Creative Inspiration Workshop: The Art of Medieval Illumination - Creating Celestial Images
- Date
- 12 Nov 2026 · 2:00PM - 4:30PM
- Price
- £55 (10 places)
- Venue
- The Goldsmiths’ Centre, London EC1M 5AD
- Programme type
- Workshops
Medieval manuscripts enthral with intricate golden details; their gold-leaf designs, skilfully applied by artisans, still look as bright today as they did hundreds of years ago. In this Creative Inspiration Workshop, you’ll create your own illuminated miniature artworks inspired by medieval celestial manuscripts with artist Sarah Davis.
Illumination is the art of applying gold to paper or vellum; the resulting artworks were highly prized in the Middle Ages and Renaissance and were carefully bound into manuscripts on life, death and the cosmos. The cosmos, full of shining stars and orbiting plants, inspired study and devotion among scientists, theologians and artists alike. With Sarah, you’ll explore medieval celestial source material as inspiration for your contemporary illuminated designs.
Making and engaging with manuscripts has a deep connection to the senses. After designing your artwork, you will use a medieval transfer technique to place the design onto paper. You will then learn how to handle, lay and polish 23.75-carat gold leaf on paper, adding colour and detail with earth pigments like yellow ochre, burnt sienna and red earth. You’ll leave with your own celestial artwork – gift it to a friend or treasure it yourself!
This workshop is suitable for beginners – no prior experience necessary – and people with some experience.
Image: The Art of Medieval Illumination © Sarah Davis, 2026
FAQs:
- All tools and materials will be provided, but do feel free to bring miniature brushes if you have them at home.
- A notebook for note-taking. An overview of the techniques learned on the course will be sent to you afterwards.
- Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting a little messy.
We are committed to making our training programmes and events as inclusive and accessible as possible. If you have any access requirements, please inform us as early as possible so we can make the necessary arrangements. While we will do our best to accommodate your needs, advance notice is essential to ensure we can provide appropriate support.
To discuss your requirements when booking tickets for our Goldsmiths’ Centre training programmes, please contact us at boxoffice@goldsmiths-centre.org
Who is the artist?
Sarah Davis is a multimedia artist using traditional approaches with a deep historical resonance, such as wood carving, miniature painting and illumination. Within her own practice, she uses these techniques to explore the cyclical nature of illness and the complex dynamics of our internal bodily processes. In 2012, Sarah graduated from Chelsea College of Art with a BA in Fine Art. She returned to education in 2015 to study woodcarving and gilding at the City & Guilds of London Art School, where she now teaches on the woodcarving BA. Since 2020, she has been practising the endangered art of illumination and now teaches widely on the subject.
Instagram @sarahdavisartist