Ali Mackie - Sketchbook Play - Taster Workshop

A Creative invitation with Ali Mackie, hosted in our light filled first floor studio.

2 hour workshop £70 per person

This standalone session is designed as an invitation into the world of contemporary still life and botanical drawing and design. Acting as the summer forerunner to the autumn workshop series, The Garden Archive, you'll be introduced to Ali's 3D Formula - Draw, Discover, Develop. Using a purely pencil-led toolkit, you'll learn to break through the fear of the blank page, translate flowers, plants and objects into personal compositions, and leave with a mindful summer sketchbook ritual that fits into any travel bag.

The Spark: Breaking Inhibitions & Designing the Spark

In this 2-hour experience, we bridge the gap between observation and design. Drawing from a collection of flowers, plants, still-life objects like patterned saucers, and studio treasures, you'll discover that close enough is good enough, focusing entirely on the movement and energy of a wobbly line rather than a rigid, perfect render.

• The Focus: Authentic material road-testing, loose searching lines, and Value Contrast Storytelling using a limited palette of graphite and duo-colour pencils.
• The Outcome: A mindful collection of reference drawings in a fresh sketchbook. Participants leave with a page of possibilities, two tonally contrasting hero blueprints for the summer, and a phone filter trick to instantly audit their design work.

Ali Mackie - Creator of Joyful Colour

Ali Mackie is a contemporary abstract artist and Royal College of Art alumna who brings vibrant colour and soulful storytelling into modern homes. Blending a master’s degree with a fifteen-year career in interior architecture, Ali uses her expert, curated eye to bridge the gap between high-end design and joyful creative play.

Her expressive mixed-media paintings, previously exhibited at the RA Summer Exhibition, celebrate the "everyday magic" found in cherished, familiar objects. Driven by an optimistic outlook, Ali’s signature style focuses on bold palettes and authentic, hand-drawn marks that champion unique identity, self-expression, and warmth.

Beyond her original works, Ali offers beautiful giclée prints and folk-inspired botanical stationery. She is also the founder of the BRIGHT Sketchbook Playdate—a popular online community and workshop series providing creative souls with the ultimate permission slip to play, connect, and thrive.

The Experience at The Folde

• Philosophy: This session establishes the sketchbook as a purely experimental, safe space. By cutting out public critique and prioritising private reflection, you're given absolute permission to play, fail, and build their own creative habit.
• Visual Story: The workshop table will echo the surrounding venue. You'll draw some of the physical props—the cups, saucers, and bowls—that appear in my In the Frame exhibition, currently on display at The Folde, creating an immediate, tangible link between a simple table setting and finished gallery art.

• The Bridge: This taster serves as the perfect creative seed. By touching on high-impact design techniques through simple pencil value contrasts, guests leave fulfilled and ready to translate their blueprints into the rich watercolour washes, collage, and paint techniques of the upcoming Autumn series, The Garden Archive: A Three-Part Botanical Masterclass.

£70 per person

ALL MATERIALS ARE INCLUDED ON THE DAY.

Your ticket includes tea or coffee and a slice of locally made cake.