⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I went to Fringe Beast Fun with my six-year-old and nine-year-old. I’ll admit I had a brief moment of hesitation when I realised the subject of the workshop was a taxidermy fox.
I wasn’t sure how the kids would react. Turns out, it was completely fine. They weren’t fazed at all, and once things got going, the fox just became part of the creative process rather than something to fixate on.
The session itself was beautifully organised.
Every participant had their own little box of art supplies, which immediately made the space feel calm and welcoming. There was a generous range of materials to experiment with, including pencils, pens, charcoal, pastels, white paper, dark paper, and oil pastels.
Each activity introduced a different way of seeing and drawing, focusing less on “getting it right” and more on observation and play. We explored shapes rather than details, continuous line drawings, and one exercise where you look only at the subject and not at your paper at all. It sounds intimidating, but it was surprisingly freeing.
What really stood out was the focus on resilience.
The facilitator talked openly about negative self-talk, growth, and giving yourself permission to have a go. Because everyone was working on the same subject, it became very obvious how changing your mindset changed your artwork. You could feel confidence building across the room, both in the kids and the adults.
Although the workshop is clearly designed for children, it was just as valuable for adults.
There were couples there who had come along simply for an afternoon of art, and it felt completely natural. There was a shared sense of permission to explore, experiment, and create without judgement. No one’s artwork was held up, laughed at, or critiqued. Any comments that were made were kind and encouraging, things like “that looks gorgeous,” rather than technical or comparative.
There were very different skill levels among the children, which is exactly what you’d expect with such a wide age range, but that never felt like an issue. Everyone worked at their own pace and at their own level, and the structure of the workshop supported that beautifully.
Each activity was done in short bursts, usually no more than a few minutes at a time, which meant there was no space to overthink or feel self-conscious. Before anyone had time to worry about whether their drawing was “good enough,” the group was already moving on to something new. That constant sense of momentum kept the atmosphere relaxed, playful, and pressure-free.
By the end of the session, I had produced a shaded fox drawing that genuinely surprised me. More importantly, Fringe Beast Fun sparked great conversations with my kids afterwards about self-belief, self-doubt, and the language we use when something feels difficult.
It was a thoughtful, creative way to spend an afternoon together, and we all left feeling lighter and more confident.