Surrey Art School

Pumpkins in Watercolour 🎃 Saturday 2nd November | 10:30 to 13:00 🍂

🚜 Every year our local farm shop grows the most incredible selection of decorative pumpkins and knobbly gourds and I can never resist swinging by to pick up a few for the studio!

I just love their vibrant colours and delightfully odd / wonky shapes as well as the autumnal cheer they bring to my workspace.

🎃 As a little (trick or) treat I'll give myself permission to play with painting a few. A reward for all the other non painting related things I have to do as a small biz owner.

So this year I thought I'd share the love and invite YOU along to the studio too, to do the same.

🫖 To cosy up at the studio with me on a Saturday morning to chat, sip gallons of tea and get messy with some nature-infused creativity.

✍️ We'll start with a bit of sketching where I'll show you how to capture their wonderfully wonky shapes
🍁 Then we'll get the paints out and add gradual layers of vibrant watercolours to bring them to life
🪄 And finally we'll sprinkle in a bit of wild magic - dropping crystal pigment powder over our experiments. ⚠️ Warning: the pigment powder goes off with a whizz pop bang! rather like a firework - its super messy but sooo much fun to play with!

Normally my workshops are just for adults but as this one lands during half term, I'm opening it up to teens 14+ too, as long as they are accompanied by you.

🧙🏼‍♀️ I can promise a fun, highly experimental workshop with tea, cake and a fair dose of cackles too I'm sure, as we let ourselves just have a bit of fun & play!

Does this sound like magic to you?

Well all you gotta do is pop over to my website to nab a space at the table:

https://www.surreyartschool.com/pumpkinworkshop

🎃

ARE YOU READY TO SIT WITH IT? 🕯🪶🍂

The message has been coming in loud and clear for me lately to stop rushing around seeking distraction from 'it'.

Not to run from it, not to dull it or aneasthetise it with crappy tv programmes, booze or multiple social engagements.

But to really sit with it.

Sit with the s**t of it. Really let myself feel whatever 'it' is. And in that presence, to notice how long I am truly able to hold on to 'it' before it softens, lessens, slips away.

We are so wrecklessly busy day-to-day, chasing the next dream or goal or payday.

Are we running towards something or are we simple distracting ourselves / running away?

How can we hear that gentle whisper, that subtle voice within, in amongst the cacophany of sounds and bright shiny imagery?

So this is my invitation to you today...

Hit the pause button for moment before you charge into this next season...

and I will be holding space for exactly this one week today:

CLEANSE & RELEASE RITUAL | Wednesday 25th September | 19:00 to 21:30 🍂

We invite you to an evening of witchy ritual and spiritual self care. We'll be calling in our ancestors, working with feather, rattle, smudge & smoke, to evoke a clearing in collaboration with you.

Nope, we won't be 'healing' you. We'll be guided by you, by your guides, to the place inside you that's feeling a bit stuck, heavy or sore.

You'll need to sit with us, with it, to access it for sure. It may take a breath or two for you to go inwards and explore..

But once you know, we know what 'it' is, we can also help you to LET IT GO.

So that's the invitation.

For you to join us, to sit with us, to sit with it. Til you can feel what exactly 'it' is.

And I know you may be busy right now, dizzy with the pull of the material world and all its dazzling distractions.

But I can also promise you that if you don't take a moment to sit with it, you'll have to carry it, like a heavy backpack, into the season ahead.

Lets take the time after summer to unpack 🧳

And if this is resonating with you please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below 🕯🪶🍂

Find out more: https://www.camillahamblin.com/event-details/cleanse-release-ritual-2

Turning over a new leaf this Autumn 🍂 - https://mailchi.mp/da399f4fe1c1/turning-over-a-new-leaf-this-autumn

A NEW CHAPTER FOR MY TEACHING 🌱🌻

Today I launched the first online tutorial on my brand new Patreon page folks. This will be the NEW HOME 🏠 for my online teaching and the next chapter of Sketchbook Club.

Coincidentally this week I began a new chapter of my teaching career too - returning to working with young people - part time, in a more intimate setting, teaching Art to teens with mental health issues.

Although I am no Art therapist, I can say that the way I teach, whether online or in person is therapeutic and is an excellent medicine to support mental health and well-being.

And it's funny because I've always said, since I started Surrey Art School, that I'd love my teaching to be available on the NHS. And now it sort of is with my new job.

So yes, back to this new chapter...

I haven't had a chance to tell you much about my new Patreon page because of the intensity of starting the new job and all the other various levels of chaos rocking through my world right now.

So this is me telling you now!

1. You can join my community and access all my tutorials and resources by subscribing to my new Patreon page.

2. Each Tier offers a few different benefits but ALL will give you access to my online classes as well as discounts on my Art Shop and any in person socials at the local village hall.

3. The first tutorial went live today and in this new beginning we will be starting a 'Perpetual Journal' which you can join in with at anytime!

4. I will also be sharing a 'core tutorial' each month under a loose umbrella / theme. For the Autumn the topic will be 'Mycology'. These tutorials will be released 'organically' during each month.

If you're interested in learning about Nature, through creativity - I would love you to join me on this new platform! You can find out more by clicking the link below and having a little look around my new page!

Any questions? Do pop me a comment below...

The start of a new journey - The Perpetual Journal | Surrey Art School Get more from Surrey Art School on Patreon

LET ME BE LIKE WATER ⛈️🌦🌈🌲

🐞 It's been one week now since my birthday which I celebrated this year by blessing my left, feminine side with some new markings.

🙏🏻 Thankyou deeply to Karen at for delicately adorning these fingers for me, they are healing beautifully!

So why these fingers, these marks, at this time in my life?

❤️‍🔥 A strong current of Masculine energy has burned bright in me for as long as I can remember. I was always nicknamed a tom boy, found friendships with women challenging and was more comfortable climbing trees or hanging out with the lads growing up.

💪 It's only recently I came to understand that this is not ALL l that I am, but only a PART of my identity borne from the need to be strong in life, to have my own back, to protect ME.

🐞 And only now am I learning the STRENGTH that lies in vulnerability. The courage is really takes to be in my feminine. The need for balance ⚖️ between these two vibrant and equally important energies.

🌲 So these markings evoke the spirit of trees to assist me in this journey into the feminine. Into a space I probably fear most - vulnerability.

🌳 Although these symbols look like runes, they are actually OGHAM - the celtic tree alphabet.

🖕 For my middle finger I chose OAK - which is actually a masculine energy. Oak brings a grandfather energy, solid protection, honour. The celtic word for Oak is actually Duir - or doorway. And so Oak is also seen as a portal to other worlds, other beings, magick.

💍 For my ring finger I'd say that ALDER pretty much chose me. Although I have always had a strong affinity for both of these trees. Alder loves water and is actually stronger in water that out of it. And so there we have strength again. Strength in vulnerability. Alder is ressurection after the spring equinox, its the tree of the faeries, keeper of secrets. Its a tree of protection, endurance, inner confidence, peace & healing.

Are you familiar with Ogham?

Which would you choose to support you through this chapter, this moment of your life?

🐌 SEPTEMBER IS HERE and it's high time we all SLOWED our roll and found our feet again, don't you?

🐞 As a late summer babe, sad as I am to wave goodbye to the wild freedom of summer, there's something about the feel of Autumn in the air that settles my soul.

🍂 Something about the shift in light, the muggy mornings and even the odd drizzly day that feels like a heavy comfort blanket, soothing and gently cradling me back to centre.

🍁 And this FEELING is one I love to weave into my teaching at this turn of the season, helping your souls to lean in, to snuggle up too.

🪶 So if you're still feeling a little wild & off-centre, I hope our selection of Autumn Events will help your soul to settle too.

Here's what we've got coming up for you:

🌙 Wednesday 11th September | The Creative Coven is back at the studio and we have a few spaces left if you'd like to join this unique womens circle this season.

🌿 Friday 13th September | Botanical Monoprinting with tea & sweet treats at The Salt Box🫖 just a handful of tickets left for forest based creativity!

🍂 Saturday 21st September | Earth to Birth Retreat with Body Phonics at - Early bird booking discount until Monday 9th September 2024.

🪶 Wednesday 25th September | Cleanse & Release ritual with Camilla J Hamblin at The Sussex Country Yurt

🍁 Saturday 28th September | Drawn to Nature - Autumn Inks at the stunning The Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden

🍄 Saturday 19th October | Majestic Mushroom Course at Surrey Wildlife Trust

And finally..

🦚 I'll be teaching Mandala drawing & painting at 's Autumn Retreat from the 11th to the 13th October 2024.

If you're interested in joining any, or hey why not ALL of these Autumn events, you can find out more below...

I hope you will join me this season in a celebration of all things mindful, nature inspired, self care infused and above all, SLOW...

https://www.surreyartschool.com/events

LADYBIRD LANDING 🐞

Well peeps today marks another rotation around the sun for me and I'm feeling ever so grateful for the journey.

My feet have barely touched the ground this summer 🕊my wild wings carrying me to so many homes 🏡 in the physical, spiritual and emotional planes.

The summer has flown by as I've spent heart healing ❤️‍🩹 times with soul friends, family and tribe who understand, resonate with and elevate my vibe.

🌈

And now it is finally time to LAND.

To find my feet again, to ground.

No more flitting here and there, nor rushing around.

🐾

Despite the challenges of this past year there is also so much for me to celebrate today...

Because I made it, I did it, I got through it and now I'm very much on my way!

And something new, scary, beautiful and so exciting is making its way to me.

AH life, what a wild game of hide & seek, of wait & see 🥸

Thankyou all for your company on the journey!

EARTH MY BODY ⛰️

🕊 Top of the morning to you my beautiful people from the Strong Rock in Ground ( Rochefort en Terre ) where I have been earthing for the past few days.

🪶 I'm in a process of purification, here, as I step it all down a gear and dig my toes deep into the soil of this, my 'other' Motherland in Brittany, France.

🌱 This past few days has been a haze of deep sleeps, hugs 🫂 reunions with dear old friends and very sacred time with my sister and mother.

❤️‍🩹 My heart needed this more than you can know after the last few months of change, endings and the ache of letting go.

👁 Here you'll see me at one of the highest points in this stunning medieval village - a spot we locals call 'Les Grees'. A soft, yet strong hillside where slate pierces the body of our Great Mother.

🐾 My intuition guided me here and my sister couldn't resist joining me for the climb. Scrambling up the steep jagged slope as we used to do as kids - knowing we'd be rewarded with this breathtaking view if the climb didn't steal all our oxygen first.

At the top I left offerings I'd collected along the way:

🌾 Lavender to represent my deepening connection with the plant queendom and the sweet medicine they offer me day to day.

🌳 And an acorn to represent the new beginnings in my life that are very much underway.

This is how I pray.

❤️‍🔥 My heart is so full, my soul already replenished from these few days away.

🐾 And the journey continues for me as I return to Surrey for just a few days on Tuesday before packing my bags once again and heading West to the Wiltshire / Dorset border.

Home to the Motherland.

I am coming home 🏡

Coming out of the broom closet Monday 🪄 🧹🌙

🧙🏼‍♀️ There's no going back now folks, this Hedgewitch is rising in her power prouder, bolder, untamed and unafraid to howl it from the hilltops!

🐾 The healing journey I've been on this past year has seen me deep in the cave on many occasions as I've called the missing pieces of me home.

🌿 Witch wounds have been gently darned & mended by the plant queendom, my body cleansed by multiple sweatlodges and soul made whole again by deep diving into Shamanic medicines.

🐍 Cycles are ending, a skin has been shed, the old ways are dead and in this death, a process of rebirth is well underway.

🌲 Intuition is now fine-tuned and I walk barefoot and blindfolded through the woods - all 'shoulds' abandoned I surrender deeply to the darkness and follow the nudges & whisperings forward.

🌊 With no need to push, overplan or force I am gently flowing with this great unknowing. Letting it all come to me with joyful curiosity.

❤️‍🔥 And deep in my heart I am oh so grateful that I live in a time when, in running my retreats and my newly founded Creative Coven - I am not hunted down by the villagers of Newdigate and dragged out to the village square to be heckled or dunked in the local pond to see if I drown.

🙏🏻 So lucky to finally live in a time where I can wear my witch crown with pride and be the healer I was destined to be, in service & devotion to my local community.

🕊 I am open, I am free, and my life is leading me.

😌 And so it is, blessed be.

This beautiful film created by Markus Dell popped up on my memories this morning and made me feel quite emotional to watch.

What a legacy this little school of creativity for well-being has created - how many of you I have had the honour to meet, drink tea and make with over the past 7 years.

How many talented local artists have shared their skills and their passion with the local community.

How much running this little school has changed me for the better, helped me to heal...

All the feels this morning as the winds of change blow yet again.

How thrilled I am to be working with young people again from September.

How many wonderful opportunities to be a 'guide on the side' for adults reconnecting to creativity are still waiting for me on the road ahead.

How many ideas I have right now bubbling inside me for workshops, the creative coven and healing retreats for you all.

This dream is far from over.

It's simply in a phase of ascension.

🦉

You can help to keep the dream growing here: https://ko-fi.com/surreyartschool

Welcome to Surrey Art School We are a contemporary seasonal Art School nestled in a small village near Dorking, Surrey enhancing well-being through creativity.A huge thank-you to the won...

NEW BEGINNINGS ○ NEW PERSPECTIVE ○ NEW JOB

Well my loves, July is upon us and a new chapter is also very much underway, I'm delighted to say.

I'm not going to lie, the waters were choppy in June.

Like the solid ground, the foundations I'd be laying for years, were shaking beneath me, cracks tearing through my landscape.

Cracks I'd be pasting over for years no longer held true.

Time to face that which has been bubbling under my surface for far too long and needed airing / sharing.

A much needed wake up call.

And wake up I did. As did those around me.

And in facing some of those deeper knowings, in owning them, airing them, sharing them, laying boundaries - I made space.

Space for grace to enter.

And into that space came a Swallow, with wings of deepest Indigo blue.

And with her she brought a gift, shiny & new.

'Something you thought you had lost, she said, something you thought had passed you by, is now making its way back to you.

And off she flew...

So I swallowed my pride, put past grievances aside and buckled up for the ride.

And on the other side I find myself with a new part time job that sets my heart ablaze and very importantly, will help me keep this beautiful dream of an Art school alive too!

I'll be working with teenagers with mental & emotional and developmental issues from September. Offering them my own very special blend of creative medicine. Teaching Art from the heart to build confidence, resilience and skill.

I am thrilled with the opportunity to work with young people again. When I left the system before it was leaving my students that most tore my heart apart...

But now I am being offered a fresh start, a new perspective and the chance to pour all that I have learned back into the lives of those who I feel need it most.

I am blessed.

And for now I'm still working on the rest..

But this is the best start to July I could have hoped for so today all I can say is THANKYOU 🙏🏻😌

Are the winds of change blowing for you right now too? I'd love to know how July is feeling for you...

July is a blind date with summer 🌻 - https://mailchi.mp/72e7af80c877/july-is-a-blind-date-with-summer

Big news, big changes, a breath of fresh air, a heavy weight off my shoulders and new beginnings on the horizon.

Calling all sun-seekers - create your own sunshine as you learn to paint stunning Sunflowers in full bloom this summer! 🌼🌻☀️

☀️As the sun is feeling a little shy, I've decided to take matters into my own hands and create a Watercolour workshop for you that will bring some light & colour to your lives, no matter what the skies above are offering up.

🌱This is my first official workshop at the studio since we closed our doors at the start of the pandemic and I can promise I'll have many more in store over the coming months.

It's all feeling like a bright & beautiful new beginning...

🌿What to expect: You’ll begin with learning some ‘drawing with the brush’ techniques - creating the shapes of beautiful radiant petals using simple brush strokes.

🌻We’ll then work with wet on wet watercolour techniques and some rather unusual tools to create the furry texture of our seeded suns.

🫖So why not join me this summer in the beautiful sanctuary that is the Surrey Art School studio. All materials are included as well as a selection of teas, local coffee and sweet treats. And of course a sun inspired playlist to help us find our flow.

Find out more via the Sunflowers in Watercolour Workshop event page or book your space via the link below...

Who's in?

https://www.surreyartschool.com/sunflowerworkshop

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust - Gertrude Jekyll.

I feel there are many parallels between Art teacher and Gardener. I being both, it puts me in a good position to comment I'd say.

🌱 Words like 'nurture' and 'tend' spring to mind. Being kind.

💪 Resilience too as it takes a lot of graft to see a project through.

👁 Observation skills essential - slowing down and noticing the subtle changes...Spotting signs of growth and offering support.

🕊 The pigments, the brush, the paper - all sweet gifts of Nature.

🌻 To be an Artist or teacher is a form of soul gardening I'd say - tending to the seeds of creativity with love & care.

🌾

Here I am tending to such seedlings, nurturing sprouts of joy one sunny Wednesday last summer...

Sitting on the lawn in one of the most awe-inspiring gardens I know - The Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden🌿

A place where Nature & Art overlap and entwine so beautifully that there is magic around every corner, a green haze in every back drop and birdsong rippling through the air.

Its a full sensory experience just 'being' there.

🌳

I'll be back teaching Drawing on the Lawn on Sunday 17th July - a lovely beginner-kind pen & wash workshop with home baked cakes & local coffee and tea served up in the shade of whispering trees.

I hope to make drawing & painting feel like a breeze.

I hope to be as great a teacher as the garden herself, as Art, as mother nature.

I hope some of you will bring a blanket or two and join me for a few hours of nature infused creativity.

Book here: https://www.hannahpescharsculpture.com/events/surreyartschool-drawing-on-the-lawn

🌱

And a wee memory of my own in much the same spirit 🕊

Plant pockets of resistance 🌱
Meadows of mutiny
Rewild
Rebel
Transform
Resist
Mow less
Grow more
🌿
No permits
Or approval needed
For sidewalks to be seeded
With wildflowers
And edibles
Spaces transformed
New homes created
For all living beings
🌷
If we wait for governments to act
To lead
We all know
It will be too late.
⏰
So it’s up to you
Up to me mate
To plant
To create pockets of resistance
Across the land
To take a stand
Against polluters
To raise meadows of mutiny
To grow
A new tomorrow.

Happy Friday my beauties. Here’s my little cat Miow miow sitting pretty in a puddle of daisies. This past few months we’ve let nature work her magic on our garden. We’ve let the edges soften, left space for things to grow.

We’ve put our lawn out to pasture. Resisted that urge we all have to tidy, to organise nature to suit our needs.

We’ve scattered wildflower seeds in every corner. Let little forget-me-nots creep out of concrete cracks. Let all sorts of little flowers bloom in spaces we would usually ask to tame. And over the past few days this little wild space has burst into life.

The sound of birds in the morning here is deafening. No need for alarms when these little babes burst into song.

We have two baby pigeons nesting right by our front door.

Wildflowers, buttercups, daisies and so many new plants I can’t even name yet have found a home here.

Nature is thriving because we’ve made space, made room for her to bloom.

This is the purest act of rebellion.

And the results are pure magic 🙏🏻😌

Happy Sunday beautiful souls 😌 just a gentle reminder that we have a few spaces available on our Dragonflies in Watercolour - Sunday Creative Sessions next Sunday in Capel.

Sessions are open to all existing Sketchbook Club members with an extra special discount but everyone and anyone (16+) is welcome to join us for a taste of my teaching, a cuppa & a biscuit!

I'd love to meet & make with you 🕊

Book your space at the table here: https://www.surreyartschool.com/events

😌 As I'm away for a few days recharging my batteries I'm reflecting on some of the wonderful journies I've had the priviledge to take over the past year. Things I've not had the chance to share on here.

So here is one of many - my Moon cow 🌙 or avatar cow as she was lovingly referred to by the tribe in 🦋

🌱 I noticed when I arrived in the community, back in November '23 that these sculptures really needed a bit of love & a lick of paint to revive them.

🦋 So before I left I rolled up my sleeves, scavenged whatever paint I could find in one of the sheds and set to work reviving this beautiful cow statue.

🐄 I began with simply painting her lower body white, her legs, her udders - a sense of purification for all that cows on this planet endure, cleansing those areas that give us so much, or we take so much from.

🕊 The rest of her body I painted blue - a peaceful colour that felt apt for this beautiful beast.

🪄 The rest came to me intuitively as I waved my magic brush without judgement.

🌙 A big bright full moon for her belly, patterns of nature & silhouettes of healing herbs for her front legs and the constellation of Orion on her back leg - a constellation that always feels like 'home' to me and was there beaming down at me when I left the UK and throughout my stay in Brazil.

🙏🏻 It was so lovely to reconnect to that 'flow state' as I painted her. No planning or prior preparation, just allowing whatever came to flow through me.

🐝 On day 2 of painting, the bees arrived. Making a nest in her right horn they flew in & out and buzzed gently around me as I wove these patterns & symbols on my 3D canvas.

🧙🏼‍♀️ It's been 6 months since I landed back from this unforgettable journey but the wisdom & self understanding I gained from that trip will stay will me for the rest of my life.

❤️‍🩹 And I know now, that in creating this piece of Art, I left a little piece of my heart there in Brazil too that will live on long after I departed.

And that, my friends, is pure magic 🌙

Mindfulness is about slowing down, being FULLY PRESENT in the moment and RECEIVING that moment. The exact same words apply to the process of making photographs. For me, to photograph is to be FULLY PRESENT in the moment. Because when I photograph nothing else enters my mind 🧠 📷 🌱🍄

🌱 A week or so ago I was invited down to The Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden to take a gentle Spring walk around the garden and receive some of the stunning new works on display.

🤳 With just my phone camera to hand, I took an amble through the maze of winding paths, pushing through fresh green foliage and fully immersing myself in this stunning natural space come outdoor gallery.

🐞 My inner child really came out to play that day. I allowed myself the lay on the soft mossy ground and look up at the pieces floating above me.

🍄 I crouched down low (like a 3 year old looks at a worm) and got lost in a land of mushroom like lips.

🌾 I literally got lost in a maze of bamboo, thinking I was heading out of the garden and ending up somewhere totally new.

💭 And in all that time, my mind emptied and simply received. All thoughts of deadlines, of work schedules floated away as I allowed myself to simply be there now, to explore, to play.

😌 Photography is such a simple and accessible way to access the works on display in the garden. And in my mind is a beautiful form of moving meditation too.

And any of what I'm saying here resonates with you, I'd like to invite you to come on a Mindful Photography walk with me.

My first workshop of the year, here, at is coming around really soon - Wednesday 5th June.

I'll be offering a guided walk around the garden with some technical tips to level up your iphoneography and some mindful tips on how to make your photography into a moving meditation.

Booking is via the link below & I'd love you to come & play!

https://www.hannahpescharsculpture.com/events/surreyartschool-photography

Cycle 1 : Snails | Insectarium 2024 🐌

🌱 So begins a new season of Sketchbook Club and we're embracing the slow energy of snails as we gently begin our adventures.

➡️ Swipe left to see my pages for the first cycle of the season which includes tips on getting started with the project, a spot of snail anatomy and some really interesting snail facts...

🐌 For example, did you know a Garden snail has some 14,000 teeth? And most snails have around 20,000? Well friends, you do now!

✍️ We begin the season with a return to some foundation drawing techniques - sketching snail shells - using the sketch as a working document to find our way towards the true shape.

☁️ Tonal scales (snails) are also on the menu during this cycle as we explore the tone and texture of the shell, but also the slithery body!

❤️‍🔥 I really hope this season will generate a deeper love in all our students hearts, for these (and many more) land invertebrates because I believe there is so much there to celebrate!

If you'd like to join us this season, its not too late to hop on board, all the info the link below🐌

Sign up here: https://www.surreyartschool.com/onlineartclasses