Sarah K. Benning - September 19th to 25th 2025

Join us this coming September for a unique retreat in the south of Provence with the amazing artist Sarah K. Benning! A week of exploring, discovering, stitching, drawing and tasting Provence. You will visit the historic towns and typical markets, take a tour of our gorgeous islands, participate in sketching/painting classes with Sarah and much more. We will make sure that your experience in Provence will be one you remember forever!

Sarah K. Benning is a DIY embroidery designer and fiber artist working from her home in Baltimore, Maryland (USA). She has delved deep into her exploration of botanical embroidery, developing a signature style of lush compositions full of greenery, pattern, color, and texture emboldened by crisp black outlines. Sarah’s practice embraces non-traditional approaches to embroidery focussing on drawing strong compositions, vibrant color combinations, and experimental mark making using fiber on fabric and paper. She has partnered with DMC (the prominent thread company), Oatly, Amaro Montenegro, and The Washington Post on creative projects and has taught workshops across the US, Europe, Mexico, and Chile.

Sarah’s greatest joy is sharing her love of embroidery through her monthly pattern program and workshops and providing a path for participants and students to slow down and engage in a beautifully methodical and meditative process. She is a firm believer that there is no right or wrong way to make and that everyone is capable of participating in the creative process regardless of profession, education, or previous experience. Art is for everyone.

You can stay in touch with Sarah via her mailing list, Instagram, or learn more at sarahkbenning.com.

You will explore Provence with Sarah, as well as your local hosts and guides Maria and Mathieu.

Activities will include:

• Participate in stitching and painting workshops with Sarah and develop your unique creative skills

• Enjoy daily delicious meals prepared with fresh products and care by chef Mathieu and Maria

• Take strolls around unbeaten paths in the beautiful nature of Provence through the hills overlooking the old town

• Visit the littoral, the islands, and its breath-taking creeks

• We will take you through the alleys of the historic center of Hyères, this magic city where numerous writers and painters have come to find inspiration since the dawn of time. Artists such as Edith Warton, RL Stevenson, Noailles, Picasso, and Jean Cocteau amongst others, contributed in their time to shaping the rich art heritage of Hyères

• Visit our coloured markets, discover and taste Provençal specialties

A FEW DETAILS ABOUT YOUR RETREAT

• 6 Nights / 5 Days

• 8 to 10 participants

• We ask for a 30% non-refundable deposit of full booking upon reservation and the remaining at the latest on July 11th 2025

What is included?

• 6 nights accommodation

• 6 gourmet dinners & wine

• Daily delicious breakfasts and lunches or picnic

• Cooking & Baking workshops

• Visits, including transportation

• Aperitifs and snacks

Not Included

• Airfares to France

• Airport transfer

• MANDATORY travel insurance (participants should suscribe to a travel insurance that covers the balance paid to Simple Life in Provence and book “flexible” flight tickets with cancellation options)

QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT TO EXPECT

Overall goal : Engage in the slow, meditative craft of embroidery with a contemporary twist exploring mixed media techniques and modern botanical designs. This retreat is a process oriented experience focussing on composition, color, and mark making using paint, fibers, fabric, and paper. Sarah will demonstrate a number of painting and stitching techniques and guide participants through the process of creating a personal and unique contemporary embroidery composition. Sarah encourages an open mind and willingness to explore and experiment with materials and techniques always bearing in mind that there is no wrong way to create. Students will be encouraged to trust their instincts and develop their personal style, while learning from hands on technique demonstrations.

Participants will create two samplers and develop their own personal projects. All materials will be provided and all experience levels are welcome!

Session 1: An introduction to contemporary embroidery and over view of materials. This A process oriented approach focussing on composition, color, and mark making. Discussing possibilities with paint and thread, working on paper and fabric, and embroidery hoops and canvases. We will look at work samples that include 100% embroidery fabric, paint and thread on fabric, and mixed media stitching on paper. Sarah will demonstrate how to prepare the various materials including stretching a canvas. Participants will explore the surroundings and share what inspires them from the local plant life and bed and breakfast environment.

Session 2: A thread on fabric sampler. Sarah will guide participants through a small sampler project. She will demonstrate how to transfer the design from paper template onto fabric and share a number of embroidery techniques including, straight stitch, back stitch, running stitch, whipped back stitch, chain stitch, satin stitch, needle weaving, and couching giving participants time to practice each one and think about further applications. (The sampler is designed to take about 3 hours to complete, including instruction time.)

Session 3: Color mixing and thread on paper. Using a template and a 5 color palette, Sarah will demonstrate some basic principals of color mixing and guide participants through some quick color exercises. The group will then have time to transfer and paint the design template before practicing stitching on paper. Sarah will review the stitch techniques from the previous session as needed and share adjustments for embroidering on paper rather than fabric. (This is also approximately 3 hours of work time.)

Session 4: Developing a personal composition. Now that participants have an understanding of the materials and possibilities of the techniques, everyone will work towards developing a personal composition. Sarah will guide participants through a couple of fun, ice-breaker drawing games/exercises and there will be time to observe and sketch out ideas inspired by the local surroundings or personal pictures. Sarah will offer support and feedback in the development of the folk’s final designs with an emphasis on dynamic composition and planning out color and textural elements. The remainder of this session will be dedicated to working on personal final projects.

Session 5: Working on personal projects. Participants will continue to work on their personal compositions incorporating paint, thread, and drawing as they see fit. Sarah will continue to offer encouragement, feedback, and support as students develop their own personal preferences and confidence with the materials and techniques. The session will conclude with an opportunity for everyone to share their work and discuss their decisions and choices. It will be a celebration of process, creativity, and slow, methodical craft.