Family Drawing – creating decorated letters at Farnham Maltings

Drawing for parents/carers and young people aged 8-18

Family Ticket (1 Adult + 1 Child) £20
Valid for admission of one adult aged 18 or over and one child under 18 attending together.

Additional Child Ticket £9
Valid only in conjunction with a Family Ticket. Admits one additional person under the age of 18 accompanying the same family group.

Please note: every child must be accompanied by an adult.

There’s no better time than the summer holidays to discover a creative craft that helps you switch off from technology, slow down and enjoy the present moment.

Join us for a special family workshop inspired by the beautiful story of illuminated letters. For centuries, scribes and artists have transformed ordinary letters into extraordinary works of art, filling them with animals, faces, plants and imaginative designs. Now we use them to learn a simple drawing style which can help us slow down, relax and find inner calm.

In this fun 90-minute session, you’ll discover some of history’s most unusual and quirky decorated letters before creating your own illuminated initials to take home. You don’t need to be an experienced artist—just bring your curiosity and imagination. Artists of all abilities are warmly welcome.

The workshop is led by illustrator and heritage storyteller Kate Shrewsday. To see one of Kate’s workshops in action, click here.

Book your places now!

Family drawing for inner calm at The Friars, Aylesford

For parents/carers and young people aged 8-18

Please note: every child must be accompanied by an adult.

Family Ticket (1 Adult + 1 Child) £35
Valid for admission of one adult aged 18 or over and one child under 18 attending together.

Additional Adult/Child Ticket £12
Valid only in conjunction with a Family Ticket. Admits one additional person accompanying the same family group.

Parking on site, charge included in the cost of tickets.

There’s no better time than the summer holidays to discover a creative craft that helps you switch off from technology, slow down and enjoy the present moment.

Join us for a special family workshop inspired by the beautiful art of illuminated letters. For centuries, scribes and artists have transformed ordinary letters into extraordinary works of art, filling them with animals, faces, plants and imaginative designs.

The workshop is led by illustrator and heritage storyteller Kate Shrewsday. To see one of Kate’s workshops in action, click here.

Book your places now!

Lunchtime drawing for inner calm at The Friars, Aylesford

Suitable for anyone over 18.

Discover a creative craft that helps you switch off from technology, slow down and enjoy the present moment.

Join us for a special lunchtime workshop inspired by the beautiful art of illuminated letters. For centuries, scribes and artists transformed ordinary letters into extraordinary works of art, filling them with animals, faces, plants and imaginative designs.

In this fun 90-minute session, you’ll discover some of history’s most unusual and quirky decorated letters before creating your own illuminated initials to take home. Bring your lunch and munch while you sketch. You don’t need to be an experienced artist—just bring your curiosity and imagination. Feel free to bring along lunch. Artists of all abilities are warmly welcome.

The workshop is led by illustrator and heritage storyteller Kate Shrewsday. To see one of Kate’s workshops in action, click here.

Price: £25

Book your place now!

Five reasons people don’t want to leave at the end of our workshops

It has always been a source of delight to us at 3Hares that when our workshops close, people would far rather stay on and draw some more than go home.

This has been the case ever since our first workshop in April 2019, when eight guests joined us in a small parish hall in a Berkshire village to learn about the Flammarion engraving – a mysterious image which appeared in a book about the weather published more than a century ago. At the time it was published, the Flammarion engraving was thought to be mediaeval, but later research dates in as 19th century. The author of the book about the weather – L’Atmosphere – was world famous French astronomer Camille Flammarion. But the identity of the engraver remains a mystery to this day.

We’ve given lots of thought to why people prefer to stick around at the end of the workshops. Here are five reasons why:

1) the style is really, really simple.

Take a close look: most elements of the Flammarion engraving are really childlike. Wonky, almost. But it works. And that is one of our top values: your style can be childlike, but it is uniquely yours. You may be surprised and delighted by what emerges when you start having faith in the simple marks you make.

2)you get to work with what you feel is important.

The Flammarion engraving uses a rich language of simple symbols: a sun, a moon, stars, trees, buildings or flowers. Your work will focus on the symbols which mean someting to you. You’ll find they acquire a life of their own and your work speaks your own visual language.

3)it’s fun!

There is something incredibly enjoyable and frankly quite addictive about using the simple framework from Kate and her facilitators to pencil in a design which is uniquely yours, line by line, and finally inking in what you’ve created. When there’s no pressure and no deadlines its amazing how creative you become.

4)time takes a back seat

There are not many places in this world where, just for a short while, time and pressure are not present. We teach you a technique you can use daily to reset life and listen to yourself. We have useful tips on setting boundaries to make time for this absorbing new hobby.

5)You often surprise yourself.

Our techniques focus on giving you a framework and then stepping back so you can create. Your rules, your time, and a chance to listen to yourself. This can be a surprising activity!