Studio & Gallery Unit 17, Turner Dumbrell Workshops,
Dumbrells Court Road, Ditchling BN6 8GT
Open 11 – 5 every weekend in May and both bank holiday Mondays 4th and 25th
‘Celebrating Imperfection’ is the theme of the exhibition, multidisciplinary artist Laurence Moracchini, has curated in her hidden gem of a hayloft studio along with two talented local artists. Discover a variety of unique, stunning crafted pieces and mixed media paintings. The best place to start or finish your ‘Art in Ditchling’ trail – with free accessible parking.
Laurence Moracchini: Wood, mixed media paintings, sculptural forms
Laurence’s artistic journey, spanning across France, Mexico, and now the UK, has significantly influenced her work, allowing her to create pieces that reflect her profound connections with the natural world and the complexities of human emotions.
Laurence works mindfully and is motivated by experimentation and research on materials. She cherishes the slowness of creation to let nature do her work. By embracing imperfection and the beauty within decay, she breathes new life into reclaimed materials, particularly wood.
Her intuitive mixed media work blends organic and industrial elements, drawing from the rich textures of nature and the gritty remnants of urban decay.
With her unique approach to embracing imperfection and allowing materials to connect and collide, Laurence invites viewers to appreciate the layered stories of transformation, celebrating the beauty found in the broken and the impermanence.
https://www.laurence-moracchini.co.uk
https://www.instagram.com/lau_moracchini
https://www.instagram.com/ghjuanna66
laumoracchini@gmail.com
Susie Koren: Textiles
Susie’s tactile paintings draw inspiration from the muted palettes of northern coastal landscapes, their geology, shifting light and vast empty horizons. Her practice combines stitch, painting, and printmaking, layering colour and texture into narratives of place. Working with earth pigments bound in a biodegradable soya-milk medium she developed, her materials are rooted in the landscape itself.
Repetitive hand stitching becomes a meditation on nature’s rhythms. Stitches map marks on the land, wind, erosion and the slow shaping of the earth, forming undulations that mirror the ocean’s surface and reflect the interconnectedness of global tides, melting sea ice, and the beauty and fragility of coastlines. Solitary walking is central to her practice: experiencing the elements, gathering and recording observations. Her sketchbooks are an invaluable resource, informing and sustaining her studio work.
Sketchbook workshop: 2 days at her Sussex Studio £300
West Dean Collage Near Chichester – 17-19 July 2026 (residential)
The sketchbook workshop invites you to slow down, walk, and observe the rhythms of the landscape. Combine outdoor exploration with studio practice, experimenting with watercolour, earth pigments using a sustainable soya milk binder, play with mark-making and found materials. The workshop offers a nurturing space to develop a personal observational practice.
https://www.susiekoren.com
https://www.instagram.com/susiekoren/
susie@susiekoren.com
Phone: 07771 702385
Thea Thompson: Ceramicist
Inspired by the landscapes of the places I visit, my vessels reflect rugged geology; twisted by tectonics and eroded over time.
I primarily hand build my pieces and love to experiment with decoration techniques, slips and glazes.
I also own and run The Waldron Gallery and Studio in East Sussex — a creative space set in a unique and inspiring environment. We offer masterclasses and workshops led by exceptional artists, specialising in ceramics, painting, and a wide range of crafts.
Celebrating imperfection
This ceramic collection from Thea Thompson celebrates imperfection, embracing irregular edges and surfaces that are Inspired by geology, each piece feels like a fragment lifted from the earth, eroded, layered, and shaped over time rather than forced into perfection.
The surface decoration plays a central role in expressing this narrative. Slips are applied in uneven layers, sometimes scraped back or allowed to pool, creating strata-like textures. Oxides create deep crevices and emphasise variation, settling into marks and seams like mineral deposits. The glazes are chosen for their unpredictability, breaking, crawling and responding differently to heat and thickness. Together, these techniques create surfaces that feel weathered and , celebrating the beauty that emerges when control is loosened and materials are allowed to speak for themselves.
www.theathompsonceramics.co.uk
www.thewaldron.co.uk
www.instagram.com/thewaldronstudio/
www.instagram.com/theathompsonceramics/
info@thewaldron.co.uk
Info and Directions:
The best place to start/finish your “Art in Ditchling” trail with free parking next to the studio.
Free, accessible parking at the Turner Dumbrell workshops, Ditchling. BN6 8GT.