Resin Art Course for Beginners in Somerset

A full-on, hands-on day of resin crafting at our Somerset workshop — designed for complete beginners and taught by Scott McMillan, who’s been working with resin and teaching crafts for over 20 years. By the end of the day you’ll have made and finished your own resin pieces from start to end: poured, cured, cut, polished and ready to take home.

This course is for anyone who wants to try resin properly, in a single day, with the tools and materials already laid on. Most students arrive having seen resin online and wanting to give it a go — no experience needed, no equipment to bring. It also makes a popular gift voucher: a creative day out with something tangible at the end of it.

The course runs at our indoor workshop in Evercreech, Somerset — between Shepton Mallet and Castle Cary, 20 minutes from Wells and Glastonbury, about 45 minutes from Bath.

What this course covers

A morning of pouring and an afternoon of finishing. You handle every stage yourself, with Scott alongside.

Session 1 — Morning: design and pour

In the first half of the day you’ll work through the fundamentals of resin from first principles:

Mould making
Mixing epoxy resin
Pouring resin and managing cure
Mould release
Adding colours, wood, dried flowers and small objects to a pour

You’ll create three resin pours of your own, each with a different technique:

A mould-cast piece — your choice from the moulds we have on the day
A live wood edge piece — pouring resin over a slice of wood to fix and decorate it
A light catcher in a shape you choose — a heart, a star, a dog paw — set with resin glass elements that catch and throw the sunlight

Session 2 — Afternoon: shape and finish

Once your pours are curing, you move on to the finishing skills using prepared resin blanks (so you’re not waiting around):

Cutting cured resin to shape
Gluing up
Flattening and sanding
Polishing
Finishing the surface
Adding jewellery fixings to turn pieces into pendants, earrings or ornaments

By the end of the day you’ll go home with one or two finished resin pieces plus the three pours from the morning to take home and use however you like.

Tools you’ll use

You’ll get hands-on with the tools Scott uses in the workshop — not just hand tools:

Power drills
Hand sanders
Jigsaw cutters
Speed sander
Band saws
Plus all the hand tools needed for working in resin

All tools, materials, resin and PPE are provided. Just bring lunch, old clothes you don’t mind getting messy, and sturdy shoes.

Who this course is for

Total beginners — no experience needed, all techniques taught from scratch
People who’ve tried resin at home and want to learn the proper finishing techniques (the bit most home-resin projects fall down on)
Gift voucher recipients — a single creative day with tangible outputs to take home
Couples and friends booking together — small groups of two to six, lots of room to work side by side

If you have a specific project in mind — a piece of jewellery for someone, a wood-and-resin slice for a wall, a particular shape for a light catcher — bring photos or sketches. Scott adapts the day around what students want to make.

Your Teacher

Scott McMillan

Scott — Creative Upcycler, Hands-On Maker & Inspiring Workshop Leader

Scott is a teacher and community worker with over 30 years’ experience, driven by a lifelong love of upcycling and turning the unwanted into the unforgettable. What started 8 years ago with friends urging him to share his creations has grown into Scott running lively, weekly workshops that are packed with ideas, energy, and real practical skill.

He teaches a wide range of creative and DIY subjects, including:
• Metalwork & reclaimed-timber projects
• Woodwork & resin techniques
• Shabby chic furniture
• Clock making
• Van-conversion skills.

Scott’s innovative use of recycled materials has caught wider attention too. He’s been featured in craft magazines, radio, and newspapers both for the courses he runs and for designing/ building community classrooms and peaceful “soul spaces” built almost entirely from reclaimed materials.

Full of enthusiasm, know-how, and encouragement, Scott helps people discover just how much they can create with their own hands — and he makes the journey exciting every step of the way.

FAQs

What's included

Unless specified we provide all the materials, tools, and guidance you’ll need—just bring your lunch, plenty of enthusiasm, and a willingness to try something new!

All necessary PPE is supplied, but we recommend wearing old clothes suitable for the activities you’ll be doing and appropriate foot wear

Free Tea, coffee, and water are available throughout the day, and there’s a fridge where you can store your packed lunch.

Course times and attendance info

Our full day workshop days opens at 9.15am and courses start at 9:30am and usually finish between 4:00pm and 4:30pm.

short sessions are as described in the specific course description

We’ll have short breaks in the morning and afternoon, with lunch happening sometime between 12:30pm and 2:00pm, depending on the natural pause point in whatever we’re working on.

🚨 Important: Please arrive on time. If you arrive late and have missed the safety briefing, or if arriving would cause a disruption to the session already in progress, we may have to turn you away.

Course Safety

Black Paw takes safety very seriously and we provide all necessary PPE, including gloves, dust masks, and eye protection. On some of our courses, PPE is compulsory; on others, it may be optional depending on the activity. While we do everything we can to create a safe environment, you are ultimately responsible for your own actions and any issues that may arise from them. You are expected to follow all safety instructions throughout the course. We reserve the right to ask anyone to leave if they do not follow the safety rules.

Before the course starts, you’ll be asked to sign a consent form confirming that you understand the safety guidelines and that you’re physically fit to take part.

If you have any medical or physical conditions that may affect your ability to take part in the workshop, it is your responsibility to inform us at time of booking your course. This gives us time to discuss any small adjustments and put suitable arrangements in place. Please note that if you only tell us on the day, we may not be able to provide the support or adaptations you need.

Under 18s

..Under 18s can take part if accompanied by a parent or guardian also on the course (one adult with each child), but only with prior agreement.

Photos and images

You’re welcome to take photos during the course, but please check with other students before including them in your pictures. Photos can be a great way to record techniques, ideas, and options—we encourage you to take them so you have a helpful reference when working at home later.

From time to time, Black Paw may also take photos during sessions to share on pages. If you prefer not to be photographed, just let us know at the start of the session and we’ll make sure your wishes are respected.

Cancellation Policy

Black Paw Course Booking Terms & Conditions

We want you to enjoy your course with us, so we’ve kept our booking terms simple and fair.

Booking

Your place on a course is confirmed once full payment has been received and space availability.

Cancellations by You

More than 4 weeks before your course: You will receive a full refund.
Less than 4 weeks before your course: Unfortunately, we cannot offer a refund as your place has been reserved and course materials may already have been purchased.

Changing Your Course Date

If you can’t attend, we’ll always do our best to help.

Up to 2 weeks before your course, we may be able to transfer your booking to another date at our discretion, provided we are able to fill your original place.
Requests made less than 2 weeks before the course will normally be treated as a cancellation and are not refundable or transferable.

Exceptional Circumstances

We understand that unexpected situations can arise. In genuine exceptional circumstances, Black Paw reserves the right to offer an alternative course date at our discretion, even if the above conditions cannot be met. This is not guaranteed and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If We Need to Cancel

Very occasionally we may need to cancel or rearrange a course due to illness, low booking numbers or circumstances beyond our control. If this happens, you can choose either:

A full refund, or
A transfer to another available course date.

Gift Vouchers Black Paw gift vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase and must be redeemed before their expiry date. Courses booked using a valid voucher may take place after the expiry date, provided the booking was made before the voucher expires.

Contact Us If you need to cancel or change your booking, please let us know as soon as possible. The earlier you contact us, the more likely we can help.

Reviews

Had a really great day on the resin course thank you. Very informative, with clear instructions and lots of opportunity to try things out. The delicious cake was a bonus… thank you!

- Viv

Resin Art Course for Beginners

Fantastic day making things with resin including a garden ornament. Scott was really knowledgeable. It was a lovely atmostphere, a productive day and lovely biscuits made by his wife too. Really, really good.

- Lydia

Resin Art Course for Beginners

Had a really lovely day on this course. Scott was able to answer all my queries on working with resin and I got a very good understanding on the practical side from the day. Scott’s wife Sue made us a really gorgeous chocolate cake to eat. Sue if you read this any chance of emailing me the recipe?

- Sara

Resin Art Course for Beginners

A practical and informative course in resin jewellery making. Scott shared his knowledge and experiences to make the workshop fun. Thanks also to Sue for the delicious chocolate cake!

- Sarah

Resin Art Course for Beginners

Myself and my husband attended the beginners resin course it was brilliant Scott was very informative we learnt loads. He made us feel at ease straight away would highly recommend thanks to his wife for the cake much appreciated

- Michael

Resin Art Course for Beginners

Resin Art Course for Beginners

What this course covers

Tools you’ll use

Who this course is for

Your Teacher

Scott McMillan

FAQs

Cancellation Policy

Black Paw Course Booking Terms & Conditions

We want you to enjoy your course with us, so we’ve kept our booking terms simple and fair.

Booking

Your place on a course is confirmed once full payment has been received and space availability.

Cancellations by You

More than 4 weeks before your course: You will receive a full refund.

Less than 4 weeks before your course: Unfortunately, we cannot offer a refund as your place has been reserved and course materials may already have been purchased.

Changing Your Course Date

If you can’t attend, we’ll always do our best to help.

Up to 2 weeks before your course, we may be able to transfer your booking to another date at our discretion, provided we are able to fill your original place.

Requests made less than 2 weeks before the course will normally be treated as a cancellation and are not refundable or transferable.

Exceptional Circumstances

We understand that unexpected situations can arise. In genuine exceptional circumstances, Black Paw reserves the right to offer an alternative course date at our discretion, even if the above conditions cannot be met. This is not guaranteed and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If We Need to Cancel

Very occasionally we may need to cancel or rearrange a course due to illness, low booking numbers or circumstances beyond our control. If this happens, you can choose either:

A full refund, or

A transfer to another available course date.

Gift Vouchers Black Paw gift vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase and must be redeemed before their expiry date. Courses booked using a valid voucher may take place after the expiry date, provided the booking was made before the voucher expires.

Contact Us If you need to cancel or change your booking, please let us know as soon as possible. The earlier you contact us, the more likely we can help.

Reviews