Art & Design
Top 7 Places In North (And East) London To Unleash Your Inner Artist
Fancy making something rather than just looking at it? North (and East) London has some wonderfully unexpected ways to get creative, from shaping molten glass and turning discarded objects into sculpture to experimenting with analogue photography and printing your own artwork. These seven places offer the chance to try specialist techniques, learn from practising makers and discover what happens when you step outside your usual creative comfort zone. No art degree, expensive equipment or pre-existing talent required — just curiosity and a willingness to have a go.
Working with molten glass is a world away from the usual creative workshop. At Glass London in Tottenham, beginners can work alongside an experienced glassblower, learning to gather, shape and blow glass at a real furnace. The full-day experience progresses through several techniques and allows participants to make three pieces of their own. Heat, timing and physical coordination all matter, so this is as much about learning a demanding craft as expressing an artistic idea. The studio runs shorter taster sessions too, making it possible to experience the process without committing to a full day. Your finished work needs to cool slowly, so collection is arranged for later.
What can you make from a pile of objects that someone else has thrown away? The Garden Studio runs workshops in surreal sculpture using found objects, as well as figure sculpture with wire and natural materials, collage and stone carving. It is an invitation to stop thinking of art as something that starts with a blank canvas and instead find possibilities in the materials around you. The found-object approach is particularly appealing because there is no single correct outcome: the challenge is to experiment with shape, texture and unlikely combinations until something unexpected emerges. Workshops are led by practising artists in a North London home studio, with options for different levels of experience.
Taxidermy is not an obvious route into artistic expression, which is precisely why it earns a place here. The School of Taxidermy in Crouch End teaches practical specimen preparation, combining close observation of anatomy with careful, highly specialised handwork. Its workshops use ethically sourced animals and introduce participants to a craft that sits at the intersection of natural history, sculpture and museum display. It is undoubtedly the most unusual experience on this list, and it will not be for everyone. But for people fascinated by wildlife, form and the ways humans represent the natural world, it offers a very different way to develop patience, precision and an eye for detail.
Screen printing turns an idea into an image that can be reproduced, layered and experimented with. At Print Club London in Hackney, beginner workshops guide participants through preparing a design and printing their own small edition by hand. The process combines graphic design with practical decisions about colour, composition and registration, and the results can be closer to gig posters, protest graphics or independent art prints than conventional craft projects. You do not need previous screen-printing experience to start. The studio also offers more advanced workshops for people who want to develop their technique, making this a place where a one-day experiment could become a serious creative pursuit.
A darkroom is a place where photography becomes a physical process rather than a sequence of edits on a screen. At Darkroom London in Kentish Town, workshops explore traditional black-and-white printing alongside more experimental techniques, including chemigrams, cyanotypes and Polaroid lifts. Some processes use light-sensitive paper and everyday objects; others transform photographic images into dreamlike, one-off prints. The results can be unpredictable, which is part of the attraction. You learn to work with materials, light and chemistry, making decisions that cannot always be undone with a tap. Workshops cater for different levels, including people who have never worked in a darkroom before.
A book can be an artwork in its own right. At the London Centre for Book Arts in East London, workshops introduce traditional and contemporary bookbinding, printing and the construction of handmade publications. Paper, folds, stitching, type and structure become creative materials, whether you want to make a beautifully bound object, produce a small-run zine or explore the possibilities of an artist’s book. The centre is an artist-run studio, so the focus is on learning how things are made rather than simply buying a finished product. It is a particularly good option for anyone drawn to illustration, typography, independent publishing or the tactile pleasures of making something carefully by hand.
Glass offers a different creative challenge when the emphasis shifts from blowing molten material to composing with colour and light. At Sharron McLeod Glass in North London, small-group workshops introduce stained-glass and fused-glass techniques. In stained glass, you select and cut coloured pieces, assemble a design and join the elements using copper foil and solder. In fused glass, pieces are arranged and then melted together in a kiln, producing a different range of textures and forms. Taster sessions provide an introduction without the commitment of a longer course, while more extensive classes allow skills to develop over time. It is a chance to learn a specialist process and leave with an object you have designed and made yourself.
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