Ditchling Museum Of Art + Craft Ticket Portal

The sessions are packed full of sticking, drawing, storytelling and object discovery. Each workshop has a different theme to keep things fresh and exciting.

Sessions are devised and run by early years’ teacher Sarah Hailey-Watts.

Suitable for children aged 2- 5 years old. Free for adults - 1 adult per child. 

Bring along your knitting, embroidery, drawing, or whatever you might be working on. Tea, biscuits and good company provided!

One of our expert gardeners will showcase the plants in the garden and explain how they are used for natural dyeing.

If you’re feeling inspired, why not pick up some seeds in our shop and give it a go yourself?

Please book separately for museum entry. The tour lasts approximately one hour.

Set between the South Downs and the Common, Ditchling village has long been home not only to artists and writers, but also to shopkeepers and shepherds, craftsmen and carriers, church and chapel, players and pageants.

Discover more about village life with the Ditchling History Project during this afternoon talk.

The Ditchling History Project

DHP research, collect, index, publish and share information relating to all aspects of the rich history and topography of the village of Ditchling. Their research is held on the Ditchling database comprising over 28,000 entries. The name reflects the active nature of their research, and you will find the results of current and past projects as online exhibitions and project reports or through their publications and Ditchling Character Talk Programme.

Children aged 6-12

Children will create prints, try weaving, and work with clay, with time to explore the museum and enjoy activities in our Clore Learning Space.

This session will be led by our museum education team. Children should be dropped off at 10:30 am, with pick-up at 12 pm

The Talk

Anthony Burrill will share the story of his early fascination with visual design, his education, and a craft-based career focused on meaningful, typographic messaging.

From the founding moment of Work Hard & Be Nice To People to his analogue craftsmanship in collaboration with Adams of Rye and ongoing socially conscious projects, his work celebrates simplicity, connection, and purpose. His typography isn’t just visual—it’s a form of storytelling rooted in human optimism.

About the Artist

Anthony Burrill is a graphic artist, printmaker, and designer renowned for his bold typographic compositions and positive messaging. Born in Littleborough, Lancashire, he studied Graphic Design at Leeds Polytechnic before earning an MA from the Royal College of Art in London.

Burrill's work is characterised by its simplicity and clarity, often featuring motivational phrases like his iconic "Work Hard and Be Nice to People." He primarily employs traditional letterpress techniques, collaborating with Adams of Rye in East Sussex to produce his prints.

His art is held in prestigious collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York. Burrill has exhibited internationally, with shows at the Barbican Art Gallery, the Walker Art Center, and the Design Museum in London.

Beyond his print work, Burrill engages in various creative collaborations across disciplines such as music, architecture, and education. He has worked with clients like Apple, Google, Hermès, the British Council, and the London Underground.

Burrill lives and works on the Isle of Oxney in Kent, where he continues to create art that emphasises the power of simplicity and positive communication.

This two-day workshop is designed for beginners who want to develop their skills in stone carving.

You’ll have the option to carve a prepared ammonite or leaf design, try your hand at letter cutting, or work on your own small project - depending on the time and materials available.

Using traditional hand tools, you'll learn how to mark out, rough out, and finish a design in Bath stone. By the end of the course, you’ll have a beautifully finished piece to take home.

The workshop also covers where to source different stones and tools, how to sharpen chisels and key health and safety considerations when working with stone.

The Artist

Will Spankie studied Modern History at university before training as a sculptor at the Sir John Cass School of Art and Central St. Martin's College of Art. He was taught lettering by John Skelton and Mike Leman.

His work is often influenced by organic forms and the environment. He is interested in the geometric structures, patterns, symmetry and proportion to be found both in nature and the unfolding of numbers in space. He works mainly in stone and wood “because they are durable, lovely to carve and have their own innate beauty”. Will also carves house signs, commemorative plaques and memorials.

As well as working to commission and making work for exhibitions, Will teaches stone carving, sometimes in schools, pupil referral units and prisons. He also teaches letter cutting and is a Friend of The Edward Johnston Foundation, dedicated to maintaining the art of calligraphy and lettering.

Join textile artist Fiona Eastwood for a practical introduction to natural indigo and woad dyeing. Over the day, you’ll learn how to prepare and use a traditional dye vat to create beautiful blue tones on a range of fabrics and yarns.

We’ll start with a visit to the museum’s Dye Garden to see woad and Japanese indigo growing and learn how these plants are cultivated. You’ll prepare different fibres - including cotton, wool, silk, and linen - for dyeing, then create samples using various vats to compare the colours produced.

Indigo dyeing is a fascinating process to watch, as fabric changes colour when it’s lifted from the vat and exposed to air.

This workshop is suitable for beginners and those with some experience who want to learn more about dyeing with indigo in a relaxed and supportive setting.

Lunch and Materials Included.

About The Artist

Fiona is a weaver and dyer with a BA from Camberwell School of Art and a postgraduate teaching degree from the London Institute for Education. She helps manage the Dye Garden at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, finding deep reward in the process - from growing dye plants to dyeing yarns and using them in her textiles.

Passionate about the unique qualities of plants and the colours they yield, Fiona aims to help others reconnect with nature through foraging and growing dye plants for creative projects. She has led natural dyeing workshops for the National Trust, the Forest School Association, and local artists and schools. Recently, she collaborated with Omeima Mudawi-Rowlings MBE on Drawn to the Light as part of Double Weave: Bourne and Allen Modernist Textiles at the museum.

Get inspired by It Takes a Village and dive into Ditchling’s rich weaving heritage in this playful, hands-on workshop for young makers aged 11–16.

Led by artist and educator Sarah Pain, the day begins with a visit to the exhibition and a look at the museum’s historic textiles to spark ideas. Then it’s time to get creative - drawing on the natural world and your own imagination to produce vibrant, one-of-a-kind woven artworks.

You’ll learn the basics of weaving, including how to warp a loom, try out different techniques and make your own tassels. There’ll also be opportunities to experiment with off-loom weaving using natural and found materials - encouraging a free and expressive approach to textile making.

Perfect for curious minds and creative hands, this workshop is a chance to explore, invent, and take home skills to keep weaving beyond the day.

Please bring your own lunch.

About the Workshop Leader

Sarah Pain is an artist and youth engagement worker specialising in the arts and heritage sector. She has over 20 years' experience working in the youth arts sector, including for Ditchling Museum of Art + Crafts as a museum educator and for youth services across Sussex. She is passionate about creativity's benefits for wellbeing, confidence and engagement.

Join wood engraver Keith Pettit at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft for an inspiring two-day course exploring the art of wood engraving.

You’ll be guided through each stage of the process - from an introduction to the tools (or burins) and their beautifully varied mark-making potential, to developing your own design from a sketch or photo.

With Keith’s expert guidance, you’ll learn how to translate your image into a striking engraving and complete the workshop by printing your finished woodblock.

Tickets include lunch and all materials.

The Artist

Wood engraving is one of the few art forms that can be said to have originated in England. Over the course of the two days, Keith will share his 30-year passion for this uniquely expressive medium, tracing its history from its origins with Thomas Bewick in the late 1700s, through its industrial heyday, decline, and eventual revival - led in part by Eric Gill and the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic here in Ditchling.

You’ll also hear about the many extraordinary artists who’ve continued to evolve the form, keeping this intricate, powerful practice alive today.

“Keith is incredibly knowledgeable and so enthusiastic about his subject—his classes are relaxed and great fun.”

“Joined Keith’s class as an antidote to the New Year blues. Best thing ever. His skill 

and passion for his subject are infectious.”

“I’m completely hooked! Keith has a calm, patient approach and gives clear, thoughtful instruction. I can’t wait for the next course.”

Join artist and maker Clare Dales for a creative weekend exploring two beautiful, hands-on crafts. Across these two days, you’ll discover the meditative art of Japanese marbling (suminagashi) and learn traditional bookbinding techniques - leaving with a collection of handmade papers and books. Whether you're a curious beginner or a seasoned maker, this workshop offers a chance to slow down, experiment and create something new.

Saturday 4th October – Japanese Marbling (Suminagashi) Spend the day immersed in the ancient Japanese art of suminagashi, meaning “floating ink.” Using natural inks made from wood and vegetable ash, you’ll learn to drop, blow and swirl pigments across water to create delicate, fluid designs. Each piece is lifted onto paper, resulting in unique prints that can be used as artworks in their own right - or transformed into cards, collages or book covers.

Sunday 5th October – Bookbinding On Sunday, we turn to the craft of bookbinding. Clare will guide you step by step as you create two handmade books: a softback stitched notebook and a hardbound concertina book, perfect for filling with poems, sketches, photographs or mementos. You’re welcome to incorporate your hand-marbled papers - but everything you need will be provided on the day.

Tickets include lunch and all materials.

The Artist

Clare is a freelance designer and printmaker, a member of Lewes Printmakers, creating collaborative books and exhibitions. Clare has published several books, including Ponds Pools and Lidos, A Swim through Time, Eastbourne an Alphabet and Limited-Edition Artists Books, including Pier to Pier, The Egrets Way and Flow. Currently working on a Limited-Edition book on food and cooking, expected late 2023, Clare's work is sought by private Reserve Collections in the UK and abroad.

Clare’s background in architecture inspires pieces from the built and natural form, drawing parallels between the two, to design unique works. Clare loves to create repeat patterns, used in illustrative work, home furnishings and bookbinding. With a desire to evolve and create, Clare’s more recent additions are printed greenhouses, with drawn natural forms. Using dipping pens and coloured pencils allows lustre and individuality. Inspiration is everywhere. Learning to swim aged 40 resulted in the most recent book, Ponds Pools & Lidos, richly illustrated with lino prints. She is now working on a limited-edition book on food and dining.

Suitable for adults.

Discover the gentle rhythm of weaving in this hands-on day workshop inspired by the colours and textures of the South Downs. Led by our Museum Educators, this relaxed introduction is perfect for complete beginners or anyone looking to reconnect with making.

Using tabletop looms and a selection of naturally dyed yarns - coloured by our own garden team - you’ll learn the basics of weaving and begin to create your own small textile piece. We’ll start the day with a visit to our Dye Garden, where you’ll see some of the plants used to produce the hues you’ll be working with.

After lunch, we’ll spend the afternoon experimenting with different fibres, yarns and textures, allowing time to develop confidence on the loom. By the end of the day, you’ll leave with a finished woven sample.

Lunch and Materials Included.

Join us for an afternoon in the company of calligrapher Ewan Clayton and weaver Jenny KilBride, who will share memories of their time at the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic - the Catholic artist-craftsmen’s community that once shaped village life in Ditchling.

Ewan and Jenny both grew up within the Guild and were members from the 1970s until its closure in 1989. Their conversation will offer personal insight into life in this unique community, as well as its lasting influence on contemporary approaches to craft, community and religion.

Enjoy tea and cake as you listen to their stories - from shared childhoods to creative collaborations, and reflections on what the Guild's ideals might mean for today’s world.

About the speakers

Jenny KilBride is a weaver and Patron of Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft. A lifelong advocate for the arts, Jenny continues to champion the legacy of the Guild through her work and writing.

Ewan Clayton is a calligrapher, writer and educator. He runs a calligraphy studio in Brighton and holds a part-time post as Professor in Design at the University of Sunderland. He is a core faculty member of the Royal Drawing School in London.

Discover the craft of letterpress printing in this full-day workshop with Type Tom. You’ll learn the essentials of setting up printing presses, handling wood type, exploring different inking techniques and understanding the basics of design and composition.

Throughout the day, you’ll create your own unique Christmas cards, which you’ll be able to take home as finished prints.

Participants will enjoy special access to Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft’s remarkable collection of antique wood type and print on a vintage Farley proofing press - a rare opportunity to experience traditional letterpress in action.

Tickets include lunch and all materials.

About the Workshop Leader

Tom Boulton studied typographic design at the London College of Printing then became a self-taught letterpress printer.

With over fifteen years of experience as a designer and printer, Tom has been commissioned by the likes of Tate Modern, Fortnum and Mason, Southbank Centre and The Design Museum. He has been featured in publications such as Creative Review, The Telegraph and Country Living, and has won a D&AD award.

Our wildly popular Christmas wreath workshop returns! Get into the festive spirit and create something natural and unique for yourself or a loved one this Christmas.

In the morning, Artist Jo Coles will take you out on a beautiful walk around Ditchling to forage for foliage to make your wreath. Afterwards, you will head back to the museum for mince pies and hot mulled punch. Jo will then expertly guide you through the process of making a wreath to decorate your front door, using your foraged greenery and festive additions.

After lunch, you’ll have the chance to make a simple straw deer or a willow star - ideal as a decoration for your wreath or as a charming standalone piece. Finally, you’ll put the finishing touches on your wreath, ready to take home and enjoy.

Sessions make the perfect festive meet-up for friends and families, you can enjoy the hands-on support of our workshop leader. So, whether you’re a wreath-making novice or a seasoned expert, you can create something beautiful.

Our wreath workshops sell out every year, so book early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets include all materials and lunch.

The Workshop Leader

Jo Coles is a Brighton-based artist who works both on large-scale community arts projects and a studio practice of tiny, meticulously constructed scenes. For many years she has collected objects, both natural and man-made, before creating a series of miniature worlds.

Give your child the chance to enjoy a creative, hands-on afternoon making their very own winter lantern. Designed especially for children aged 6 and above, this workshop invites little makers to craft a lantern from scratch, decorating it with festive designs inspired by traditional winter solstice symbols.

This gentle, guided session encourages creativity and helps children connect with the seasonal spirit in a relaxed, supportive setting.

The workshop ends with a special lantern parade to the front of the museum, where children will see their creations come to life by candlelight. Afterward, everyone will be invited to enjoy a warming cup of hot chocolate.

All materials will be provided. Please bring a snack and a drink.

The Workshop

Discover the art and science of making inks from plants in this hands-on, experimental workshop with textile artist Fiona Eastwood. Using a selection of plants from the museum’s Dye Garden alongside locally foraged materials, you’ll learn how to prepare and extract vibrant natural inks.

Throughout the day, you’ll experiment with colour modifiers that transform and extend your ink palette, unlocking subtle variations and surprising hues. You’ll also explore different mark-making techniques - practicing drawing and painting with brushes and tools crafted from natural materials.

Whether you’re new to natural dyes or have some experience, this workshop offers a relaxed and supportive environment to deepen your understanding of botanical inks, build practical skills and create your own unique artworks.

All materials and Lunch are included.

About The Artist

Fiona is a weaver and dyer with a BA from Camberwell School of Art and a postgraduate teaching degree from the London Institute for Education. She helps manage the Dye Garden at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, finding deep reward in the process - from growing dye plants to dyeing yarns and using them in her textiles.

Passionate about the unique qualities of plants and the colours they yield, Fiona aims to help others reconnect with nature through foraging and growing dye plants for creative projects. She has led natural dyeing workshops for the National Trust, the Forest School Association, and local artists and schools. Recently, she collaborated with Omeima Mudawi-Rowlings MBE on Drawn to the Light as part of Double Weave: Bourne and Allen Modernist Textiles at the museum.