I have always been rather fond of our Fat Man. Even though we leave him outside in all sorts of weather, and often don’t even bother to pass the time of day with him, he never complains and he’s always his jovial, laid-back self.
He is stone-hearted, of course, and stone everything else: he’s a small statue we bought many years ago from a friend in Scotland, a recumbent figure cheerfully contemplating the world. And gathering moss!
When we brought him to Italy from Scotland, we ‘housed’ him in the Watermill’s walled garden, to enjoy Italy’s resplendent summers and chill to its winter frosts.
The picture above shows our Fat Man yesterday morning, and you can see from the picture above that he has a fine covering of green moss. The picture below, taken in May 2020 shows earlier moss-gathering.
Come and see our fat man for yourself and relish one of the Watermill’s renowned creative courses, in painting, writing, knitting and Italian language. You will enjoy inspiring tuition, warm hospitality, delicious food, wonderful scenery and the company of like-minded people.
Below is a list, with links, of this year’s courses. As you will see, quite a few of them are already fully booked. But don’t despair if that is the case with a tutor or a week in which you are particularly interested. There are often cancellations and if you register which week you’re interested in, we will put you on a waiting list and let you know as soon as there is a space.
Unless your heart is made of stone, you will have a wonderful time. Here is a list of our 2022 creative courses, with dates and links for more information.
First, painting.
Mary Padgett
30 April – 7 May 2022 Course full, Waiting list open
Pastels (and other portable materials) en plein air
To learn more about Mary and her course at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Keiko Tanabe
21 – 28 May 2022 One place left
Watercolours
To learn more about Keiko and her course at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Maggie Renner Hellman
28 May-4 June 2022 Fully booked, waiting list open
Courageous Color Workshop’ Your choice: oils, acrylics, pastels and/or watercolour travel sketches
To learn more about Maggie and her course at the Watermill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Ruth Koch
4-11 June 2022 Course full, Waiting list open
Art journaling
To learn more about Ruth and her course at the Watermill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Randy Hale
11-18 June 2022 One place left
Watercolours
To learn more about Randy and his course at the Watermill, please visit his 2022 Profile Page.
Vicki Norman
2-9 July 2022 Fully booked, waiting list open
Oils and watercolours (and other mediums)
To learn more about Vicki and her course at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Pamme Turner
9-16 July 2022 Three or four places left
Watercolour and gouache en plein air
To learn more about Pamme and her week at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page
Carl March
16-23 July 2022 Three or four places left
Drawing and watercolour en plein air
To learn more about Carl and his course at the mill, please visit his 2022 Profile Page.
Paul Talbot-Greaves
20-27 August 2022 Still plenty of places
Watercolours (and acrylics)
To learn more about Paul and his course at the mill, please visit his 2022 Profile Page.
Rebecca de Mendonça
27 August-3 September 2022 Four or five places left
Pastels
To learn more about Rebecca and her course at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Mike Willdridge
3-10 September 2022 Course full, Waiting list open
Watercolours and drawing (also gouache and acrylics, with a special emphasis on drawing on location.)
To learn more about Mike and his course at the mill, please visit his 2022 Profile Page.
Varvara Neiman
10-17 September 2022 Still plenty of places
Water-based oils, acrylics and watercolours
To learn more about Varvara and her course at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Milind Mulick
17-24 September 2022 Course full, waiting list open
‘Colourful watercolours’
To learn more about Milind and his course at the mill, please visit his 2022 Profile Page.
Cynthia Armstrong
24 September-1 October 2022 Course full, Waiting list open
Watercolours and gouache
To learn more about Cynthia and her course at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Tim Wilmot
1-8 October 2022 Course full, Waiting list open
Watercolours
To learn more about Tim and his course at the mill, please visit his 2022 Profile Page.
Grahame Booth
8 – 15 October 2022 Course full, Waiting list open
Watercolours
To learn more about Grahame and his course at the mill, please visit his 2022 Profile Page.
Our wonderful writing course
Jo Parfitt
18-25 June 2022 Course full, Waiting list open
Writing your fife stories
To learn more about Jo and her course at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Our notable knitting weeks
Norah Gaughan Course full, Waiting list open
23-30 April 2022
Knitting and la bella vita
To learn more about Norah and her week at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Louisa Harding
7-14 May 2022 one place left
Knitting and la bella vita
To learn more about Louisa and her week at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Debbie Abrahams
14-21 May 2022 Course full, Waiting list open
Knitting and la bella vita
23-30 April 2022
To learn more about Debbie and her week at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
Our unique Italian Language course
Francesca la Sala
15-22 October 2022 Three places left
A novel approach to learning Italian
To learn more about Francesca and our unique Italian week at the mill, please click here.