Experience Paris, One Story at a Time
Paris is not discovered all at once. It unfolds through small experiences - a café table, a warm baguette, a colorful doorway, a neighborhood bookstall, or the rhythm of the Métro.
The Paris Online Sketchbook Journey is a live creative series that brings the stories and everyday rituals of Paris to your home. In each atelier, we explore one theme through cultural storytelling, guided observation, journaling, and collage... then create a meaningful page to fill your own Paris sketchbook.
Join for one atelier or follow an entire season. With every page, you will discover more about Paris, grow your creative confidence, and begin seeing your own world with greater curiosity.
A Creative Journey Through Everyday Paris
The Paris Online Sketchbook Journey is a series of live, 50–60 minute ateliers exploring the places, traditions, objects, and everyday rituals that give Paris its distinctive character.
Each session begins with a question.
Why do Parisian café chairs face the street? Why are the green garden chairs movable? What makes the neighborhood boulangerie such an important part of daily life? What stories are hidden behind a Paris doorway?
Through storytelling, history, observation, and approachable creative instruction, we uncover the answer together. You will then use downloadable collage pages and simple art materials to create one Sense of Place Story Collage inspired by the theme.
No drawing experience is required. The goal is not to create a perfect work of art. It is to become curious, make connections, and capture what you discover in a way that feels personal to you.
Each atelier stands on its own, so you can join whenever a theme catches your imagination.
When you participate throughout a season, the individual pages become something more: a layered visual record of cafés, gardens, markets, architecture, traditions, and daily Parisian life.
Over time, you will create a sketchbook that is both a portrait of Paris and a record of your own evolving way of seeing.
Every online atelier follows the same welcoming creative rhythm:
Wonder
We begin with a question designed to spark curiosity and help us look beyond the obvious.
Story
We uncover the history, cultural traditions, design choices, and everyday habits behind the theme.
Create
Using downloadable collage materials, simple supplies, and guided instruction, you create one place-inspired journal spread.
Share
You are invited to share your page, discoveries, and personal interpretation with the group.
Take It Home
We end by considering how this way of seeing might enrich your own everyday life.
This five-part rhythm is one of the strongest differentiators of the series because it connects knowledge, creativity, personal reflection, and community.
A live 50–60 minute online session
Paris history and cultural storytelling
Guided observation and creative instruction
One to three downloadable collage pages
Approachable sketchbook and mixed-media ideas
Replay access
Inspiration for continuing your page after class
A welcoming gathering of fellow creative explorers
This is less like watching an online class and more like traveling through Paris together—one story and one sketchbook page at a time.
Join the Next Paris Story
Each live atelier explores one ordinary—but deeply Parisian—place, object, ritual, or tradition.
You might gather around a café table, wander among the bouquinistes, look above the streets toward the rooftops, or discover why saying bonjour shapes nearly every daily interaction.
Choose a single theme that delights you or join the full seasonal chapter and watch your Paris sketchbook grow.
Before we can understand Paris, we first learn how to observe it.
This opening chapter explores the small rituals, familiar places, and everyday details that give the city its character. From saying bonjour to watching life unfold from a café terrace, each atelier reveals another layer of Paris while encouraging you to slow down, look closely, and discover beauty in the ordinary.
By the end of the season, you will not simply know more about Paris—you will notice it differently.
Sign Ups to Begin August 2026
A Year of Everyday Paris
The Online Sketchbook Journey unfolds through four seasonal chapters, each offering a different way to experience the city. Join one chapter or return throughout the year to build a growing visual story & sketchbook of Paris.
Fall 2026: Discovering Paris
Learn to notice the everyday rituals, places, objects, and visual details that reveal the character of the city.
(Eight live ateliers)
Winter 2027: Living in Paris
Move more deeply into Parisian life through dining, brocantes, museums, literature, interiors, neighborhood traditions, and the rituals that shape the colder months.
(Eight live ateliers)
Spring 2027: Paris in Bloom
Explore the city as it opens outdoors through parks, flower shops, food markets, fashion, pets, window boxes, carousels, and the renewed energy of spring.
(Eight live ateliers)
Summer 2027: Paris Jouer
Celebrate the playful rhythm of summer through picnics, music, festivals, holidays, heatwaves, and the ways Parisians gather and enjoy the city.
(Five live ateliers)
Plan Your Sketchbook Journey
Live ateliers are held on selected Tuesdays at:
10:00 a.m. Pacific
1:00 p.m. Eastern
7:00 p.m. Paris
Each seasonal chapter is designed as a connected journey, but every atelier can also be enjoyed independently.
NOTE: Dates may occasionally shift around holidays or scheduling conflicts. Registered participants will receive full details and updates by email.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about joining live, gathering your materials, using the replays, purchasing a season pass, and creating your sketchbook pages.
Not at all.
The ateliers are designed for curious beginners as well as experienced artists and journal keepers. The focus is on observation, storytelling, collage, and personal interpretation—not technical perfection.
No. Drawing may be offered as one possible way to respond, but the primary creative process can include collage, simple marks, color, words, journaling, and layered paper.
You can adapt every page to your own style and comfort level.
No. Each atelier is a complete experience and can be purchased individually.
Joining a full season allows you to follow a connected creative chapter, receive a discounted rate, and build a more substantial collection of Paris sketchbook pages.
In each atelier, you will begin one themed journal spread inspired by a Parisian story, ritual, place, or visual detail.
Some participants may complete the page during the live session, while others may continue adding layers afterward. The goal is to leave with a meaningful page and plenty of inspiration for making it your own.
You will need a printer for the downloadable collage pages, scissors, adhesive, a journal or sketchbook, and a few simple art supplies such as pens, pencils, or colored markers.
A complete supply list and preparation notes will be sent before the atelier.
You may use a sketchbook or journal you already love.
A recommended size and format can be provided for participants who would like their pages to feel consistent throughout the season, but there is no requirement to use a specific brand or book.
Every registration includes replay access, so you can watch and create at a time that works for you.
The live gathering offers the added energy of creating with the group, but you will still receive the cultural story, creative guidance, and downloadable materials through the replay.
Each live atelier lasts approximately 50–60 minutes.
You may choose to continue working on your journal page afterward, depending on the amount of detail and layering you would like to add.
Each atelier includes:
The live online session
Replay access
One to three downloadable collage pages
Cultural storytelling and creative instruction
Guided prompts and ideas
Inspiration for continuing your sketchbook practice
The cultural content is shared primarily through the live teaching and replay rather than through a separate written course manual.
A single atelier is $35 / €30.
An eight-atelier seasonal pass is $250 / €220, bringing the cost of each atelier down while allowing you to experience the full creative chapter.
Any additional pass options will be shown on the registration page when available.
Yes. The live teaching is in English, with French words, expressions, and cultural context included when relevant.
The collage pages are intended for your personal creative use. Full usage terms should be provided with the downloads and on the registration page.
Not exactly.
You will certainly make art, but the experience is equally about Parisian culture, storytelling, observation, curiosity, and discovering how a creative practice can change the way you see a place.
Paris Online Ateliers are live, interactive creative workshops where we gather online to sketch, journal, create, and explore together.
Each atelier focuses on a unique Paris-inspired theme, allowing you to experience a little piece of France from wherever you are in the world.
Live ateliers are hosted using Zoom.
You'll receive your meeting link and any class materials before the event begins.
Each online atelier will be recorded, so you can rewatch when convenient.
Choose How You Would Like to Journey
Join a single atelier when a theme captures your curiosity, or choose a seasonal pass and follow an entire chapter of Parisian life.
Single Atelier -$35 / €30
Perfect for trying the experience, exploring a favorite theme, or joining whenever your schedule allows.
Seasonal Pass - $250 / €220
Follow one complete eight-atelier chapter, build a connected collection of sketchbook pages, and experience the creative rhythm of Paris throughout the season.
Reserve Your Place
Choose your atelier or seasonal pass, gather a few simple supplies, and prepare to experience Paris in a new way.
After registering, you will receive the live access details, downloadable collage pages, supply information, and everything you need to join from home.
SIGN UPS BEGIN AUGUST 2026
You do not need a plane ticket, years of art training, or a perfect blank book. You only need curiosity, a few simple materials, and a willingness to look more closely.
Come explore the rituals, stories, and everyday beauty of Paris—and create a sketchbook that becomes uniquely yours.
Inspiration in your Inbox!
Receive stories from Paris, Provence, the Loire, and wherever curiosity leads next—along with sketchbook inspiration, travel discoveries, atelier news, and simple creative prompts for exploring your own world.