Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops reviews

Chris Ebert reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"An incredible 3-day workshop with Lucy Churchill learning stone masonry and carving skills. I was a complete beginner with no creative skills at all and Lucy made this ancient art accessible and enjoyable. I met some of the loveliest and most interesting people at the workshop and we learned and laughed together. I would recommend this to beginners and creatives alike. Loved it."

Michael reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"This was a wonderful journey. Thanks to Lucy for her patient guidance and careful care. The whole process was perfect."

Michelle reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"Wonderful workshop, tutor and couple of days learning carving. She was very patient and was always on hand with encouragements. Lovely food & cake provided. I would highly recommend "

Nigel Baines reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"It's a rare opportunity to learn new skills from someone who has such mastery of their craft, the ability to teach and keep an ever watchful eye on their students' progress giving gentle encouragement and guidance along their journey to producing their first piece of carved stone, surpassing their expectations. Don't miss that opportunity, I'm so happy that I didn't. Book now. "

Sheila Gray reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"I have just had an amazing 3 days with Lucy on her sculpting course. Despite never having done this before, I came away with a piece that I was proud of. This was all thanks to a very good, patient and friendly teacher with a work space well equipped with the tools needed for the 3 days. You are invited into her home with refreshments on arrival which continue throughout the day, including very tasty lunches. If I have the opportunity I would not hesitate to attend another course. If you are thinking of doing the course I do not think that you will be disappointed."

Sue Tomlinson reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"Thank you Lucy for the most fantastic three days. It was such a joy to attend the three day workshop, small enough (3 participants) for lots of attention. Leaving with a carving I am very proud of and the knowledge to begin carving independently at home. Thank you for your company, your wonderful hospitality, our many and varied chats, laughter, your expert guidance and the confidence you had in us all. I very much hope I can return in the autumn!"

Helen reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"As a complete novice, this was the perfect introduction to stone carving. Small group (there were only 3 of us), and lots of support from Lucy, with freedom to choose what to carve over the 3 days and the opportunity to try out lots of tools and techniques. Also a special mention for the lunches and snacks provided!"

Laura reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"Such a wonderful course. Lucy allows you to follow your creative ideas whist providing clear expert teaching and guidance. My classmate and my sculptures could not be more different, but we both received exactly what we needed. With such a small group size you really do get bespoke attention. The food catering provided was also good, and perhaps most importantly we had hours of inspiring conversation while we worked. If in doubt just do it!"

Molly Newham reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"This course with Lucy was unbelievable. She welcomed us into her home and studio and was extremely friendly, supportive and warm. Her wealth of experience was evident and she managed to take me from complete beginner to able to carve my own sculpture. I would highly recommend this to anyone thinking of trying stone carving!"

Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops responded:

"Thanks Molly - it was a pleasure to have you here and get to know you! Your artwork is inspirational and I can't wait to come up to Scarborough to see all you are doing at your Mandy Apple arts centre. And to see where you will go with your stonecarving! "

Michael Parton reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"A fantastic course with a great tutor, plenty of time was given for us to complete our chosen piece and the instruction was brilliant, it was a well paced and fun course. "

Mark Alder reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"I attended Lucy's course after having to cancel a course elsewhere when Lockdown hit and I'm so glad I did as Lucy's hands on teaching style, easy going personality and outstanding talents made for an absolutely joyful experience. With only two students we pretty much had one-to-one tuition throughout the three days. We were lucky enough to work outdoors in the sunshine enjoying tea/lunch breaks in the garden with Lucy where we were able to learn more about each others backgrounds and generally have a good laugh as we bonded over tea, cake and stone! I would recommend Lucy's course to anyone who is looking to take that first or even second step in stone carving, she will guide you gently through all of the skills required to produce your first masterpiece in stone or hone your existing skills! All done with a smile, a cuppa and gentle prod in the right direction when needed. Big thank you to Lucy and my fellow student Mike for making the whole experience as hilarious as it was rewarding. Tools have been ordered and the work will continue - money and time very well spent. "

Paul and Sue Tacq reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"What a fabulous three days! A week later and we’re still smiling about it. Lucy brought us from raw beginners to feeling proud of our new skills and confident enough to continue stone carving on our own at home. She’s an amazing teacher - even with her highly developed carving and artistic skills she is still able to give novices all her attention and encourage them with care and understanding. And on top of that she opens her house to you and is such good company. Highly recommended."

Ros Melrose-Brown reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"Totally fabulous in every possible way. Do it."

Julie Flower reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"What a wondrous three days! Lucy's warmth, enthusiasm and depth of skills and experience make this a fantastic course for people of all levels of experience. She has an engaging and wonderfully supportive teaching style, encouraging immense creativity, curiosity and stretch...even for a complete beginner like me. Her respect for materials and range of experience make this a very fulfilling course. We were blessed with beautiful autumn weather and carved outside! The small group size made for a lovely atmosphere, great conversation and plenty of personal attention, as required. Spending three days at Lucy's studio is highly recommended!"

Keith Grant reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"Very enjoyable as well as instructional/informative. An excellent host, mentor and teacher, Lucy provided a superb environment to learn. I’m not a beginner but I developed a whole lot of new skills and particularly how to use the tools from the processes of laying out, roughing and and finer carving."

James Baily reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"Lucy is an excellent carver and teacher, passionate and talented. The three day course went at the perfect pace. With teaching and guidance adapted for each student. The location is perfect for relaxed steady focus. Enjoy your life, do this course."

Nicholas Palmer reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"I have attended Lucy's workshops on more than one occasion. If you wish to learn from a true master stone mason, Lucy is the perfect tutor, she has time to help you explore your ideas, initiate and learn the techniques required to complete them. It has been an extraordinary journey of discovery and who knew that I would take so much pleasure in revealing my creations that lie within a block of stone?? I would highly recommend her courses, you will be well looked after."

Martin Bourne reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"Returning for a third time, I found the weekend as inspiring and challenging as on my previous courses. Lucy provides encouragement and guidance, as well as thought provoking conversation and home baked cake (baked by a neighbour). I find the whole experience very therapeutic, especially as it is so different from the 'day job'. I am already thinking about what I might do on my 4th visit!"

Simon Aldridge reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"My much anticipated and twice COVID cancelled course finally happened. I had a wonderful 3 days in the sun carving my masterpiece under the ever watchful and always helpful eye of Lucy. It is immediately obvious how talented she is from the first few demonstrations she gives - brilliant knowledge and skills. She was aware I had done a little carving before so adapted her teaching to pinpoint exactly what I needed to know and conveyed the information in a really precise and hands-on fashion leaving no doubt what I was learning and why. Lucy is a great teacher, I felt no pressure and the days went very quickly carving, chatting and eating cake with Lucy and the other wonderful student Nick!! Lucy had worked very hard adhering to the recommended COVID precautions and we felt very safe. I have come away a much more knowledgeable and confident carver and hope to make a return visit to learn more in the near future. I would thoroughly recommend this course to everyone plus there is the added bonus of great food provided for us and the City of York to explore out of hours."

LUKE ABBOTT reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"From Luke Abbott and Sandy Frost Can't keep away from the Churchill stone carving weekends-we are addicted! This time we both made commissions for people guided by our mentor and master stone mason/carver. The results are fantastic now we can add the final touches at home on our own. Lucy is an outstanding artist/craftsperson as well as a deeply intuitive teacher meaning we never tire of her teachings and skills gifts. I wish I had known this as a younger adult as I would have had a completely different career.........."

Steve Page reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"I really enjoyed three delightful days of stone-carving with Lucy and one other student, in May 2021. From the start I felt welcomed and at ease, with all Covid related matters dealt with in a straightforward and sensitive way. I have some previous experience of stone carving and I really appreciated how Lucy acknowledged that and at the same time didn't make any assumptions about what I knew or could do. I liked going through basic steps of carving and the different tools and taking our time to choose stone suitable for the projects we both wanted to work on. Once started, Lucy was consistently on hand to guide, instruct, demonstrate and encourage. She was also generous in sharing stories from her experience as a stonemason and showing us some of her recent sculptures, placing them in their context. Alongside the time spent in the workshop I enjoyed the conversations, coffee, food and overall very relaxed atmosphere. The course has deepen my understanding of some of the technical aspects of carving and left me with thoughts and questions about the process of sculpting which I look forward to exploring further. I will undoubtedly be back!"

Bridie Durcan reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"Completed this 3 day stone carving course in May 2021. Lucy proved an excellent teacher, very patient with a complete novice like me, but also able to guide and assist the more experienced second student with their project. I came away with a great enthusiasm to build on the skills I acquired, using the techniques demonstrated by Lucy, which I then got to try out under excellent supervision, a light touch so you felt encouraged but supported. Would not hesitate to take this course again, once I have had a chance to practice my new skills, Lucy still has a wealth to knowledge to impart."

savva christofides reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"Omg . I'm a Lucy Churchill stonecarving addict . I would do these courses every month if I could ? I've recently returned from my second course which was of course PHENOMENAL ? Despite the covid restrictions Lucy kept it compliant but fun . As she was only able to have 2 people on the course there was plenty of room both indoors and outside to work comfortably whilst maintaining social distancing. Small numbers meant a superb one to one support was available st all times and I was overjoyed with my finished piece. Lucy is a brilliant host and feeds you well , even catering for my vegan needs without any concerns . If you want to learn how to carve stone, this is THE COURSE to go to ...,go on .. do it ..,you wont regret it ?"

Sandy Frost reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"We keep coming back to Lucy's courses, it's becoming an annual treat and development of our stone carving skills. This year we were under social distancing restrictions and lucky enough to be able to be working and eating outside in Lucy's gorgeous garden, under a gazebo at times when rain threatened, but it worked brilliantly well using masks when we needed to get our heads together a bit! We were still able to enjoy the social times of eating together outside, which makes the weekends so special. Lucy's passion and enthusiasm as an artist shines through and I find her and her work truly inspirational. She can combine this with really engaging with wherever her students are, however experienced and working alongside them. Thank you again for a great weekend. We will be back next year of course!"

Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops responded:

"Carving & lunches can take place INDOORS as well! I'm limiting student numbers to just 2 per class (or 3 if from the same social bubble) so there's more than enough space in my workshop and around my dining table for comfortable social distancing (and there's PPE on hand so inside group spaces are safely covered). Lucky students - this means more personal tuition than ever! It's always a pleasure to spend time with you, whatever the circumstances Sandy xxx More anon! :>)"

Peter Bryan reviewed: Lucy Churchill's Stone Carving Workshops

"This stone carving workshop with Lucy was absolutely superb, and far exceeded my expectations in so many ways. Lucy is a very talented and creative stone carver and artist, and was the perfect, mentor, teacher and host. This was the first workshop since the covid 19 lockdown. Lucy had all the social distancing measures and angles covered, from excellent pre course, and safety information, to gloves, masks and handwashing lotions. I was totally new to carving, and Lucy was very clear with her demonstrations, explanations and guidance. I was given help and direction with all my queries while carving, always with a great deal of patience and a smile. Lucy is a natural teacher. The setting was beautiful, the food and refreshments perfect. I came away feeling confident in my newly learned skills and I can't recommend this course enough. On top of all the above, Lucy was great fun, funny and lovely company. She made our whole experience feel special."