BabelArt workshops · Périgord vert, near Brantôme
Paint, shape clay… and speak French.
In an artist’s studio in the green Périgord, near Brantôme, you create a watercolour or a ceramic piece while chatting in French. Small group, all materials provided, tea on the table: the language comes naturally, because you need it.
No experience needed, in art or in French
4 to 8 people, from 12 years old
All materials included
Tea, coffee and a local treat
Two crafts, one studio
At Blue Bird Studio you choose your medium: the transparency of watercolour or the joy of clay. Both are taught in French or English, with no experience needed.
Watercolour
Sketchbooks, garden flowers, Périgord landscapes: you learn to observe, to lay down water and colour, and to keep the light of the paper. Ink and watercolour, in the studio or outdoors.
Ceramics
Hand-building, slabs, stoneware flowers, glazes and glass inclusions: you shape a one-of-a-kind piece, fired and glazed in the studio, to take home.
How a workshop works
1
Settle in
A cup of tea and a short chat about your goals and level, already in French.
2
Create while you talk
Ask for a colour, describe a shape, share a travel story. Depending on the weather, we paint indoors or outside.
3
Show your work
A mini exhibition at the end: everyone presents their piece… in French! You take it home.
Outdoor workshops
When the weather is fine, the workshop goes outside: sketching by the Dronne, a stroll through Brantôme, then a café break where the conversation simply carries on.
BabelArt workshops
Practise French if you are visiting or living in Dordogne (sessions in English also run for French speakers). Two crafts: watercolour and pottery.
Discovery workshop
2 hours · watercolour. The perfect way to try it, on holiday or as a neighbour.
€35 / person
Creative workshop
3 hours · watercolour or pottery. Pottery: firing and glazing €12 extra.
€50 / person
Weekend course
2 × 4 hours. A full project, from sketch to finished piece. Firing of one piece included. Early-bird price: €145.
€165 / person
Loyalty card
5 creative workshops, to come every week.
€150
A typical week, October to June
- Monday · 2–5 pm · Pottery in French
- Friday · 2–5 pm · Watercolour in English (for French speakers)
- Friday evening · English conversation (for French speakers)
- Saturday morning · Watercolour in French
In July and August, discovery workshops several times a week. [Times to confirm]
With Le Nid de Condat
Creative stays: the nest, with the studio next door
Stay at Le Nid de Condat, our stone cottage with a wood stove, garden and pool, and walk to the studio. Accommodation, cleaning, workshops, materials and shipping of your ceramic piece included. September to June.
BabelArt Weekend
2 nights · 2 × 4-hour course
€470 for two
€320 solo
BabelArt Escape
3 nights · 2 three-hour workshops
€460 for two
€340 solo
BabelArt Week
6 nights · 4 three-hour workshops
€795 for two
€595 solo
Where we are
In the heart of the Périgord vert
Blue Bird Studio and Le Nid de Condat are in Condat-sur-Trincou, just 4.5 km from Brantôme along a quiet country lane: the “Venice of Périgord”, with its abbey set against the cliff, its stone bridges and the clear waters of the Dronne.
Between sessions: canoeing on the Dronne, Bourdeilles castle, farmers’ markets and villages such as Saint-Jean-de-Côle, listed among the Most Beautiful Villages of France.
Your host, Nicolas
I have taught English and French as a foreign language for over 25 years, to students, retirees, companies and training centres, and spent years sharing watercolour and languages as a travelling coach. Today I paint and work with clay in my studio in Condat-sur-Trincou.
I created Blue Bird Studio because I have seen it a thousand times: people speak more freely when their hands are busy creating. Nobody gets graded here. We create, we talk, we share.
Nicolas’s work
Watercolours and sketchbooks
Ceramics
Guests who painted with Nicolas
Nico’s watercolour class was one of my favourite moments of our trip.
Erik, Minneapolis (USA)
Thank you Nick for sharing your talents with such patience and kindness!
Sara and Patrizia, Bologna (Italy)
I felt I could create something decent, even as a beginner.
Kate, Minneapolis (USA)
Get ready: free vocabulary sheets
Download our vocabulary sheets before you come, so you can talk about painting from the very first minute.
To practise French (bilingual sheets)
To practise English
- Watercolour vocabulary · 34 terms (PDF)
The colour wheel
Primaries, secondaries, complementary, analogous and triadic colours: the wheel shows how colours are born from one another and how they work together. Download the sheet (PDF, English and French).
Questions
I can’t draw. Is that a problem?
Not at all. Workshops are designed for beginners: art is a reason to talk, not an exam.
What level of French do I need?
All levels are welcome, from complete beginner to fluent. I adapt the conversation to each person.
What if I cancel?
Full refund up to 72 hours before the workshop. After that, you can move your place to another date.
What about my ceramic piece?
It needs to dry and be fired. I post it to you, or you collect it at the studio.
Is there a minimum age?
From 12 years old. Under-18s come with an adult.
Book your place
Choose your date, book your place and pay securely online.
[Weezevent booking module to be added here]
Blue Bird Studio · Nicolas Clarens · Condat-sur-Trincou, near Brantôme (Dordogne)
+33 6 64 69 27 12 · nicolasclarens@hotmail.co.uk
