We’re still buzzing after a wonderful creative retreat in Florence; the second one we’ve run, and certainly not the last one!
If there’s one phrase we’d use to sum up our 2026 Visual Storytelling Creative Retreat in Florence, it’d be “trust yourself“.
Day 1: Getting to know each other and our own creative goals
There’s something eternally magical about the way the birthplace of the Renaissance awakens your imagination.
Day 1 always starts with an individual ‘treasure hunt‘, where everyone takes the time to soak up inspiration from wandering the streets of Florence. There’s so much to take in, from the architecture, open spaces and art, to the urban fabric of signs, lettering and street art, to the schacciata and gelati…
The first task is to create a Goals Poster, that draws on these inputs, and expresses what each person wants to get out of the retreat.
We did a formal ‘kick off’ for the retreat at the rooftop bar of The Social Hub, Lavagnini, where everyone got to share their Goals Poster and get to know each other better.
Day 2: Drawing – and seeing – in 4 different ways
Day 2 is always the BIG day… a mix of walking, dining, and a TON of drawing. It started off with a brief tutorial on simple figure drawing, to help everyone break up a complex object (such as a figure) into composite parts with their mind, eyes and hands. This always helps us to tackle subjects that at first seem too daunting, and is great prep for what was to come: drawing statues and scenes in the Galleria dell’Accademia.
Some participants chose to draw all or parts of the legendary statue of David by Michelangelo Buonarotti, while others took the time to draw a few of the hundreds of smaller statues in the Casts Room, or take in the composition and visual storytelling in the medieval diptych and triptych paintings.
The toughest statue to draw – and a few of us were up to the task! – was the Abduction of a Sabine Woman, by the Flemish sculptor and architect Giambologna. A huge part of drawing statues and paintings is training ourselves to really see what’s in front of us, not what we think is in front of us. Our brains are so used to taking as many shortcuts as possible, and a big part of visual storytelling is often looking for – and finding and revealing – the details that others miss.
The third way of seeing and drawing was with urban sketching. A big difference in this method (which can certainly be used in any form of drawing and visualising) is making decisions about what to focus on:
- Foreground – most detail, thicker, bolder lines
- Midground – less detail, thinner lines
- Background – not much detail at all, perhaps just shapes
We saved the best (and toughest!) to last: life drawing with a live model at Le Murate arts space. For some participants, this was their first time drawing a live model, and we were so impressed at how everyone threw themselves into the task. As you can see from the photo below, everyone had a different style, capturing different parts of the model in different ways.
What we always find really interesting is the subtle meanings that emerge from different people’s drawings of the model. Whether it’s intentional or not, there are often nuances of pose and line that convey different moods, tones, questions and tensions. This helps everyone to reflect that not all stories are black and white, but are open to interpretation when told in different ways.
Day 3: opening the windows into each others’ processes
After an incredible dinner the evening before, day 3 was all about spending time exploring creativity and individual style through various creative drawing and graphic recording activities. We also invested in analysing the results of each others’ work, for extra insight.
What are the visual parts of each person’s work that are distinctive of them, and what drives that?
Everyone could see that ‘style’ is not only about product – what the final result looks like – but process. What can we tell about each others’ mental workflows? What did each of us choose to capture, or leave out? How did we arrange the ideas on the paper, and why? What are we actually wanting to achieve with each drawing as a whole?
These are some of the most rewarding times of the whole retreat: really getting under the surface of what and how we draw, and into why we draw the way we do, what we want to harness more of, and what we want to let go.
Final reflections
We’ll leave it to participants to have the last word:
“I learned a great deal and found the whole experience very inspiring. What I especially appreciated was the opportunity to experiment freely with so many different forms of expression, and to do so without judgment.“
“I will definitely try to use the snails, Odd Couples and Traffic signs in the courses of graphic facilitation I give.“
And THIS speaks to what. We. Are. All. About:
“During the retreat, I experienced what it means to step into something new, to feel the frustration of not being able to express immediately what is happening inside, and then to discover that something can still emerge if you stay with it. For me, this weekend was not about creating beautiful final results, but about gaining trust. That is something I can take with me into my work with people, where growth also often asks for patience, openness, and trust.“
Join us!
Check out the Florence retreat page to see the latest scheduled dates. We’d love to welcome you on the Florence retreat (or any of our retreats!), and help you unleash more creative courage, style, and storytelling than you have ever unleashed before!
