(760) 436-3310
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Mosaic Mandalas

with Marsha Rafter

March 23, 2024
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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Tibetan Sacred Arts: Painting Buddhist Symbolism

with Lama Gyurme

April 20, 2024
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

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Day of Creative Renewal

with Ellen Speert

May 11, 2024
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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KINTSUGI: Perfectly imperfect. Finding strength and beauty in imperfection.

with Luis Santiago and Ellen Speert

June 15, 2024
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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Past Events

The Dream Journal: Source of Soulful Creativity
Saturday, March 16, 2024
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

The structure of dreams may seem crazy and irrational but dreams of the night create their own reality and follow their own kind of logic. Through guided creative writing prompts and the synchronicity of found imagery collage, we will tap into the immense wisdom and creative power our nighttime visions hold. With an amalgamation of established, emerging and innovative dream work techniques, we will explore a variety of dream journal techniques from personal, collective, archetypal, and allegorical perspectives.

Bring your own journal.

Presenter: Victoria Rabinowe

Victoria Rabinowe is an American artist, author, international educator and director of the DreamingArts Studio in Santa Fe. As guide and mentor, she has taught thousands of psychotherapists, spiritual guidance counselors, educators and creatives around the world to understand the language of dreams through poetry, prose and the visual arts. VictoriaDreams.com

Fee: $125.00

$10.00 Early Bird Discount – If Registered 2 Weeks Prior to Event

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are accepted up to 1 week prior to event. A $25.00 cancellation fee will apply, and will be deducted from your refund. No cancellations are accepted less than 1 week prior to event.

We accept check payments via mail, and Zelle payments through the email: Ellen@ArtRetreats.com.

If you do not wish to register online, please send your registration payment to:
Ellen Speert | 1905 Crest Dr. Encinitas, CA  92024.
Please include your email address and phone number to receive your confirmation.

Art Meditations in Nature
Saturday, February 10, 2024
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Breathe in the peace of creating with nature as the sound of ocean waves transport you. Reconnect to your inner child’s sense of wonder and possibility as you ‘play’ in the sand. Celebrate the gift and impermanence of life as you create monumental art and then watch it wash away…

We will begin our day drawing and painting mandalas. These will then be translated into earth art at the beach.

Come be a part of the epic cycle of creation and dissolution by collaboratively co-creating massive art and then releasing it back to the waves. Through this you will be metaphorically, symbolically and figuratively connecting to the power and beauty of impermanence, allowing the lessons of transition and change swirl around inside you. From this place every moment becomes a celebration of life, an opportunity to create beauty and redefine ourselves. Uplift your spirit, expand what you think is possible, and be part of the transformative magic of creating earth art.

In this workshop we will connect to ourselves, to the beach and to our fellow creators as we engage in various activities, learning about the tools and techniques of massive art-making, and culminating in original artworks guided by the group process. We end with aerial photos for lasting memories.

Click here to see the amazing earth art of Andres Amador

Fee: $120.00

$10.00 Early Bird Discount – If Registered 2 Weeks Prior to Event

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are accepted up to 1 week prior to event. A $25.00 cancellation fee will apply, and will be deducted from your refund. No cancellations are accepted less than 1 week prior to event.

We accept check payments via mail, and Zelle payments through the email: Ellen@ArtRetreats.com.

If you do not wish to register online, please send your registration payment to:
Ellen Speert | 1905 Crest Dr. Encinitas, CA  92024.
Please include your email address and phone number to receive your confirmation.

Challenging the Inner Critic
Saturday, January 13, 2024
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Have you ever been plagued by critical self talk causing doubt, fear or insecurity? Would you like to playfully explore this relationship with your inner critic and free up your creative energy?

In this fun, clay workshop you will be led in how to hand build a representation of the voice that shouts or whispers unwanted messages, bringing the opportunity to quiet (if not totally silence) her.

Join artist Cheryl Tall and art therapist Ellen Speert as we sculpt those nagging inner critics and find new ways of relating to them.

Cheryl Tall is a Southern California based artist whose work focuses on the relationships between people and their environments, and often includes architectural and figurative elements. She is especially known for her pinch coil technique, which gives her work an unusual texture reminiscent of wood shingles or scales.

Fee: $160.00
Includes $10.00 Materials Fee

$10.00 Early Bird Discount – If Registered 2 Weeks Prior to Event

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are accepted up to 1 week prior to event. A $25.00 cancellation fee will apply, and will be deducted from your refund. No cancellations are accepted less than 1 week prior to event.

We accept check payments via mail, and Zelle payments through the email: Ellen@ArtRetreats.com.

If you do not wish to register online, please send your registration payment to:
Ellen Speert | 1905 Crest Dr. Encinitas, CA  92024.
Please include your email address and phone number to receive your confirmation.

Surrealist Collage
Saturday, December 2, 2023
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Come learn how to create small collages which take us deeper into the world of the unconscious. Similar to “Soul Collage” originated by Seen Frost, this process deepens our trust in our own intuitive knowing by weaving together visual imagery and personal responses. No artistic skill necessary.  You will be amazed by the beauty and power of the cards you will make and the life questions they will address.

Fee: $110.00
Includes $10.00 Materials Fee

$10.00 Early Bird Discount – If Registered 2 Weeks Prior to Event

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are accepted up to 1 week prior to event. A $25.00 cancellation fee will apply, and will be deducted from your refund. No cancellations are accepted less than 1 week prior to event.

If you do not wish to register online, please send your registration payment to:
Ellen Speert | 1905 Crest Dr. Encinitas, CA  92024.
Please include your email address and phone number to receive your confirmation.

Sacred Tibetan Music And Group Healing Ritual
Saturday, November 25, 2023
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Sacred Tibetan Music And Group Healing Ritual ~ Offered By The Monks Of Gaden Shartse Phukhang Monastery

The afternoon will include traditional Tibetan Buddhist Music and chanting by the Gaden Shartse Monks
followed by a group healing of body, mind and spirit.

Visitors to the Center for this event will also be able to walk the labyrinth, meditate in the healing gardens and
shop in the Buddhist arts and crafts marketplace.

For questions about this event, please call Ellen at 760-436-3310.

Here is a link from the center’s traditional Tibetan Buddhist Land Blessing: https://www.artretreats.com/labyrinth-gardens/labyrinth-video

To learn more about the tour, visit:  Sacred Arts of Tibet Tour Gaden Shartse Monastery.

Suggested Donation:
$25.00 if you register before November 18.
$35.00 if you register on or after November 18, or you purchase tickets at the door.
Pre-registration is recommended as space is limited.

If you do not wish to register online, please send your registration payment to:
Ellen Speert | 1905 Crest Dr. Encinitas, CA  92024.
Please include your email address and phone number to receive your confirmation.

KINTSUGI: Perfectly imperfect. Finding strength and beauty in imperfection.
Saturday, October 7, 2023
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics by hi-lighting the cracks with gold — built on the notion that by embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger more beautiful piece.

Kintsugi translates as “golden joinery,” in Japanese. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to conceal or discard. There should be no attempt to hide or disguise the flaws. This is related to the concept of wabi sabi which we will explore.

Every break is unique and instead of repairing an item like new, this 500-year-old technique actually celebrates the breaks as part of the objects history. Kintsugi is an inspiring metaphor for dealing with the times we feel broken in life. It’s a reminder to find the gold to mend ourselves and appreciate our so called flaws.

In this workshop you will learn to repair and embellish two ceramic pieces in a modern version of Kintsugi.

You can also bring one of your own broken pieces to repair with this technique.

Fee: $170.00

$10.00 Early Bird Discount – If Registered 2 Weeks Prior to Event

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are accepted up to 1 week prior to event. A $25.00 cancellation fee will apply, and will be deducted from your refund. No cancellations are accepted less than 1 week prior to event.

If you do not wish to register online, please send your registration payment to:
Ellen Speert | 1905 Crest Dr. Encinitas, CA  92024.
Please include your email address and phone number to receive your confirmation.

Day of Creative Renewal
Saturday, September 9, 2023
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Spend a day in the garden discovering how nature can be both a healer and a mirror for your mind, body and spirit.

With gently guided activities and a slow, meditative pace, we will use poetry and art making to reflect on what is most important in our lives.

No art experience necessary.

Fee: $105.00
Includes $10.00 Materials Fee

$10.00 Early Bird Discount – If Registered 2 Weeks Prior to Event

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are accepted up to 1 week prior to event. A $25.00 cancellation fee will apply, and will be deducted from your refund. No cancellations are accepted less than 1 week prior to event.

If you do not wish to register online, please send your registration payment to:
Ellen Speert | 1905 Crest Dr. Encinitas, CA  92024.
Please include your email address and phone number to receive your confirmation.

Spirit Boats
Saturday, August 5, 2023
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

We have all been adrift to some extent during the past year. What has helped to keep you afloat? What would you like to strengthen within yourself to help navigate the journey forward?

We will be creating boats from clay and nature materials, writing and walking the labyrinth as we travel together into the future we desire.

Fee: $115.00
Includes $10.00 Materials Fee

$10.00 Early Bird Discount – If Registered 2 Weeks Prior to Event

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are accepted up to 1 week prior to event. A $25.00 cancellation fee will apply, and will be deducted from your refund. No cancellations are accepted less than 1 week prior to event.

If you do not wish to register online, please send your registration payment to:
Ellen Speert | 1905 Crest Dr. Encinitas, CA  92024.
Please include your email address and phone number to receive your confirmation.

Introduction to Encaustic Monotypes: Create Amazing Prints Without a Press
Saturday, July 8, 2023 - Sunday, July 9, 2023
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

In this workshop you experience the joy and immediacy of “pulling” an encaustic monotype from a heated encaustic palette. This class is perfect for beginners to experienced artists, or those who are looking for renewed inspiration.

You’ll draw with pigmented wax and incorporate spontaneous mark making that will ignite your creativity and intuition. The results are astonishing and rewarding. As you move through the two-full days of demos and studio time, you’ll experience how the wax, temperature and paper choices guide your mark making giving you astonishing results ,they reveal their own mystery and yours too.

You’ll learn about setting up an encaustic workplace, safety measures, wax medium, encaustic pigment and paper types.

Nanette Newbry is a professional contemporary painter, printmaker and performance artist. Nanette was drawn to the encaustic painting of Jasper Johns and began learning the technique in 2005. She’s discovered that the medium’s characteristics allow her to deepen the meaning and metaphors in her work. She teaches encaustic to intimate groups as well as online. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Encaustic Art, the Encaustic Art Institute, and in corporate and private collections in the U.S. and abroad.

Fee: $350.00
Includes $50.00 Materials Fee 
When you register, we will send a list of a few things to bring.

$10.00 Early Bird Discount – If Registered 2 Weeks Prior to Event

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are accepted up to 1 week prior to event. A $25.00 cancellation fee will apply, and will be deducted from your refund. No cancellations are accepted less than 1 week prior to event.

If you do not wish to register online, please send your registration payment to:
Ellen Speert | 1905 Crest Dr. Encinitas, CA  92024.
Please include your email address and phone number to receive your confirmation.

Mosaic Mandalas
Saturday, June 10, 2023 - Sunday, June 11, 2023
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

In this meditative and fun class, you’ll be working with a wide variety of glass tiles, glass gems, stained glass, and mirror, to create a 16” mosaic mandala. You’ll become immersed in the symmetry and flow of this circular form as the creating becomes a form of meditation.

Saturday, June 10 – 9:00AM to 5:00PM
On day one, we’ll discuss your selection of color palette, and then we’ll go over design possibilities and you’ll see samples of how to incorporate materials into a visually appealing piece using a variety of textures, sizes, and shapes. Glass cutting skills will be taught and you’ll learn how to use sticky mesh for laying out your design.

Sunday, June 11 – 9:00AM to 3:00PM
On day two, you’ll complete the design of your mandala, mix thinset mortar to set your piece onto waterproof wedi board, and then mix and apply your grout. Using waterproof wedi board allows you to hang your mandala outside.

Marsha Rafter has been working with clay for over forty years. She began creating mosaics in 2004 often incorporating her ceramic pieces into her mosaics. Her work includes large scale architectural murals, sculptures, gallery pieces, and jewelry. Her website is www.MarshaRafter.com.

No art experience necessary.

Fee: $350.00
Includes $100.00 Materials Fee

$10.00 Early Bird Discount – If Registered 2 Weeks Prior to Event

Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are accepted up to 1 week prior to event. A $25.00 cancellation fee will apply, and will be deducted from your refund. No cancellations are accepted less than 1 week prior to event.

If you do not wish to register online, please send your registration payment to:
Ellen Speert | 1905 Crest Dr. Encinitas, CA  92024.
Please include your email address and phone number to receive your confirmation.

Painting Your Journal
with Jane LaFazio
June 6, 2015 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Be inspired to record your life, a special trip, or your daily adventures in a loose, quick journal style format. Spend the day in the beautiful garden with artist Jane LaFazio.Jane, known for her friendly, encouraging teaching style, will demonstrate drawing on location, and painting with watercolors using a straight-forward, intuitive approach.You’ll choose from the wide array of plants, learning to draw and watercolor, and then maybe journaling your thoughts or impressions on 5x7” pages.

The class is geared for beginners, but all levels are welcome.You might want to bring hat, and sunscreen. Supplies needed are watercolors, permanent, Niji Waterbrush (medium round), waterproof black ink pen, pencil, eraser and watercolor paper.

Create Your Own Heart: Hearts of Stone Workshop
with Diana Carey
May 23, 2015 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Create your very own Heart of Stone in the colors and image you desire. In this workshop you will learn the contemporary fresco process used to break, paint and mend your own heart on natural stone tile. Celebrating your own heart in a beautiful work of art created through the decoration of cracks, crevices and breaks on the stone surface. Hearts can be left with visible cracks and breaks or may be mended using wire, nails, screws and clasps. All hearts are beautiful works of art, ready to hang on the wall or stand on an easel.We will be journaling the experience throughout the day.

"Sometimes it's in the breaking that one finds the necessary pieces to put their heart together", says Diana Carey.

Create Botanical Dyes
with Heather Biermann and Ellen Speert
April 18, 2015 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Deepen your connection to the natural world by participating in art making, group ritual, and spending time outdoors. Learn the basics of making botanical dyes, and create a personalized silk scarf. In this workshop you will have the opportunity to learn about plants, and to explore and deepen your connection to the plants that grow around you. You will learn how to produce dyes from botanical sources, and you will be encouraged to experiment and play, collaborating with nature and your fellow workshop participants to create a unique work of art.

Water of Awakening and Renewal
with Rabbi Lenore Bohm and Ellen Speert
Sunday, March 8, 2015 9:00 - 4:00

Join us for a day of deep spiritual connection and renewal. We will be creating clay vessels to metaphorically hold the waters of the rebirth of our spirit of creativity. Walk the labyrinth, journal, create a poem, and meditate in the healing gardens.

Lenore will teach us about the power of water as a tool for transformation, and will go to the ocean with those who would like to end the day with an immersion.

$72 if registration received by Feb 1, $80 if received later and for those 36 and younger, $36. No refund after March 1st.

Day of Creative Renewal
with Ellen Speert
Feb 7, 2015, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Once again I am happy to offer a day of quiet reflection and lightly structured art processes inthe gardens. Come and choose any medium that suits your mood: paint, sketch, sculpt, journal,stroll, meditate and celebrate the end of the holiday rush and bustle. Or just sit quietly, breathe inthe serenity, listen to the birds and renew your spirit for 2015. As the day ends, the sun will besetting, the balloons will be rising in the canyon and the lights will be coming on throughout thegarden - a time of magic.

The cost is only $70. for the whole day with $10 off if you register with a friend who hasn't been here before.

Painting Your Journal
with Jane LaFazio
April 12 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Be inspired to record your life, a special trip, or your daily adventures in a loose, quick journal style format. Spend the day in the beautiful garden with artist Jane LaFazio.

Jane, known for her friendly, encouraging teaching style, will demonstrate drawing on location, and painting with watercolors using a straight-forward, intuitive approach.

You’ll choose from the wide array of plants, learning to draw and watercolor, and then maybe journaling your thoughts or impressions on 5x7” pages.

The class is geared for beginners, but all levels are welcome. You might want to bring hat, and sunscreen. Supplies needed are watercolors, permanent, Niji Waterbrush (medium round), waterproof black ink pen, pencil, eraser and watercolor paper (~5x7” size) or you can purchase a kit for $25 with the supplies.

Embracing our Creativity: Accepting of our Truth
with Alyce Smith Cooper and Ellen Speert
March 15 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Come be ushered into your truth via the door of creativity. Join Ellen and Alyce in the creative spaces provided by walking the labyrinth and seeking the wisdom reflected there. Storytelling by Alyce along with psychodrama and multimedia art will serve as vehicles to your core of creativity. With music created by the group, expect to meet your truest nature and allow it to set you free. Would you like to feel more comfortable with change? Find grace in the painful parts of life that cannot change? Be empowered to express your true story? All while enhancing your spontaneity? Learn to do this in a safe, supportive environment within the healing gardens.

You do not need to have attended the 2013 workshop, but if you did, this will take you even further! A day of magic awaits you.

Friday evening March 14 from 7:00 - 9:00 PM

an additional evening of story telling performance
with hot cider by the fire
social hour: 7:00 - 8:00 performance: 8:00 - 9:00
space very limited

Day of Creative Renewal
with Ellen Speert
Feb 8 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Once again I am happy to offer a day of quiet reflection and lightly structured art processes in the gardens. Come and choose any medium that suits your mood: paint, sketch, sculpt, journal, stroll, meditate and celebrate the end of the holiday rush and bustle. Or just sit quietly, breathe in the serenity, listen to the birds and renew your spirit for 2014. As the day ends, the sun will be setting, the balloons will be rising in the canyon and the lights will be coming on throughout the garden - a time of magic.

Sketching & Watercolor:
Journal Style
with Jane LaFazio
October 19, 2013

Be inspired to record your life, your trip, or your daily adventures in an illustrated journal as you spend a meditative day drawing and sketching in the healing gardens. Jane will guide you through basic drawing, inking and watercolor painting. You’ll choose simple objects, vignettes or vistas to draw and paint, and then journal your thoughts right onto the drawings.

At the end of the day you will create a small portfolio to hold your artwork. The class is geared for beginners, but all levels are welcome. Twenty five dollar materials fee includes everything you’ll need: watercolor paper, ink pen, pencil and watercolor set with special Niji Waterbrush.

Experience the Power of One
with Alyce Smith Cooper and Ellen
Sept. 21, 2013
Using the creative tools of Art and Story, we will each explore our own sacred power. Come connect with your natural gifts which make you the unique tool of transformation that our world is in need of during this season of change. This special workshop will deepen your creativity and enrich your spontaneity.

Alyce Smith Cooper is a TV producer, registered nurse, ordained minister, chaplain and spiritual counselor whose goal is to engage all who hear in the empowerment of their own creative genius. Alyce will again join with art therapist Ellen Speert, director of the Center, in providing an exciting day of creativity.

Hearts of Stone
with Diana Carey
July 27, 2013

Come learn the contemporary fresco process on natural stone as we celebrate the beauty in our own hearts. Using broken mosaic we will be adding paint to decorate, celebrate and discover the intrinsic beauty in the cracks, crevices and the multi faceted surfaces of the stone and the heart. "Broken hearts may be mended, nailed, screwed or left slightly readjusted. Sometimes it's in the breaking that one finds the necessary pieces to put their heart together", says Diane Carey.

Affirmation Dolls
May 4, 2013

What relationship is more complex than that of mother and daughter?

The process of creating affirmation dolls is handed down from African American slave mothers, who practiced this tradition with their daughters as a way to preserve a sense of dignity, hope and survival of spirit.

This will be a day dedicated to our mothers, daughters and sisters and will be enriched if you can come with either one from your own family or someone who has been like a "mother", "daughter" or "sister" to you.

Through the use of yarn and cloth you will learn to create dolls which preserve the strength and dignity of life, countering the critical voices from the past that have held us back from embracing our full creativity and self confidence.

Sketching & Watercolor:
Journal Style
with Jane LaFazio
April 6, 2013

Be inspired to record your life, your trip, or your daily adventures in an illustrated journal as you spend a meditative day drawing and sketching in the healing gardens. Jane will guide you through basic drawing, inking and watercolor painting. You’ll choose simple objects, vignettes or vistas to draw and paint, and then journal your thoughts right onto the drawings.

See Jane’s journal here. At the end of the day you will create a small portfolio to hold your artwork. The class is geared for beginners, but all levels are welcome. Twenty five dollar materials fee includes everything you’ll need: watercolor paper, ink pen, pencil and watercolor set with special Niji Waterbrush.

Exploring our Dreams
Awakening Our Creativity
Feb 23, 2013

Through guided imagery, paint and clay we will enter our dream landscapes, confront dream adversaries, and find creativity in both our waking and sleeping lives. Dreams provide us with deep wells of intuitive knowledge, presented in stories and metaphors. Join us as we travel into this mysterious world and link it with our waking lives.

California Center for Creative Renewal
Encinitas, CA
760-436-3310
info@artretreats.com

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