Joanne Bowes
A Degree-educated textile artist with a passion for natural dyeing, contact printing, and exploring the tactile wonders of the world around me. My creative journey is fuelled by a deep love for nature’s forms, colours, and textures, which I weave into everything from handmade sketchbooks and scarves to nature-inspired stitched textiles and semi-abstract watercolour landscapes.
What is
Beyond The Workhouse?
Between 2017 and 2025, I had the privilege of owning and running The Workhouse, a not-for-profit retail art gallery and workshop space staffed entirely by volunteers. We supported artists and makers across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Buckinghamshire, and played an integral role in enhancing the local arts and heritage scene.
Beyond the Workhouse is my new project, which takes everything that worked so well with The Workhouse and expands on it. It’s all about:
Creative Workshops
Delivering an exciting programme of Artist-led creative workshops, in and around Dunstable
Community Projects
Continuing my Community Arts; Culture and Heritage work including my role as Co-Chair of the Dunstable Cultural Consortium
My Creative Works
Allowing me to focus on, and develop, my own creative practise as a Textile Artist working with natural dyes and pigments – in all their many forms
Workshops
Beyond The Workshop has a range of Workshops that you can get involved in.
At Beyond the Workhouse, we offer a wide variety of one-off, artist-led workshops in disciplines such as:
- Silver and Jewellery Making
- Painting and Printing
- Hand Stitch and Natural Dye
- Copper Foiled and Fused Glass
- Needle Felting and Collage
These workshops are held in Dunstable and surrounding areas.
You can browse and book upcoming workshops via our Eventbrite page.
We can also organise bespoke workshops for groups of 6 or more for special celebrations or just for fun, subject to availability of the Workshop Tutor
Please use our enquiry form to express an interest.
The Dunstable Heritage Textile Group is a friendly, welcoming local group that has been creating textile art inspired by local history since 2018. Recently we have developed pieces to mark the 40th anniversary of Dunstable Town Council and the 160th anniversary of our Royal Charter.
Their past projects include:
- Patterns of Dunstable 2024 – including vinyl wallpaper on electrical boxes in Ashton Square
- Dunstable Living Memories 2023
- Dunstable Priory 2022 – displayed in Priory House, Dunstable
- Priory House 2021 – displayed in Priory House, Dunstable
- Dunstable’s Heritage 2019 – displayed in the Drawing Room at Wardown House, Luton
The group meets every Thursday morning at Dunstable Library—pop in to chat with us about our current projects. New members are always welcome!
