top of page
Heal your relationship with art
Rediscover the curiosity and courage of childhood in a unique seven-week sketchbook journey that builds creative confidence and continuity, step by step.
If you tell yourself “I can’t draw"...
If your materials are ready but your confidence isn’t...
If you're stuck copying other artists rather than exploring your own ideas
If you love your art class but struggle to get started at home...
If you're an artist who has lost their spontaneity and spark...
If you have 'unfinished business' with art...
If your sketchbook sits blank-paged and waiting...
... this programme is for you
Hi, I'm Ali...
...and I've been teaching art to children and adults for over a decade.
The children who come to my classes are there because they love making art and because a parent has recognised and supported that passion. They don't question whether they are 'good enough' to be there.
Many adults arrive differently. They may describe themselves as beginners, yet they judge their own abilities far more harshly than they would ever judge a child’s.
Over time, I realised something important: the barriers adults face are nothing to do with ability. They often trace back to specific ruptures in childhood or adolescence: memories of criticism, comparison, or being told art was not a “real” subject or a “real” job.
That realisation led to a simple but powerful idea:
"What if, before pushing forward, we went BACK?"
"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when we grow up'
Pablo Picasso
WHAT TO EXPECT
SEVEN STAGES, SEVEN WEEKS, ONE SKETCHBOOK
All humans move through seven recognisable stages of art development. These stages trace a natural arc from early scribbles through to the formation of our unique artistic voice. Sometimes this process gets interrupted leaving a mark in adulthood.
Over seven weeks, we return to the beginning and move step by step through that sequence together.
You won’t be asked to draw like a child but you are invited, at times, to think like one - to remember what art was for before it became complicated. At other moments, you will step in as the adult and become a mentor to the child artist you once were, offering the encouragement and support that may have been missing at the time.
Along the way, we explore how great artists from history have drawn from these same developmental modes, and we experiment with borrowing from them too, in ways that clarify our natural artistic leanings and open up new creative possibilities.
You work in one sketchbook throughout the course. Each week, we explore the stages in a focused two-hour live session with guided drawing activities. Alongside this, you receive daily prompts by email and set aside up to half an hour for drawing and journalling. Over time, this builds into a steady, sustainable creative habit.
Stay in touch
Join the email list for news of upcoming course dates and Ali's occasional musings on art and creativity
bottom of page