73: What I Drew in Sicily in a Tiny Travel Sketchbook
Why small sketchbooks make the best travel companions
This year, while teaching my week-long workshop at Anna Tasca Lanza, I filled a small handmade sketchbook with the week’s adventures. I made the little book using the same materials and paper I use for my regular sketchbooks. For the past few years, I’ve been making special books just for trips. I find them so much more manageable—and a great way to keep things minimal in my bag. A small book I can slip into my pocket or any tote, along with just a pencil and pen, so I’m not weighed down by materials—or by the mental pressure to create something big or time-consuming.
There are so many benefits to working small: it lightens your load while moving about, it becomes one unique storybook of a trip from beginning to end, and finishing it is so much more achievable. With fewer pages and a smaller surface area, you can focus more on what really matters, and each spread feels intentional rather than rushed. If you don’t like small page sizes, you can still create a larger book with fewer pages—it’s the same idea of keeping things simple and something you can finish.
This time, once I got started, I found myself creating more intricate drawings and adding more details than I initially intended. Still, I managed to find time in between lessons and meals, and it was so satisfying to decide what to include—from life, memory, and reference (one of the exercises we practice together during the week).
Having been to Case Vecchie four times now, many of the experiences have become familiar, yet each year feels new. Some things change, but others, I hope, never will—like the enthusiastic greeting I get from Felice, the little farm dog who lives there. Having drawn many things in previous years’ sketchbooks, it was a fun challenge to illustrate the week in a new way.
Following are the scanned spreads shared in the video above so that you can see them in more detail:
Life in the middle of Sicily moves at a different pace. We eat what the land provides—fresh, local foods, things I might not normally try, and all tastes delicious. Somehow, even though we seem to eat all day long (and drink wine twice a day!), I never feel overindulgent. It’s a kind of healthy indulgence—a reminder of how connected we can feel when we slow down and trust nature to take care of us.
I’m already looking forward to returning next year for another unforgettable week at Case Vecchie. My 2026 retreat will take place from September 28 to October 3, and registration is now open. More is below—perhaps I’ll see you there!
I also filled many pages in my everyday sketchbook during the trip. Before arriving at Anna Tasca Lanza, I spent three days in Catania, including a day trip to Taormina, which I reached by train. Taormina, where the second season of The White Lotus was filmed at the Four Seasons resort, was even more beautiful than I imagined—a luxurious and picturesque seaside town. But it was the train station that stole my heart. Stepping inside felt like traveling back in time: there were patterned tiles, arched doorways, ornamental hallways, and custom light fixtures and clocks built into the architecture. I only managed to capture a small piece of its beauty in my sketchbook, but slowing down to draw one of those clocks made the memory last. You’ll find the clock drawing below:
The next Draw Your World meetup is October 23 from 4–5:30pm EST. We will be drawing from a reference photo I took in Paris of two people writing at a cafe. The image and details are in the link sent via the subscriber chat.
Paid-tier subscribers are also invited to a talk tomorrow, October 17, at 11:30am EST on Zoom, hosted by my friends Lindsey Bugbee of The Postman’s Knock and Jess Greenleaf of Greenleaf & Blueberry. Information to join is also in the chat!
I’m so excited to share that registration is now open for my 2026 workshop at the Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School! Next year will be my fifth year teaching there, and I truly feel like part of the family at Case Vecchie — the beautiful farm in the heart of Sicily, surrounded by the Tasca vineyards. Over the course of the week we visit a local cheesemaker, observe and set up a still-life in the big barn, tour the Tasca winery, and cook traditional Sicilian foods. And each day, I’ll lead you in lessons so you can find the perfect way to capture it all in your own unique style. September 28-October 3, 2026. Click here for more information.
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What an incredible memento for each trip. Beautiful!
It was a very full adventure in many ways. A delightful group of creatives in a setting that has to be as quintessential Italy as it gets. The food! The wine! The setting! The art surrounding us and the art we made! But most of all the wonderful people making us feel welcome in every way. I cherish my memories, sketches and many, many photos. I am looking forward to a new creative stimulus to document my adventures by pencil, pen and color in addition to my photo taking and ephemera collecting collages that I have been using for creative memory keeping. Thank you Sam for all you do.