Rigorous studio process guides every discipline at BArts Academy. We dig native clay, brew wattle bark dyes, and stitch rag paper on unbleached linen tapes.
Three studio rules
Select by discipline chapter
Gauge prerequisite levels
Prepare raw bench materials
Courses are arranged across eight traditional chapters, spanning pigment mulling, wheel throwing, papermaking, and textile dye chemistry.
Each entry marks required foundational hand skills, progressing deliberately from beginner mark-making to advanced atmospheric firing.
Workshops provide harvested mineral rocks, unrefined local clays, and binders, with clear notes on what hand tools to carry into studio.
Material-first studio tracks
Mineral Oil Painting
Grind Barberton hematite and yellow ochre into cold-pressed linseed oil on glass slabs before building layered glazes on hand-primed linen canvas.
Native Clay Pottery
Dig, sieve, and wedge wild Mpumalanga red earth. Shape functional earthenware vessels on kick-wheels and experiment with ash glaze chemistry.
Hand Papermaking & Binding
Form deckle-edged sheets from mulberry bark and cotton rag, then stitch flat-opening studio sketchbooks across unbleached linen tapes.
Consult the complete eight-chapter course syllabus or download material recipe manuals from the library.