The Table at Casa · Madeira

CASA Creative Workshops

Come over. Make something.

A few hours to get off your phone, use your hands, eat something good, and try an idea before you can talk yourself out of it.

See the Next Workshop
Small groups A new medium each month Lunch or nibbles included
This is probably for you

Especially if you say, “I’m not creative.”

I hear this all the time. People tell me they are not artistic before they have even sat down.

I do not believe creativity belongs only to people with studios, art degrees, or the confidence to call themselves artists. When we were children, we made things because we wanted to see what would happen. Then adulthood turned everything into a question of whether we were any good at it.

At CASA, I give you a place to start, show you what you need to know, and then let you take the idea wherever you want. You can follow the example, ignore it completely, start again, or make something nobody else at the table understands.

The question is not whether you are good at it. The question is whether you are willing to try.

Make the thing before you decide whether it is good.

A hands-on CASA creative workshop in Madeira
Something tangible

Your hands could use something to do.

Most of us spend an absurd amount of time staring at screens. We work on them, plan on them, shop on them, talk through them, and then somehow relax by scrolling through them.

I wanted to create a few hours where you could put the phone down and touch something real. Something to shape, tear, press, write on, paint over, glue together, or start again.

Clay Paint Paper Fabric Ink Food

Some things will be useful. Some will be strange. Some will be unexpectedly beautiful. All of them will be yours.

There will also be lunch or nibbles, because I do not really know how to invite people to my house without feeding them.

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What actually happens

The table is ready. You do not have to be.

You arrive and the materials are already spread out. Lunch is being finished or the nibbles are waiting. Someone says they have a brilliant idea. Someone else admits they have no idea what they are doing.

I explain what we are making and show you how to begin. After that, you can stay close to the example or wander completely away from it. Some people talk the whole time. Some get quiet and disappear into what they are doing. Both are welcome.

By the end, the table is covered in color, scraps, tools, half-empty glasses, and several completely different versions of the same original idea.

You may leave with something slightly crooked. You will probably still be proud of it.

Always changing

I am not interested in doing the same workshop forever.

One month might be clay. The next might be writing, printmaking, painting, papier-mâché, or an idea I have not had yet. The options are endless, which is exactly how I like it.

Writing Stories, memories, observation, and seeing where a sentence takes you.
Clay & Pottery Slow down, use your hands, and make peace with fingerprints.
Painting Color, texture, and no requirement to paint the same picture as everyone else.
Printmaking Ink, pressure, repetition, and the surprise of the reveal.
Papier-Mâché Paper, paste, strange shapes, and permission to make a mess.
The Idea I Have Not Had Yet Flowers, fabric, food, collage, sculpture, or something completely unexpected.
Why I keep making things

It gets me out of my own head.

I make things because it changes how I feel inside my own life. It pulls me away from the endless list of things I should be doing and gives me one real thing to pay attention to.

That is what I want these workshops to offer. Not another self-improvement project. Not networking. Not a serious class where everyone is worried about doing it correctly.

Just a table, some materials, good food, interesting people, and a few hours where the only job is to see what happens.

You do not need to become an artist. You might just need to make something.
What is included

You only need to bring yourself.

Everything on the table The materials and tools needed for that day’s project.
A way in Enough instruction to get started without telling you exactly what yours has to become.
Time and room A few unhurried hours to work, experiment, and change your mind.
Something to eat Lunch or nibbles, depending on the workshop.
People to make beside A small group of curious adults, including plenty who came alone.
Whatever you made Finished, unfinished, strange, beautiful, useful, or none of the above. It goes home with you.
Workshops are usually €65 to €100, depending on what we are making, the materials involved, the length of the workshop, and the food included.
One workshop at a time

Each one happens once.

I keep the groups small because everyone needs room to work, spread out, ask questions, share materials, and actually speak to the people sitting beside them.

I may come back to clay, writing, painting, or printmaking, but not on a fixed schedule and not with the exact same project. The people will be different. The food will be different. The things we make will be different.

If a workshop makes you think, “I would actually love to do that,” it is probably worth listening to that feeling.

There will be another workshop. It will not be this one.
See What Is Coming Next
Before you come over

The practical bits.

What if I am genuinely bad at art?

Then you will fit right in with the rest of us being beginners at something. You do not need experience, and the goal is not to impress anyone.

Are the materials included?

Yes. The core materials and tools for the project are included unless the individual workshop description specifically says otherwise.

Can I come alone?

Absolutely. Coming alone is completely normal. I will welcome you in and make sure you are not left standing beside the paint pretending to check your phone.

Is food included?

Yes. There will be lunch or nibbles depending on the workshop. The event description will tell you exactly what is included.

What should I wear?

Wear something comfortable that lets you move and make. Aprons may be provided for messier workshops, but please do not wear the one outfit that would make you afraid of paint, ink, or clay.

Where does this happen?

At my home in Madeira. Confirmed guests receive the full address and arrival information before the workshop.

What is the cancellation policy?

Places are limited and materials are purchased for the people booked. The cancellation and transfer policy will be clearly shown on each event page before you reserve.

The next table

Come over. Make something.

Badly, beautifully, experimentally, or all three.

I will put the materials on the table and food nearby. You can bring a friend, come alone, know exactly what you want to make, or have absolutely no idea. We will start from there.

View Upcoming Workshops

Small groups. A different medium each month. When the places are taken, the table is full.