How do colours change when they sit side by side?
 How does a palette behave differently when translated from paint to thread?

In this hands-on workshop, textile artist Helena Powell invites participants to explore colour through both thread wraps and gouache paint, offering insight into how colour relationships are built, tested and refined within a textile design practice. Drawing on principles of colour theory, proportion and interaction, the session focuses on seeing colour rather than assuming it — questioning warmth, tone, balance and contrast. Participants will experiment with placing colours next to one another, discovering how subtle shifts can dramatically alter the overall feel of a palette. Helena will also share elements of her own working process, including how she develops colour ideas across digital, painted and textile-based studies. The workshop is structured to be accessible and exploratory, making it ideal for those new to textile design, while also offering valuable space for experienced textile artists and designers to slow down, revisit fundamentals and develop more intentional colour decisions within their practice. No previous textile experience is required — just curiosity and a willingness to experiment.

This special collaborative workshop brings together textile artists Helena Powell and Dorothy Ronaldson to explore landscape through woven and stitched responses using locally produced Sudbury silk. Participants will work with silk threads and fabrics to create a small landscape-inspired piece, combining Helena’s approach to colour, structure and weaving with Dorothy’s stitched, expressive mark-making. Through guided exercises, you’ll explore how colour, texture and rhythm can evoke place, memory and atmosphere. The workshop will move between structured exploration and intuitive making, offering insight into two distinct but complementary textile practices. All materials will be provided, and no prior experience is required. This is a rare opportunity to work with a loom and learn from two artists working side by side, and to engage directly with silk as both a material and a narrative thread rooted in Sudbury’s textile heritage.

A hands-on introduction to weaving through paper, colour and structure. This workshop explores the fundamentals of weaving using hand-painted and water coloured papers as an accessible and expressive material. Participants will be introduced to core weaving concepts and terminology — including warp and weft, plain weave and simple structural variations — while developing an understanding of how woven patterns are constructed.