Join this year’s Kemp Award recipient, Sarah Hancock, for a unique plein air experience that invites you to slow down, look closely, and connect more deeply with the land.

Selected for her innovative use of natural dyes in textile sculpture and her land-based artistic practice, Sarah has dedicated her post-graduate career to exploring the world of mycology and natural pigments through dye residencies in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Iceland. Throughout her award year, Sarah is excited to engage the BMFA community through a series of land-based art workshops.

For this special Sketching the Forest foray, grab your sketchbook and follow Sarah into the woods as she searches for dye mushrooms. As the group walks, you’ll be encouraged to stop and sketch along the way—capturing the diverse colours, textures, shapes, and intricate details of the mushrooms you encounter. Slow down to make a quick study of a mushroom’s unique features, or sketch while Sarah shares stories about identification, mycorrhizal relationships, and the role these fascinating organisms play within the forest ecosystem.

This is a chance to let the landscape guide your sketchbook practice. Notice the unexpected colours emerging from the forest floor, study the textures of a mushroom up close, or pause to draw as Sarah examines a specimen for its potential as a natural dye. Through this process of walking, observing, sketching, and foraging, participants will experience the landscape as both subject and source of inspiration.

Whether you are an experienced plein air artist, an avid sketcher, or simply curious about mushrooms and the pigments hidden within the landscape, this two-hour artist-led foray offers a chance to see the woods through a new lens.

Dress & Tick Safety

As this workshop takes place outdoors and at times off established paths, please dress for the forest and changing weather conditions. For tick safety, long pants and long socks are strongly recommended, with participants encouraged to tuck pant legs into socks where practical. Please also come prepared with bug spray/insect repellent and consider wearing light-coloured clothing to make tickseasier to spot. Participants are encouraged to check themselves for ticks after the workshop.

Grab your sketchbook, pack a snack, and prepare to slow down, look closely, and explore the land with Sarah Hancock.