Lightbox Tuesday 12 August
Become a creature by making your own mask and play with shadows and colour in our black box space. Ask a friend to strike a pose and trace their portrait using camera obscura technology in Jonathan Polkest’s ‘Draw Me/Tedna Ve’ booth.
Lightbox Tuesday 5 August
Ask a friend to strike a pose and trace their portrait using camera obscura technology in Jonathan Polkest’s ‘Draw Me/Tedna Ve’ booth. Make wiggly compositions from seaweed and use the power of the sun to develop your very own cyanotypes.
Lightbox Tuesday 19 August
Build your very own zoetrope – an animation device which will make your drawings come to life! Create a lively undersea world using stop-motion animation to make your creatures swim, and use camera obscura technology in Jonathan Polkest’s ‘Draw Me/Tedna Ve’ booth.
CAST-Off Saturday 23 August
Learn how to make your own plantable paper with seeds embedded, create your own construction from wood, or polish serpentine into a shiny pendant. You can also have a go on our tiny printing press as well as building with clay.
CAST-Off Saturday 16 August
Listen carefully and sculpt the sounds you hear out of different coloured plasticine, or see what water-carrying structures you can make with tubes and pipes. There will also be an opportunity to try your hand at printmaking and build with clay.
CAST-Off Saturday 9 August
Use pipes and tubes to make a structure to carry water around the garden, and see what you can build from wood. Spend time painting and try your hand at printmaking using a portable press.
CAST-Off Saturday 2 August
Build your own extravagant flower crown to wear out of cardboard and use flotsam and jetsam to add to giant aquarium. Try your hand at stone carving and wood working, and spend time playing with clay and paint.
CAST-Off Saturday 26 July
Join our team of talented artists and learn how to make nature-print photo journals and create constructions from wood. You can also mix earth colours and botanical inks to paint with and make your own ‘monster’ self-portrait!
Lightbox
Three free days of family friendly activity will offer the chance to experiment with some of the scientific techniques that underpin the processes of photography and moving image.
CAST-Off Summer 2025
Our CAST-Off programme of free artist-led creative activities will return this summer, with sessions taking place on Saturdays from 26 July to 23 August in the walled garden at National Trust Penrose.
MAKE A BOAT THAT FLOATS
Use driftwood, feathers, twigs and leaves to make a boat that floats at CAST, then make the short walk down to the Cober River with your friends and family to make it sail.
Easter Nests
Join Lucy Grant and the CAST learning team to make a safe nest for your Easter eggs from wild materials. This free drop-in workshop is suitable for families and open to anyone of any age who would like to join in.
Saturday Art Club
CAST’s Saturday art sessions for eleven- to sixteen-year-olds are structured around engagement with a wide range of artists, many of whom have studios at or close links with CAST.
Helston Spring Thing
A wondrous weekend of free activities organised by Helston Place Shaping Board, which includes workshops at CAST on Saturday 22 March – Shadow Play Workshop and Make a Spring Thing.
Make a Spring Thing
Create a ‘Spring Thing’ of your choice from clay, with ceramicists Finn Leaman and Rosa-Lily James.
Shadow Play Workshop
Join Lucy Grant and the CAST learning team in our ground floor studio for a drop-in shadow play workshop.
Concertina Story Books
Join the CAST learning team to paint or draw a concertina story book.
Saturday Art Club
CAST’s Saturday art sessions for eleven- to sixteen-year-olds are structured around engagement with a wide range of artists, many of whom have studios at or close links with CAST.
Saturday Art Club
CAST’s Saturday art sessions for eleven- to sixteen-year-olds are structured around engagement with a wide range of artists, many of whom have studios at or close links with CAST.
Christmas Print Workshop
Join Lucy Grant and the CAST learning team to print home-made cards, tags and wrap in time for Christmas.
Portrait Pots
Ceramicists Finn Cameron and Vicky Wiltshire will be on hand to help you fashion your own small object and animate it with facial expression.
Decorate a Beaker
Sarah Fassnidge and Bridie Maddocks who run Clay Trap, the independent ceramic studio, will lead a workshop
Neolithic Pottery with Hannah Lawrence
A small focused group session led by expert pinch potter Hannah Lawrence, who will guide you through the process of pinching a simple vessel and creating distinctive decorative patterns
Tri-Chromatic Print
Use paper stencils and three colours of ink to build up your own layered and overlapping monoprint, creating a vibrant and surprising multitude of colours.