Adult workshop (age 16+)
Build The Future: Clay Model Making
11:30–15:30
Studios & Gardens, Hertfordshire
Build materials up and carve them down to create reclining figures that sit in the palm of your hand. Work through the processes Henry Moore would use, gain new inspiration, skills, and see the outcomes transform before your eyes…
Help build the future at Henry Moore Studios & Gardens! The models you make in this workshop will help designer-maker Charlotte Kidger produce small maquette-like handling objects, which will go on display and be ready for you to interact with in our new gallery, opening in April 2026.
The session is inspired by Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure sculptures, which you can see around our site. You’ll get insight into how they were created through the preparatory models Moore made for them, which are on display in our Maquette Studio.
Choose from a library of natural objects and tools to make your own models with. Charlotte will guide you through ways of stacking objects, modelling terracotta clay, carving it to make separate parts, and creating finished figures. You’ll have space to use your intuition, materials and tools to create your own miniature Moores.
Together we’ll create a collection of objects that sit within the palm of your hand, which Charlotte will work on developing for our gallery. This will include recreating them in durable wood, stone, plaster and other materials authentic to Moore’s processes and art practice, for the public to handle each day. Be a part of the process, while exploring material processes!
Schedule
11:15
We recommend arriving ahead of the session start for registration and direction to the workshop space
11:30–13:00
Gathering inspiration and starting to make models
13:00–14:00
Lunch break
14:00–15:30
Finalising your reclining figures
Practical information
Messy activity
We’ll be using materials like plaster and terracotta clay, so please dress in clothing you don’t mind getting a little messy.
We will also spend some time outdoors visiting a sculpture and an art studio.
Ages 16+
Due to the tools and materials used in this workshop, it is not suitable for younger visitors.
We have a similar workshop on 4 October designed for families with children.
Tickets
Tickets to this event are free, but booking is required as places are limited. You must also have an annual ticket in order to attend.
- If you already have an annual ticket, just come along on the day and bring your annual ticket with you.
- If you don’t have an annual ticket, you can buy one online at the same time as your event ticket or from the ticket desk when you arrive.
An annual ticket lets you return to Studios & Gardens as often as you like, during open season, for 12 calendar months.
Subsidised tickets
We are able to offer five free tickets for this event, to anyone who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend.
If you are able to pay for an annual ticket Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, please do not request a free ticket. Subsidised tickets include entry to the whole site for one day and cannot be exchanged for an annual ticket.
To request a free ticket to one of our events, please fill in the enquiry form below. Please let us know the date, title and time of the event you would like to attend and how many tickets you would like. Once we have received your message, someone will be in touch to confirm your booking.
About the artist
Charlotte Kidger
Charlotte Kidger (b.1992) is a London-based maker. She graduated from Leeds College of Art (BA, 2014) and Central Saint Martins (MA, 2018) and has a background in mould-making, casting and sculpture, with industrial by-products at its core.
She has a hands-on approach to investigating how these undervalued resources can be re-used to re-connect people with our material world. Combining often unconventional resources and processes, she aims to reframe material values through carefully-crafted artefacts and installations.
Her ongoing research into material extraction, by-products and craft processes means her ideas and concepts are continuously evolving. Charlotte hopes to bring new perspectives to audiences through sensory experiences and storytelling.
Encounters
16 April – 2 November 2025
This season at Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, we’re celebrating the inspiring and transformative encounters between Henry Moore and the people, objects and ideas in his orbit.
We’ll be holding a series of talks, open archives and film screenings, as well as a daily programme of free creative activities for families.
Find out more about this season’s events
Getting here
We’re located just 27 miles north of London in the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside.
Our 2025 visitor season runs from 16 April to 2 November. We’re open Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00–17:00.
Henry Moore Studios & Gardens
Perry Green
Hertfordshire
SG10 6EE
United Kingdom
T: 01279 843 333
E: visitorservices@henry-moore.org
