WORKSHOP RETREAT: The Practice of Noticing: Developing a Field Guide & Nature Journal with Kay Betts — The Hambidge Center
Join a 4-day creative intensive workshop to develop a personalized field guide and nature journal using botanical illustration, drawing, writing, and contemporary documentation tools.
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Get matched →- Deadline
- deadline unknown, verify at source
- Entry fee
- $675
- Location
- Hambidge Center, 105 Hambidge Court, Rabun Gap, Georgia 30568
- Exhibition window
- Sep 24, 2026 → Sep 27, 2026
About
About the Workshop
Join an immersive 4-day creative intensive in Botanical Illustration for Field Guide Journals with Kay Betts. Participants will explore the nature journal as a deeply personal tool for observation, reflection, and connection to the natural world. Blending time in the field with studio practice, the workshop invites students to develop a journal that serves as both a record of experience and a unique creative expression.
What You'll Learn
Through guided exercises and demonstrations, participants will learn traditional observational and artistic techniques including drawing, note-taking, mapping, and descriptive writing. The workshop emphasizes slowing down, noticing detail, and translating observations into visual and written records. Participants will also incorporate contemporary tools such as smartphone photography and apps to expand documentation methods. Observations may include plant life, weather patterns, topography, and other natural elements.
Workshop Approach
This workshop embraces flexibility and individuality—there is no single template or 'right' way to keep a field journal. Participants will experiment with various approaches to building their journals, including charts and lists, hand-drawn graphs and maps, and layered entries combining text and image.
Key Dates & Times
- Dates: September 24-27, 2026
- Check-in: 1-5 PM on September 24; mandatory group orientation at 5 PM
- Departure: by 2 PM on September 27
Fees
- Workshop: $675 (covers workshop fees, materials, and meal plan)
- Overnight accommodations in Antinori Village: $450-$600 per night
- See hambidge.org/room-board for accommodation options
About Kay Betts
Kay is an artist, educator, and lifelong gardener whose work brings together studio practice, botanical study, and reflective observation. She has completed a year of training through BotanoLogos School of Herbal Studies and advanced coursework in botanical illustration at Cornell University. She encourages the use of journals as tools for inquiry, memory, and connection for both novice and experienced naturalists.
Location
Hambidge Center is located on a 600-acre campus in the North Georgia Mountains. The experience includes accommodations in the award-winning Antinori Village, crafted meals, expert instruction, and serene time in nature.
How to Register
Register at hambidge.org/workshops. For check-in deviations or questions, contact [email protected] in advance.
- Entry fee
- $675 (covers workshop fees, materials, and meal plan) + $450-$600 for overnight accommodations in Antinori Village
- Theme
- Participants develop personalized field guides and nature journals through botanical illustration, observational drawing, and reflective writing, combining traditional artistic techniques with contemporary documentation tools.
- Eligibility
- Open to all experience levels.
- Audience
- Open to all experience levels
- Contact
- [email protected]
Every listing links to the organizer's official page. Always confirm deadlines, fees, and entry rules there before you apply.