Polly Bennett Artist

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Polly Bennett Artist

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Envrionmental artist, alchemist and pigment maker 🌿

24/09/2026

𝓛𝓪𝔂𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓛𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓷 𝓜𝓪𝓷𝓾𝓼𝓬𝓻𝓲𝓹𝓽, 2026

Watercolour paper, cord, cotton, thread, dye, pigment, gum arabic, oak gall ink

A hand-bound alchemical colour manuscript, wrapped in a cotton book sleeve dyed with weld and steeped in its own golden history. Within, the pigments of Layers of London are carefully recorded through handwritten recipes, observations and descriptions, accompanied by hand-painted illustrations. Part field guide, part apothecary record, the book traces the transformation of London’s materials and histories into colour. A compendium of pigments, processes and hidden hues gathered from the city’s landscape.

On show at Layers of London, a collaborative exhibition between General Assembly and POLBEN’s Pigment, at GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

19/09/2026

LONDON MINERAL & WASTE PIGMENT WORKSHOP WITH POLLY BENNETT
Date: 02/10/2026
Length: 2 hours
Time: 10:30 - 12:30
Address: GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Join environmental artist and pigment maker Polly Bennett I POLBEN’s Pigment in a pigment making workshop focusing on transforming minerals and waste materials, collected in London, into pigment and paint.

Polly will begin by explaining foraging basics and what to look for, and you will go on to learn the processes of levigation and calcination, and how to turn pigment into watercolour and gouache. Finally, you will use your paints to create a colour chart inspired by one of the colour charts Polly created for the Layers of London exhibition.

Head to www.generalassemblylondon.com for more details.

17/09/2026

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓒𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝓲𝓼𝓽’𝓼 𝓒𝓪𝓫𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓽, 2026

Wooden cabinet, glass vials, pigment, ceramic ink pot, oak gall ink, galls, bone, rust, gum arabic, ferrous sulphate, ceramic dishes

One of five cabinets created for Layers of London, a collaborative exhibition between General Assembly and POLBEN’s Pigment, at GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Each cabinet tells a story through the pigments and materials within it. The Calligraphist’s Cabinet imagines an alchemist’s workshop in historic London, bringing together oak galls, ferric sulphate, gum arabic, and bone pigment (carbon), the raw ingredients and materials used to create inks and pigments for recording knowledge.

At its heart is oak gall ink: an ancient writing material made from oak galls and iron salts, connecting the natural landscape with London’s long history of manuscripts, archives and written records.

A cabinet ready to be opened and used to write the next London story.

15/09/2026

I want to tell you about the church opposite.

Opposite GENERAL ASSEMBLY , and framed beautifully by their windows, is St George’s Church, Hanover Square.

My father, visiting the Layers of London PV, informed me that my grandparents were married at this very church. They’re amongst many famous names to marry here, including novelist George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), former US President Theodore Roosevelt, and aviator Amy Johnson.

I was very close with my grandma, Mimi. She passed in 2017. You’re always reminded of those no longer physically here when a moment in your life arises that you wish to share and celebrate. My grandma didn’t see me pass my driving test, start my career, or meet my partner but she was here on the opening night of Layers of London, one of the most poignant moments in my career.

This church tells many stories, from George Frideric Handel being a worshipper at the church for 35 years before his death, and William Kent’s Last Supper being hung above the altar, to a pupil of Grinling Gibbons’ workshop carving the naturalistic reredos that surrounds the painting.

It is such a poignant site that the work in the exhibition created by Sarah Pickstone 🍒 , titled GF Handel, responds to Handel’s time there.

A special place indeed.

12/09/2026

GOLD LEAF AND PIGMENT WORKSHOP WITH POLLY BENNETT AND SARAH DAVIS

Date: 20/09/2025
Length: 2.5 hours
Time: 1:30 - 4:00 with time at the end to view the exhibition in full.
Address: GENERAL ASSEMBLY

During this Artist led workshop you will be guided through the process of laying 23ct. gold leaf and paint making from organic, inorganic and synthesised pigments with experts in their respective fields, Polly Bennett I POLBEN’s Pigment and Sarah Davis . The workshop will focus on the techniques of illuminated miniatures which graced the pages of medieval manuscripts and were made with precious metals and hand ground pigments.

Using historic tools and techniques you will be guided through the process of creating your own illuminated miniature painting inspired by Polly Bennett’s pigments and the Layers of London exhibition.

Head to www.generalassemblylondon.com for more details.

10/09/2026

Feeling overwhelmed and so supported by all of you who attended the opening night of General Assembly & POLBEN’s Pigment’s exhibition Layers of London.

Thank you to the amazing team at GENERAL ASSEMBLY - Melanie, Lucie, Anna, Grace, Bea & Paulina - for bringing this project together.

A big round of applause to all the incredible artists who worked their magic with my pigments A L M A.B E R R O W Sinem Dişli Sarah Davis Raphaella Pester Alice/Alsie Bickerton Mairi Millar Monica McKenna Natascha Maksimovic Sarah Pickstone 🍒

The exhibition remains open until October 3rd, Wednesday - Friday 12-6pm & Saturday 12-5pm. You can catch me at the show all day Saturday (September 12th)!!

06/09/2026

Morning musings…

I am grateful for my studio, the space it gives me to create, and the view out into the garden.

I am grateful to my friends for sharing their lives with me.

I am over the moon at the projects I am working on!!

I am thankful to mum for helping me with my work when I am overwhelmed.

I am proud of myself for revisiting therapy.

I feel lucky to live with my parents again and spend genuine time with them as an older me.

I am so in love with my man and my life.

The pups are still the loves of my life.

Bless the rain !!

29/08/2026

Today is the day Charlotte Molesworth’s Art in a Topiary Garden opens, and I am thrilled to have helped Charlotte and Donald organise it this year. My pigments and inks will be there, alongside 14 other unreal makers and vendors, plus plants from Great Dixter!

📍 Balmoral Cottage, Benenden, Kent
📅 29, 30, 31 August
🕰️ 12-50pm
☕️ Refreshments available
🐶 Dogs welcome!

If you haven’t visited Balmoral Cottage before, the topiary is a sight to behold and not to be missed! We are very happy that the rain will be blessing the garden this weekend, so you should see it in its greenest glory 🌳

We have a new website too 🙌🏻 www.artinatopiarygarden.co.uk

Address

London

Website

http://www.pollybennett.com/, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wildernessart/waterlines

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