Online Courses & Zoom Classes

“Mary does not ‘teach’ as such;  she introduces a painting (or an artist, or an idea) and then enters a process of mutual discovery as a co-explorer, always stimulating an attitude of ‘gazing’ and encouraging a heart response.   She fosters the development of  individuals having an openness of vision to perceive what is going on in themselves as well as what the basic intention of the artist might be. Mary’s classes are inspirational.   They have a spiritual dimension in the broadest sense, and encourage the participator to find their ‘inner eye’ to perceive not so much facts and figures about artists and art history, but how art can change us.   At the same time, Mary is very kind and attentive to all her students, and respects everyone’s contribution.   Her classes are wholly accessible both to folk who have in-depth experience of ‘art appreciation’ and those who have little.”

Veronica Bennetts

The Art of Seeing – £10 per household

Once a month, next session Thursday 11th February 2021, 7-8pm by Zoom

“If the doors of perception were cleansed,
everything would appear to man as it is,
infinite.”
William Blake

These online sessions on The Art of Seeing, run every month. You do not have to commit to any number of sessions and each session will take a slightly different, explorative approach with just one work of art.
We know how to read a book and get lost in the other world of the imagination, and we allow ourselves to be moved emotionally and viscerally by music, but have we lost our visionary capacity when it comes to looking at works of art?
Just one work of art will be the focus of our attention and discussion each month. By slowing down and taking time with each work of art, we are able to relax and un-wind, observe detail, character, emotion, gesture, atmosphere, nuances and subtleties presented through the image that are simply not possible from rushed or fleeting glances. When we spend longer than a few minutes looking, we are also able to engage more embodied responses which include imagination, visualisation, contemplation, meditation and reflection, all modalities of knowing and seeing that are just not attainable from a rational mode of looking. Space will be created for you to share what you see, perceive and feel as well as learning a little about the context of each work of art.
This class is  £10 per household. Email me directly to book at info@maryattwood.com or you can use the PayPal button below. 

 

THE WORLD IS SPEAKING TO US – HOW DO WE REPLY?

 

(Inspired by Joseph Milne – the world is always speaking to us, it is how we live that is our reply)

   

“The modern quest for security and certainty…has closed the door on the great mystery that actually shines everywhere, and which does not need to be mastered, but rather received as a gift of grace.” Dr Joseph Milne   

A six-week course:  February 10 – March 17 2021

 

Wednesdays, 10:00am – 12:00pm, via Zoom with Louise Livingstone and Mary Attwood  

In these unprecedented times which we are all experiencing, is it possible to discover deeper ways of engaging with the world? In this course, art, Nature and deep listening come together to offer us a reminder of something more, a different perception. How is the world speaking to us – and how do we reply?  

Over six weeks, join Mary Attwood and Louise Livingstone as they explore how expanded ways of seeing and knowing carry the potential to alter our way of perceiving and consequently engaging with the world. Through the Renaissance eye as window to the soul, Heart Sense©  and Goethean enquiry, Mary and Louise will explore the starved version of normality that many of us live in today in contemporary society; opening our eyes, hearts and minds to ancient ways of knowing that honour our intuitive senses, and our imaginal consciousness. This will be participatory and will include a combination of lectures, group discussions and practical exercises. In this course, we take seriously the image, experience and feelings, using them to lead us into more subtler realms of our reality. If you have a nagging sense that all is not well with the world and our current worldview, and do not know how to speak about what is arising for you, then this course is for you!  

You will engage in meditative and contemplative exercises including reflective writing and meaning- making through personal story and images of art and Nature.  

Week one: Noticing, Now (seeing, listening, feeling) part 1  

Week two: Noticing, Looking Back (seeing, listening, feeling) part 2   

Week three: Opening (creating space)  

Week four: Reclaiming (the push-pull, bringing something else into alignment)  

Week five: Acting (rebirth) 

Week six: Re-visioning (closing the spiral) 

Cost – £65 – 12 hours  

A note on recordings: The sessions will be recorded. For those who have paid for the live course and miss some lectures, the recordings will be available free of charge the week after the lecture. Email us to let us know you missed a session and we will send it to you.  

For those who are not able to attend any of the live lectures – a composite of the recordings will be available for purchase. 

Lives of the Great Artists – Six Week Course,

Mondays  10am- 1pm, 22nd Feb – 29th March 2021 – live online classes via Zoom 

This course will delve into the biographies of some of the world’s greatest artists; their lives, characters, inspirations and psyches from Giotto to Giorgione, Michelangelo to Monet, Botticelli to Brancusi. Discover the fascinating stories about their lives as well as some of the works they created.
Each week we look in-depth at the lives of just a few great artists as well as some of the works they created. At a time when we are becoming less engaged with each other, and in a world where the virtual is taking over from the real and experienced, exploring biographies of great artists helps to re-engage us with character, with personality, with individuality and with uniqueness – qualities which enhance our minds and lives. Spaces for this course is limited. Price – £117 for the course.

 

Book Now!
Art and consciousness

Women Artists & Patrons of the Renaissance 

Friday 29th January, 10am- 3.30pm – live class via Zoom

This one day session will present a fascinating insight into the Renaissance women who were artists – and patrons  – of the arts. From Isabella D’Este’s patronage of great artists from the Court of Mantua to the Caravaggio-inspired artist Artemisia Gentileschi, this session will bring into the light some of their brilliant work. Spaces for this session are limited. Price – £40.  

 

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Romanticism in Art

Friday 12th February 2021, 10am – 3.30pm

This session will look at the Romantic artists that arose from out of world of the Enlightenment and subsequent industrialisation. In a world changing faster than they could keep up with, where the machine and industrialisation was reducing the living world to something dead, these artists sought to address the growing imbalance they could see in the world by painting both its harsh realities as well as the inner and outer reaches of the mind and imagination. We will look at works by Theodore Gericault, William Blake, Casper David Friedrich and more.

This is open to anybody who has an interest in art, architecture and sculpture, whether modern or ancient. Absolutely no prior knowledge is necessary just an intrigue to learn.
Booking can only be made via this link.

 

The Art of Romanticism 

Friday 12th February 2021,  10am- 3.30pm live class via Zoom 

This session will look at the Romantic artists that arose from the world of the Enlightenment and subsequent industrialisation. In a world changing faster than they could keep up with, where the machine and industrialisation was reducing the living world to something dead and inanimate, these artists sought to address the growing imbalance they could see in the world by painting both its harsh realities as well as the inner and outer reaches of the mind and imagination. We will look at works by Theodore Gericault, William Blake, Casper David Friedrich and more. £40.

Book Now!

Caravaggio- Master of Light and Dark 

via Surrey Adult Learning, Friday 9th October 2020, 10am- 1pm – ZOOM class

This session will focus in detail on some of Caravaggio’s most famous works of art as well as those lesser known. These works are full of drama, movement and emotion, often concealing deeper meaning, and ask the viewer to be an engaged participant in the images he presents before us. We will discover his innovations, his inspirations and his life story which has made him one of the most famous artists in the world. To find out more and to book, see here.

 
This five week course will be a visual feast of great works of art but when it comes to looking at art, there is so much more than meets the eye. These sessions will introduce you to a few known ‘masterpieces’ and reveal some little known facts about them. From the efforts Leonardo Da Vinci employed to entertain his famous sitter, the mysterious figures in Van Gogh’s Parisian terrace to the skull at the base of Hans Holbein’s painting, you will discover aspects of works of art you may never have even considered. Spaces are limited. To find out more and to book, see here.

 

Leonardo Da Vinci – His Life and Work 

Two week course via Surrey Adult Learning, Wednesday 4th November and Wednesday 11th November 2020, 7- 9pm – ZOOM classes

Often heralded as the archetypal Renaissance man, Leonardo Da Vinci was truly one of the great polymaths of his time and arguably unrivalled since. Scientist, mathematician, inventor, painter, sculptor and writer, Leonardo had an insatiable yearning to discover what might lie behind the world of natural phenomena. Leonardo wrote, ‘all our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions” which is commonly misunderstood today as just referring to that which we can see. But during Renaissance Italy, when Leonardo lived and worked, the eye was considered the window to the soul.  This class will take a voyage through his life and beautiful works of art, from finished masterpieces, unfinished works, drawings and explorations of the human anatomy, which provide some insight into this fascinating figure from history. Spaces are limited for this. To find out more and to book, see here.

 

Reclaiming Beauty – Sculpture: from Myron to Michelangelo 

via Surrey Adult Education,  Friday 20th November 2020, 10am – 1pm – ZOOM class

To echo the words, ‘reclaiming beauty’ from Sir Roger Scruton, this course will focus on European Sculpture from Myron to Michelangelo, Rodin to Giacometti with an emphasis on the changing face and meaning of beauty.
From the ancient Greek sculptor Myron to Renaissance genius Michelangelo, from the revival of classical art through French sculptor Rodin, to the elongated figures created by Giacometti, sculpture has changed through millennia. This session will look in- depth at great sculpture with a specific focus on the sculptor’s intention of encapsulating beauty, what beauty meant to them, and how the meaning of beauty has changed over time. Spaces are limited. To find out more and to book, see here.