Clarity of Vision through Abstraction with Nuala Clarke
Workshop Details
This workshop meets you where you are in your practice. Nuala’s aim is to help each artist get clear on their own vision and find ways to carry it into the studio, using abstraction as the way in. Technique is there when you need it, but it isn’t the focus. The week is open to beginners and experienced artists alike, and to every discipline. It is especially useful for those in transition, those facing a creative block, anyone who would like to expand their horizons, or those who are truly passionate about abstraction.
In this workshop you will:
- Explore colour: the colour wheel, mixing, and how colours change each other.
- Learn from other artists: artists from across history, their motivations and processes, and what they reveal about how we work ourselves.
- Open up your senses: “six senses” exercises to become aware of the body in space and everything we perceive.
- Think beyond the studio: conversations about the art world and how you want to engage with it.
- Find your direction: leave with experiments, a notebook of processes, a sense of community and an inspired plan for what comes next.
You may finish a painting, drawing, print or piece of writing during the week, but the experiments and the clarity you take home are often the most valuable result.
The setting: The week offers the perfect balance of structured instruction and open exploration, with the buildings and the surrounding nature as part of the experience. You stay and work in a medieval stone guardhouse with its tower and 1,000-year-old spiral staircase, in the heart of Sauveterre-de-Béarn, a historic village above the Gave d’Oloron river. Expect fantastic skies, the sound of the river, and views across rolling hills to the Pyrenees.
Goals
- Gain clarity on your own vision as an artist.
- Use abstraction as a way to put that vision into practice in the studio.
- Deepen your understanding of colour and perception.
- Leave with a plan and the confidence to keep going.
Schedule
Details:
- Dates: Arrive September 20, leave September 27, 2027.
- Instruction: Five days of instruction with Nuala Clarke.
- Daily Routine: Each day opens with a group meeting at 11am, giving early risers time to work first and night owls time to get going. Each day has its own focus, followed by studio time.
- Excursion: with a visit to ancient caves and a group lunch arranged at a Michelin-starred restaurant.
- Studio Access: Two art studios available 24/7.
- Before or after (not part of the workshop): we encourage you to stay on and enjoy the region, and participants sometimes plan a trip together after the workshop. Favourites include Bilbao and its Guggenheim Museum, and San Sebastián, both in the Spanish Basque Country. See Explore the Area for more ideas.
Before you arrive: Nuala will ask you three questions. Have you been to BeArtz, or to one of her workshops, before? What are you working on? And what would you like to get from the week?
At BeArtz
- Lodging in a private room in a medieval stone guardhouse with its tower and 1,000-year-old stone spiral staircase.
- Meals are organised with local restaurant partners and enjoyed together as 3-course lunches and dinners 5 lunches and 5 dinners are included.
- Two 24/7 art studios.
Extra costs:
- Airfare, trains, or airport transfers.
- One lunch and one dinner on excursion days and free afternoon.
- Art materials (water-based media; a suggested list is sent on registration, with nothing compulsory).
- Travel Insurance. Cancel for any reason travel insurance is recommended.
Pricing
Cost: €3,550 per participant
Accommodation is provided by BeArtz. The workshop is led independently by Nuala Clarke
Payment Schedule:
- Deposit: 50% due at registration.
- Balance: Due by June 20 2027
- Installment plans: Available.
Payment Methods:
- Bank transfer: In any currency (no fees).
- Credit card / PayPal / Stripe: (Fees apply).
Cancellation & Insurance: IMPORTANT. Please take out travel insurance so that you can be refunded should anything stop the class from happening or if you can’t make it.
Meet Your Instructor: Nuala Clarke
Nuala Clarke is a Dublin-born visual artist and writer based in the west of Ireland. After graduating from the National College of Art and Design in 1993, she spent twenty years painting and exhibiting in New York City before establishing her studio in County Mayo, following a fellowship at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation. Recent residencies include an Arts and Health residency at Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre.
Her ongoing research explores the meeting point of abstract painting, natural philosophy and the necessity of art to health, particularly through the work of the alchemist Robert Boyle. It informed her book Irish Moss of a Dead Man’s Skull (2025, available from The Owl Circus), regular presentations at the Robert Boyle Summer School, and four commissioned paintings for the John Sterne Library at Trinity Medical School. She co-authored Radiating Outwards, Incrementally: A Manual (2024) with Crystal Gandrud.
Her work has been supported by the Arts Council, the Mayo Artist Bursary and the Fingal Artist Bursary. Recent exhibitions include Kwaidan, a print tour across Ireland and Japan, and the solo exhibition Skull Moss and the Diaphanous Body at the Ballina Fringe Festival (October 2026). Her work is held in major public and private collections, including the Office of Public Works (OPW) Ireland, and she is represented by Dolan/Maxwell (Philadelphia) and Claremorris Gallery (Mayo).
Teaching: Nuala began leading workshops in abstraction and creative expression for adults at the Open Center in New York in 2007. She leads an annual abstraction workshop at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation and a spring weekend at Artform Dunmore East, and for many years ran print workshops for children as Ballinglen’s Learning Curator.
Recent work
TO REGISTER: please contact Magdalena Groszek at info@be-artz.com
Cancellation insurance – where to find it: BeArtz does not arrange insurance. Because the deposit is non-refundable, we strongly recommend cancellation insurance, taken out in your own country soon after paying your deposit (many policies must be bought within 14–21 days). USA: “Cancel For Any Reason” (CFAR) cover, e.g. via Squaremouth or InsureMyTrip. UK: Trawick Safe Travels CFAR, or standard cancellation cover. Netherlands / Belgium: an annuleringsverzekering, or an “annuleren om welke reden dan ook” option. France: an assurance annulation toutes causes. Please check that the policy covers a course or workshop booking.
Assurance annulation – où la trouver : BeArtz ne propose pas d’assurance. L’acompte n’étant pas remboursable, nous vous recommandons vivement une assurance annulation, souscrite dans votre pays peu après le versement de l’acompte (beaucoup de contrats doivent être pris dans les 14 à 21 jours). États-Unis : garantie « Cancel For Any Reason » (CFAR), par ex. via Squaremouth ou InsureMyTrip. Royaume-Uni : Trawick Safe Travels CFAR, ou une assurance annulation classique. Pays-Bas / Belgique : une annuleringsverzekering, ou l’option « annuleren om welke reden dan ook ». France : une assurance annulation toutes causes. Vérifiez que le contrat couvre bien l’inscription à un stage.
Photos & video: During workshops and residencies we take photos and short videos of the studios, meals and outings, which may appear on our website, newsletter and social media. By registering, you agree to this. If you’d prefer not to appear, just let us know: we’ll make sure you can’t be recognised in anything we publish, and we’ll remove any image of you on request.
Photos et vidéos : Pendant les stages et résidences, nous prenons des photos et de courtes vidéos des ateliers, des repas et des sorties, susceptibles d’être publiées sur notre site, notre lettre d’information et nos réseaux sociaux. En vous inscrivant, vous acceptez cette utilisation. Si vous préférez ne pas apparaître, il suffit de nous le dire : vous ne serez pas reconnaissable sur nos publications, et nous retirerons toute image de vous sur simple demande.