Creative conversation workshops to inspire your ideas and writing this year.
Make new friends over free cups of coffee or tea (and biscuits) at the library.
The 1.5 hour sessions are 11.30-1.00 on Saturdays at the beautiful and fully accessible Newcastle Library in Staffordshire, ST5 1BL. Light refreshments are included in your ticket and available throughout the relaxed sessions.
Through supported imaginative conversation and factual and fiction writing we’ll explore how climate change affects people and nature.
You’ll leave the workshops uplifted, not only by new writing inspirations, but an understanding of the way others think about and imaginatively describe their world.
To book your place EMAIL Alison: artificialsilkorg@gmail.com
Saturdays 11.30-1.00 Newcastle Library, Castle House, Barracks Road, Newcastle, Staffs ST5 1BL
You can book in advance for exObjects workshops on:
27th June (Blossomed)
19th September (Mature)
3rd October (Ripened)
24th October (Mellow)
21st November (Wrapped / Rapt)
5th December (Read, Write & Be Merry)
Email Alison to enquire about spaces: artificialsilkorg@gmail.com
Your ticket includes tea, coffee and biscuits, which are available at any time during the workshop.
HOW TO BOOK YOUR PLACE
Email ALISON before the session: artificialsilkorg@gmail.com
Workshop cost: £15 per 1.5 hour session including light refreshments.
Details about how to pay for your place on a workshop will be emailed to you at the time of booking: artificialsilkorg@gmail.com
Book a block of 2 workshops for £10 each. Total cost: £20
2 FREE places available at each workshop for 18-25 year-olds.
Email Alison to request a free place: artificialsilkorg@gmail.com
Pay for your tickets by bank transfer before the session. If you don’t have a bank account, just bring cash on the day.
You need to book your place in advance of the session.
The number of workshop places is limited so that everyone has the chance to be heard.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP LEADER
Alison is a multiply published author of books for adults and children. After working as an editor and publisher, for the last 15 years she supported people’s creative development at Arts Council England.
WHAT HAPPENS AT AN exObjects WORKSHOP?
1) You bring an object loosely connected with the workshop theme.
2) Through conversation, factual and fiction writing we explore your object and writing inspirations.
3) You leave the workshop feeling uplifted, bursting with new writing ideas and things you want to share with others.
What mentored writers say about their involvement in exObjects
Mahboobeh Rajabi sent us her thoughts on receiving mentoring from A.T. Boyle at Artificial Silk, while preparing her short piece ‘Dancing Skirt’ for publication in the exObjects magazine:
“Being part of the exObjects project was a very unique and meaningful experience for me. Through the object of a skirt, I had the opportunity to reflect on memories of girlhood, identity, and my journey as a Persian woman growing up under dictatorship and later rebuilding life in the UK.
What made the project special was the way personal objects became connected to deeper stories of memory, movement, culture, and lived experience. It created a space where personal history could be shared with honesty, vulnerability, and humanity.”
Read Mahboobeh’s short piece called ‘Dancing Skirt’ by clicking on the link below:
ABOUT exOBJECTS
We run creative workshops and projects in locations including Staffordshire, Derbyshire and India.
“Each workshop is unique because it brings together people from different walks of life and different ages, who imaginatively respond to the personal objects brought to the table.”
Listen to the Stories Seldom Told podcast: a 30-minute interview by Smita Tharoor about exObjects with A.T. Boyle of Artificial Silk (launched 25th March 2026).
‘In this deeply reflective episode we sit down with A.T. Boyle, the mind behind exObjects, a project born from loss, memory, and the quiet stories hidden in everyday things.
From a preserved wedding cake dove to fragmented paintings shaped by grief, this conversation moves through the spaces we often avoid: loss, distance, and the things left unsaid. More importantly, it explores what comes after: creation, connection, and finding meaning in what remains.
We talk about:
– How grief can transform into art
– The idea of “things we don’t see” in the people we love
– Objects as carriers of memory, emotion, and untold stories
– Why making something, anything, can help us move forward.
This isn’t just about loss. It’s about what we choose to hold on to, and what we create from it.
If you’ve ever attached meaning to something small… this one’s for you.’
FIND OUT MORE
Discover what other writers have gained from our friendly workshops and individual creative support.
Many first-time writers from all over the world have been mentored by Alison to produce stories published in the Artificial Silk magazine:
We look forward to hearing your voice.
EMAIL ALISON to book your workshop place: artificialsilkorg@gmail.com
