Silk painting workshops in Paris and the Dordogne: one day or one week

Will you join us?

Silk artist René Shoemaker invites you to join her for a silk painting workshop. There are two options - a one day workshop in Paris, France, and another in the Dordogne region of France, a 6 day silk painting workshop held in a beautiful chàteau with very kind hosts.
•Ce cours est dispensé en anglais, mais je peux également vous accompagner en français.•

Questions?

Here is the October 14th class description, and of course you can contact me directly and I will answer your questions quickly.

​Introduction to silk painting with René Shoemaker​

René Shoemaker, an American artist based in France, will guide us as we create a painted design on silk to wear or display at home. In this introductory workshop, we will discuss design options, draw, then transfer our design onto the silk, while learning about color and ways to work with the dye. We will finish by learning how to set, or "fix," the dye once the artwork is completed, so you can take it home to complete the process once the silk has cured for 24 hours.

All levels are welcome, including those who have never created art nor painted on silk before. Questions and conversation are encouraged throughout the class: about technique, your artistic background, and your creative goals. While we will use the serti (white line) resist technique of silk painting, there will be room for experimentation using other styles.

Each participant will complete a 28 cm (11") silk square that can be worn as a scarf or displayed as artwork.

Prior to the workshop, think about something you might like to paint on silk: a flower, building, landscape, group of objects, or anything else that inspires you and bring your ideas or inspiration with you.

You don't need to consider yourself an artist to participate!

Ce cours est dispensé en anglais, mais je peux également vous accompagner en français.

Discover more of René Shoemaker's art at reneshoemaker.com​

Christina was delighted with her first experience of painting on silk

Also, in June of 2027, the silk painting workshop in the Dordogne will offer a more in-depth exploration of the world of silk painting. That program is open for registration at Manor & Maker Château website.

We had so much fun during our château workshop in 2024!

À bientôt,

-René

Silk painting retreat in France: Silk & Gourmet at Manor & Maker -

Now I Understand!

Château St-Germain-des-Prés in the morning light

Now I understand what the "Manor & Maker, Chateau Adventures in France" tagline is all about. Before I experienced the week of fun, food, and creativity at Château de Saint-Germain-des-Prés, I could only imagine what it would be like. Now I most certainly know.

I cannot express how much fun we had at the château this past week for our silk & gourmet retreat. Sel Hospitalité treated us with such care, serving us three times daily with delectable local foods; Sara & Stephen of Manor & Maker are the perfect hosts; and those creative souls Sherry, Ruthee, Brian, and Tom all created beautiful works of art. We traveled together to the local market for the day’s food and we went café hopping two days in a row. The château and the grounds are magnificent. Now we have our memories! What will next year's art retreat bring?

These two artists had fun no matter what they did or where they went!

​Before we talk about the art, let's talk about the food! Oh my goodness, remember how the retreat was called "SIlk & Gourmet"? Oof! The gourmet was in there—every moment of every day. NOT ONLY during the three luscious meals, but also for snacks, infused water breaks, afternoon treats, OMG.

I've never eaten so much wonderful food in such a short time. We were welcomed the first day with a champagne apéro, and the next morning's meal was fabulous. This whole newsletter could be filled with glowing praise for our on-site chefs, Megan & Valerie of Sel Hospitalité, but I'll try to tell you about the artwork we created, too.

We created color samples with the dye on silk. We each created our design templates, then transferred the drawing onto the silk. We stretched our silk to prepare it for the resist line and dye, then we mixed our colors, painted them onto the silk, and before we knew it we had a room full of beautiful silk paintings! Even Stephen, our host, joined us to created his very own koi silk painting.

***

Here is a sampling of photos from our delightful week of creativity:

But wait!! There's more! Just as I am writing this and trying to describe our work and our week "with words" (a term I used often while teaching silk painting techniques), Manor & Maker just released a video about our art retreat. It is the perfect representation of the fantastic time we had together. And I promise, we learned art, too.

Watch the video by clicking here .

Now the cat is out of the bag: the dance party was the highlight of the week!!!!

I hope you can join us next time,

-René