Edit March 2025 : This event is sold out. But please sign up to the waiting list (see in website HERE) as cancellations do happen!
Hi friends!
I couldn’t be more thrilled to share this trip with you! I realise I have mentioned it before but haven’t actually sent out a post completely dedicated to it with all the details. So here we are! Teaching in such an incredible setting is a dream come true for me and it brings me so much joy to offer this to The Time Foragers’ Club members.
Dates: 15-20 September 2025
Spaces are filling up fast and I would very much love to have a few participants from The Time Foragers’ Club. It would be so great to meet you in person and create art together in Italy. Please have a look at the website link with more pics and bookings. And do send me questions if you have any.
A Dreamy Venue
Our venue for this art retreat is an organic farm and guesthouse nestled in the peaceful Italian countryside, north of Rome. Enjoy delicious organic food, incredible vistas and tastefully designed accommodation. During our down times, take a swim and relax by the pool. With exclusive access to the organic farm grounds, make full use of the art studio space or take your sketchbook into the gardens and wander its olive groves. In the evenings, enjoy our carefully prepared dinners and past twilight, stargazing in this landscape is a magical experience.
The Outings
Immerse yourself in Italian history and culture. Together we will explore local sites on four separate trips: the medieval Abbey Abbazia di Farfa, the archeological site of a Roman villa located on an ancient olive grove, the medieval hill top village of Mompeo and finally, enchanting Roman river mills down in the valley, only minutes away from the guesthouse. Each location provides unique opportunities to enjoy the art of noticing and experimenting with on-the-go techniques.
The Workshops
Our workshop sessions are designed to nurture your self-expression and develop your confidence in creating travel sketchbooks. We will consider composition and layout, cohesive colour palettes, lettering, life and still life drawing, plein air landscape painting and local recipe illustration. This retreat offers an opportunity to experiment and play with different materials such as watercolour, gouache, pencils, crayons, pastels and even includes an introduction to Italian earth pigments.
By the end of the week, you will have filled up a sketchbook with very personal and meaningful memories through mixed-media artwork. This retreat is suitable for all levels.
A Dreamy Schedule
Here is a schedule of our time together…
Monday
- Pick up by taxi at the train station
- Settle into your room and discover the beautiful grounds
- Special welcome workshop with local ceramist Karla (make your own ceramic palette and water cup to take home)
- Welcome aperitivo
- Travel sketchbook introduction (complimentary Pith sketchbook for each participant)
- Welcome dinner
Tuesday
- Breakfast
- Trip to the ruins of a Roman villa site with surviving ancient olive grove
- Plein air sketching on site (with demo by Helen)
- Lunch at the guesthouse
- Session 1: Life Drawing workshop
- Session 2: Colour workshop and an Introduction to Earth Pigments
- Dinner
Wednesday
- Breakfast
- Trip to the historic abbey
- Plein air drawing on site (with demo by Helen)
- Picnic lunch enjoyed on site
- Session 3: Visual Journaling (Composition and Layout)
- Session 4: Illustrating Local Recipes
- Dinner
Thursday
- Breakfast
- Trip to the medieval village of Mompeo
- Plein air sketching on site (with demo by Helen)
- Lunch at the guesthouse
- Session 5: Visual Journaling (Colour and Layering)
- Session 6: Still Life drawing with organic fruit from the farm, Karla’s ceramics and organic linen
- Dinner
Friday
- Breakfast
- Walk down the valley to medieval river mills and enchanting woods
- Plein air sketching on site (with demo by Helen)
- Lunch at the guesthouse
- Session 7: Decorating Your Sketchbook Cover
- Session 8: Celebratory Review of our artwork
- Dinner
Saturday
- Goodbye Breakfast
- Receive your handmade ceramic palette and water cup from Karla
- Taxi back to train station
- Continue your travel sketchbook on the go (if there’s any space left!)
This program may have variations.
On Monday, we will have a Co-Drawing Zoom Meeting with guesthouse owner Elisabeth. This is your chance to ask questions regarding the trip or the workshops I’ve crafted to nurture your creativity. This event is now full and if you didn’t get a space, fear not, it will be recorded and posted in the replays. Do send me questions regardless.
Do let me know if you have any questions. We would love to see you there.
Talk soon. xx
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