop we saw the village below that once housed the workers. Some still live there but it is now open to others and seems to be a thriving place. The views down the valley were wonderful with the green of vegetation split by huge white fissures of marble quarry.”

Why not bring your friend or partner? They don’t have to participate in the course, but they will be able to enjoy the wonderful hospitality of the mill and, whenever they want, to come out with you to our beautiful locations, as well as enjoy sensational excursions.

We offer a range of Alternative activities for partners on all our creative courses, as well as a generous £GBP 250 discount if they share a room with you.

Creativity and gastronomy

Symbolic spaghetti sums up
the atmosphere of a Watermill creative week.
Picture Emily Muhlberger

A bowl of spaghetti al pomodoro, simply made with fresh ingredients, cooked perfectly al dente. Behind it, a glass of crisp white local wine. Behind that, unseen, a dozen guests on a Watermill painting course savouring the tastes, sights and sounds of a traditional Italian trattoria, the Locanda al Castello, in Verrucola, where we go to paint the castle and the village on Mondays. Beyond them, also unseen (but not unheard!) Italian workmen enjoying their pranzo di lavoro: fresh ingredients, simple recipes, perfectly cooked. After the pasta, we enjoyed spezzatino alla Romana, a beef casserole Roman style, accompanied by the masterpiece of Mauro, the chef: a purée of fava beans with butter and parmesan cheese.

Yes, delicious food looms large on our Watermill weeks (whether it is in traditional local restaurants and cafés or in the dining room at the Watermill) as well as splendid company with like-minded guests and inspiring teaching from internationally renowned tutors.

Further to whet your appetite, how about fresh fruit salad and homemade, amaretto mousse ice cream? Simply delicious!

Left: Dinner in the Watermill dining room
Right: Picture by Emily Muhlberger

Don’t forget the Watermill photographic competition

Steve Harger’s picture of early moring Tai Chi at the Watermill (below Left) reminded us that we are still taking entries for our photographic competition.

First prize goes to the photograph we judge to be the one that most reflects the ambiance of the mill. We are particularly interested in shots that show our ‘students’ in action, both at ‘work’ and play, although we’d also like to see great photos of the Watermill, its grounds and the surrounding countryside, and of the flora and fauna that abound in this environmentally protected area. Like this wonderful study of a swallowtail butterfly (below Right) among the lavendar blooming in the Walled Garden, taken by guest Leslie Kay.

The winner will be offered a free week-long creative holiday at the Watermill in 2019, of his or her choice, subject to availability. There will be five runner-up prizes, of £GBP 200 off a creative holiday at The Watermill in 2019, subject to availability.

You can find out more by clicking here. Please join in the fun and submit the best photos taken during your visit this year. We look forward to seeing them all. We love this picture of painting guest Polly Moseley with Keith Strohschein, Sandra’s husband.