MYTHICAL CREATURES WITH THE PALE ROOK
Bellissima Art Studio, Port Orchard, WA
June 22-26, 2026
The Pale Rook offers Mythical Creatures only to Bellissima Art Escapes artists. We decided to offer this class in the Bellissima Art Studio in Port Orchard for those artists who are unable to join us on our foreign workshops. Join Johanna for what is a magical workshop next June.
See what others made in her class in Oaxaca below.
Johanna has developed the methods we'll be working with over the last eight years in her own practice and they've been honed especially for this workshop. You can adapted them to make whatever creature, combination of creatures, or mix of human and animal that you want to make.
The dolls/creatures can also use a collaged combination of fabrics, layered with symbolic embroidery, using as many or as few of the participants' collection of dyed fabrics and yarns as they wish. This means you can have a narrative element to your work, telling stories through symbolic use of color, pattern and form.
Each day, Johanna will demonstrate her techniques to develop these mythical creatures.
This Art Escape includes
Five days instruction by Johanna
Five lunches, one dinner
Some materials
The cost of this workshop is $1500. A $750 deposit is due upon registering. The balance of $750 is due February 12, 2026.
Materials provided
Florist wire
Wool fleece
Felting needles
A selection of sewing threads
Tailors chalk
A selection of embroidery threads
Pattern drafting paper
Unspun flax
Pliers
Wire cutters
Felting sponge
My beautiful cormorant made by Johanna
Materials to bring
Hand sewing needles ( mixed sizes)
Fabric scissors
A small pin cushion
Pins
A sketch book
A pencil
Colored pencils ( or any other color medium you'd like to work with when designing your project)
A pencil sharpener
A selection of fabrics and found objects/trimmings from your own collection (optional)
A range of interesting paper - size A4 or 8 1/2” x 11 “ - art paper or hand-made
Some trinkets or beads
Ruler
Apron
Bellissima Art Studio - Port Orchard, WA
We are so thrilled that Johanna Flanagan of the Pale Rook is teaching another Bellissima Art Escape. She is a Scottish textile artist, doll maker and costume designer, trained in fashion, constructed textiles and historical costumes. Doll making was her first love, and she has been making dolls for as long as she can remember. In the last fourteen years, Johanna has taught in art schools, museums and colleges throughout the UK and Europe, as well as writing and tutoring correspondence courses for the last two years.
Kathie Vezzani who hosts the workshop, also is an artist who paints, rusts and waxes. She organizes trips for other artists and in a former life was a caterer. She has over three decades of experience organizing trips for foodies and artists.
