“i fell in love with the history and the art form”

News and current affairs from the world of boating

Leah Wood became a painter by way of opening for David Bowie and sashaying down the catwalks, but Nature now lights up her artistic imagination and underpins her efforts to campaign for the environment

From her remote Welsh workshop, Rosie Farey practises an ancient meditative craft – creating baskets, hats and handbags from hand-harvested rush

Using a painting to envisage a room–or record it for posterity–provides an exciting alternative to digital technology, says Arabella Youens

Past and present entwine at the Black Country Living Museum, where history is close enough to touch and stories of the past unfold

This month, celebrate the change in season with countryside-inspired homeware designs, learn the art of still-life oil painting and decorate with classic stripes