Spend an afternoon sketching flowers and leaves in a hidden garden in this team building painting activity in Sonoma, a relaxed wine country escape for teams from across the Bay Area. Your group explores the garden, picks the plants that catch its eye and learns to capture them on the page with watercolor pencils.
The private class runs three hours and is priced at $95 per guest for groups of 6 to 15 guests. It is beginner-friendly and welcomes every skill level, with plenty of time to ask questions as you go. A local artist guides the session as a mindful art activity, so the pace stays calm and the focus stays on looking closely at nature.
What's Included
- Three hours of guided instruction from a local artist
- Art
Spend an afternoon sketching flowers and leaves in a hidden garden in this team building painting activity in Sonoma, a relaxed wine country escape for teams from across the Bay Area. Your group explores the garden, picks the plants that catch its eye and learns to capture them on the page with watercolor pencils.
The private class runs three hours and is priced at $95 per guest for groups of 6 to 15 guests. It is beginner-friendly and welcomes every skill level, with plenty of time to ask questions as you go. A local artist guides the session as a mindful art activity, so the pace stays calm and the focus stays on looking closely at nature.
What's Included
- Three hours of guided instruction from a local artist
- Art supplies for the class, provided by the center
- Time in the secret garden, using the flora as your subject
- Tips on drawing with watercolor pencils and capturing botanicals
- The botanical sketches you make, ready to take home
Optional Take-Home Kit
Guests can choose a level that includes a kit of materials to keep, at $111 per guest instead of $95, so the drawing can continue in your own backyard. The kit includes:
- A set of 12 watercolor pencils, plus two extra pencils in cold gray and burnt ochre
- A water brush with a medium tip and a fine point
- A mixed media pad
- A drawing pencil and a single-hole sharpener
- A bag to carry it all
Why It Works for Groups
Drawing outside slows everyone down in a good way. Each guest works on a page of their own, yet the garden gives the group a shared starting point, and the conversation flows naturally as people compare leaves, colors and techniques. That mix of quiet focus and easy chat is what makes this kind of creative team building stick.
Sketching among the plants also makes this one of the more restful outdoor team building activities for a team that spends most of its week indoors. It suits a team offsite, a birthday, a bachelorette party, a date night or a Christmas party, and as one of the calmer holiday team building activities, it ends with something real to show for the afternoon.
The secret garden itself is part of the appeal: a hidden outdoor space under tall trees, surrounded by lush plantings, just steps from the studios. Guests who choose the kit leave ready to keep sketching at home, and everyone leaves with stunning pieces of botanical art made by their own hand and a clearer eye for the plants around them.
About Your Host
Your class takes place at a nonprofit arts and community hub that has been bringing people together since its founding in 1952. For more than six decades it has worked to inspire creative expression in the Valley of the Moon, and it cares for a grand, historic building that now holds ceramics studios, art rooms, a kitchen, a dance studio and a hidden outdoor garden.
The center offers a broad range of classes for people of all ages and abilities, from ceramics and painting to fiber arts, culinary arts and printmaking, and it hosts community events through the year. Its team and group program pairs your group with one of its teaching artists in a private studio space, and the staff help you shape the experience around your group, your time frame and your goals.
Booking a group experience follows three simple steps. First, you reach out to discuss your group size, interests and ideal date, and the team helps you choose the right creative activity. Next, you tailor the workshop to your needs, select your time frame and finalize the details. Finally, your group enjoys a private, guided workshop in a dedicated studio space, with a teaching artist making sure everyone has a memorable, hands-on experience. All ages and skill levels are welcome.
There is a large amount of on-site parking, plus EV charging spots, which makes it easy for a team to arrive together from anywhere in the North Bay.
How the Class Runs
- Meet your artist and settle in at the garden tables
- Walk the garden and choose the flowers and leaves to draw
- Learn how to draw with watercolor pencils
- Sketch your botanicals with step-by-step tips along the way
- Share your pages and head home refreshed and relaxed
Good to Know
- No art experience is needed; all skill levels are welcome
- Bring just a love for nature and art
- The garden is a hidden outdoor space under tall trees
- Optional food and beverage packages can be discussed for team events
Plan Your Garden Sketching Class
Share your preferred date and group size to check availability. At $95 per guest, or $111 with the take-home kit, it is a peaceful way for a team, family or group of friends to slow down, create together and leave with botanical art made by hand.
