Polly Bennett Artist

19/06/2026

A sneak peak at my installation for Hastings Craft Weekend - open now!

I love creating my mud ball / pigment installations, and just look at the reflection in ’s wooden coloured bowls behind. Chefs kiss 😘 Did I forget my mask, yes I did.

19 June Press Day 10am - 3pm
19 June Private View 6 - 8pm
20 - 21 June / 10:30am - 4pm

Join me today only as I demonstrate processing various pigments throughout the day! I will be elsewhere during the weekend, however my pigment installation and stand will still be on show for you to peruse.

Thank you to and for bringing together 35+ East Sussex craft and Heritage Craft makers for such a celebration!

16/06/2026

I have given my shop a little spruce up and you can now find all POLBEN’s Pigment creations directly on my website.

I will no longer be using my etsy shop, so everything is more streamlined and can be found in one place!

You will also notice my new bottles and packaging. I tested various shapes and sizes and chose to increase the pigment bottle size to 30ml, and keep the inks at 50ml. I’ve also introduced waxed cork tops to remove the plastic caps which I am phasing out, as they were the last plastic item in my packaging. I hope you like their new look!

Click the POLBEN’s Pigment link in my bio to have a look see!

30/05/2026

Join me on Saturday 6th June (4 - 6pm) for a Lakeside Bundle Dyeing & Hapa-zome Workshop at Crafted in Battle. 🌺

You’ll come away with a bundle dyed silk scarf and a hammer-dyed cotton sample that you can transform and sew at home or keep as a wall-hanging.

Book via website or DM me for the link ♥️

26/05/2026

Join me for a pigment & mark-making workshop looking at ochres foraged around the UK 🪨

Learn how to levigate earth, produce pigment, and test different binders to see how your paint is altered. You will leave with watercolour paints, pigment, experimental paintings and new environmentally-friendly skills.

Explore the endless colours iron oxide produces and honour our ancestors by painting works on paper with one of our oldest types of pigment.

Please bring 6 standard sized jam jars with lids, an apron, and preferred brushes and paper in all sizes. Everything else is included.

This workshop is held at artist Lucy Homer Jones’ studio while it is open for South East Open Studios (SEOS).

Book via the link in my bio 👆🏻

23/05/2026

I was delighted to be a part of ‘Colour Rituals: Unearthed’, curated by Anna Starmer () for London Craft Week.

In the mix were my pigments, rock samples and mud balls, produced from UK minerals, .beill.ceramics ceramics, made from foraged London and Isle of Wight materials, Anna’s natural dye samples, and beautiful array of textiles.

The installation explored colour through earth, pigment and cloth, bringing together works that each carried their own narrative of place, material and making.

Thank you Anna and de le Cuona for inviting me and my pigments to participate in your colour magic!

📷

20/05/2026

A couple of weeks ago I held my first workshop with Crafted in Battle… here’s what we got up to!

My next two workshops in the series are as follows:

June 6th - Lakeside Bundle Dyeing & Hapa-zome
July 30th - Ink & Oak Gall Workshop – Family Session

You can book through ‘s website 🌱

13/05/2026

You are all invited to ‘Restoration and Revival: Elevation of the Hand Crafted Surface’ at The Painters’ Hall in London for ’ participation in 2026✨

Our event will showcase the skills of company members across the whole spectrum of craft, decoration and restoration - pigment making, wood graining, marbling and trompe l’oeil, fine-art picture framing, gilding, chinoiserie, japanning, gilded botanical art, wallpaper and lincrusta restoration, stencilling, calligraphy, illumination, painting conservation, and painted cloth - the original, medieval technique of ‘staining’, from which the Company derives its name.

The programme includes demonstrations, talks, tours and a Panel Discussion on Saturday 16th at 2pm debating the art and challenge of conservation / restoration.

The Staircase Exhibition - a collection of my work - can also be seen during the event.

📅Thursday 14th May 2-5pm, Friday 15th & Saturday 16th May 10am-5pm
 
📍The Painters’ Hall, 9 Little Trinity Lane, London, EC4V 2AD

08/05/2026

“For this year’s edition of
present a programme exploring the craft of colour through earth, pigment and cloth.

On 11th May, Anna Starmer, Founder and Creative Director of will be onsite all day to curate an immersive installation:
‘Colour Rituals: Unearthed’ (11-15 May)

Drawing on themes from Luminary Issue 34, Alchemy; Anna brings textiles together with beautiful objects and vessels crafted from British Earth pigments. The hand-crafted spheres, pigments and rock samples by and the mudlarked Thames River clays from .beill.ceramics

Foraged from landscapes across Britain, these mineral hues are transformed into refined surfaces, inviting a deeper connection to material, place and process. Plus handcrafted natural clay tiles - sourced locally from the only handmade tile maker left in Sussex.

Set within the de Le Cuona Pimlico showroom, this temporary intervention invites visitors to engage with colour as a living material - to see it, touch it, and trace its journey from ground to surface. It reflects on ancient practices while offering a forward-looking perspective on how colour, craft and materiality will shape the future of high-end interiors.

Join us at the Pimlico Road showroom to experience colour beyond the surface.”

📍 de Le Cuona Showroom, 44 Pimlico Road
📅 Installation 11-15 May 2026

07/05/2026

04/05/2026

I have a set of three workshops coming up at Crafted in Battle!! You can sign up to one, two or all three via the links below, and enjoy the beautiful site and food of Crafted 🍃

May 8th - Pigment Making
https://staycrafted.app.yayem.co/experiences/69bed257eeb8f6d8815db75f

June 6th - Lakeside Bundle Dyeing & Hapa-zome
https://staycrafted.app.yayem.co/experiences/69c3d26054e7966980e1a7fe

July 30th - Ink & Oak Gall Workshop – Family Session
https://staycrafted.app.yayem.co/experiences/69d52d0a3fea67470622be67