Comforting Creature Creation with Katie Abey

Katie Abey is at QUAD on Sunday 15 November, from 3:00pm to 4:00pm, for a workshop called Comforting Creature Creation. It's part of the Autumn Derby Book Festival, and the whole idea is to make your own Comforting Creature mascot alongside her. You mix a few different animals together to create a self-care companion designed to help with a particular area of your life, so it's as much about the thinking behind the creature as the drawing itself.

Abey is an award-winning author and illustrator who's worked on more than 70 children's books, and she's the one leading the session. She describes herself as having a 'crazy brain' and says she just loves to draw, which is a good place to start when you're encouraged to mash up animals into something entirely new. If you've got a child who likes to doodle, this is exactly the kind of thing they'll get stuck into.

The session is for ages 8 to 12, and booking is essential. Adults have to accompany children and need their own ticket, so you'll be in the room with them rather than dropping them off. Tickets are £5 for children and £4 for adults.

QUAD itself is a cinema, gallery, café bar and workshop that anyone can use, with exhibitions by local, national and international artists. There's a bar and lounge too, which is a Shiny Brewery stockist, so if you're hanging around before or after, you've got a few options. The workshop runs from 3:00pm to 4:00pm on Sunday 15 November.