Four years ago, I got on a plane and headed West. My friend and writing cohort suggested a weekend away to focus on our crafts, and it sounded like exactly the thing I needed to jump start a few projects. That was the birth place of our Creative Retreat.
There is no substitute for the power of like-mindedness. As females, we crave relationships. Conversation with others is the Yin to our Yang. We thrive on those deep seeded moments of connection.
While this is true for all women to some degree, for creative women, relationship is almost like oxygen. As Creatives, we are known to have ALL THE FEELINGS! We see life in a unique way, and by unique I mean totally different from our more realistic, left-brained peers.
Let’s just say we might still believe in unicorns and fairies.
When Creatives come together, the days suddenly feel a little more sparkly. Tuck Creatives away in a beautiful place with inspiring scenery, and a bit of magic happens. Imagination takes flight when a group of creative women comes together, because as we share ALL THE FEELINGS, and we dream the dreams, we see that perhaps this thing that we do, this creating, isn’t such a strange thing after all.
There is comfort to be found in a room full of women who agree that they’ll forgo cleaning the bathroom/kitchen/house in order to write a few more paragraphs, or edit that last batch of photos, or simply read a book. There is beauty seen when we stumble out into the early morning sunlight together because we couldn’t sleep, all the visions and stories calling us out of bed.
A Creative Retreat extends a hand out and says, “You’re not alone. I get you. Let’s do this together.”
What makes a Creative Retreat?
Wendy gave some excellent tips on what makes up a successful gathering for the creative minds. But more than anything, a Creative Retreat is simply a place where you come together, and you enjoy designated, un-interrupted, guilt-free hours specifically on your craft.
A Creative Retreat is a getaway that allows you not only to escape your day to day home life, but also to escape fully into the gifts that let your soul breath a little bit easier.
Why Is a Creative Retreat Important?
In the four years since Wendy and I began planning these Creative Retreats, we’ve seen the women who join us grow in their talents. The photographers, both already phenomenal in their own right, have gotten more confident in their abilities, and in their callings. The teacher has found that the time away fills her soul, preparing her to return home to pour back into both her students and her children. The writers have each expanded their reach and platform, and have accomplished project goals.
A Creative Retreat is not only fulfilling to the creative heart, but it also allows you to set and achieve goals. Concentrated time focused solely on your project can yield amazing results.
Three years ago, I wrote 50 pages in my novel in just three days. All I needed was the space and time.
If you’re a creative who’s looking for space to breath and stretch your creative wings, I would urge you to look for a retreat that you can attend that will meet that need. And if you can’t find one?
Tia is learning fractions, which means I am relearning fractions again. I didn’t get them the first time around when I was in school. Nor did I get them the second time around when Sloan started working on them. Either the third time’s a charm, or there is officially no hope for me.
Annika is a quarter of the way through her first year (TAKE THAT FRACTIONS), and she gets exponentially sweeter by the day. She has found her voice, and is determined to make herself heard in this crazy house of ours.
“K” is here, and we’ve had such a sweet weekend together again. It’s different when you host a second time. We know one another now, so there’s no learning curve. It just feels natural to all be together.
There’s lots I could say right now, but I’d rather just show you cute pictures of my baby and save the words for 2015. It’s going to be a year of growing, I can already tell.
Merry Christmas, everyone! I’m praying that your days will be merry and bright, and filled with Christmas cheer.
I am officially throwing my name in the hat for Baby of the Year. Here’s why I believe I should win.
First, clearly I am adorable. Try to argue with me – I dare you.
Second, I’m five and a half weeks old and I’m sleeping anywhere from 6-7 hours a night regularly. Last night I slept 9 hours because I was feeling generous and deemed Mom-lady worthy of a nighttime reprieve.
Third, I’ve put on two pounds since birth. I’m now in the double digits, and that’s without eating throughout the night.
Finally…did I mention I’m cute?
I’ve got this title in the bag.
This month, I’m linking up with The Nesterfor this 31 Day series as I survive the newborn haze of sleepless nights, endless nursing, and squeezing in life in twenty minute increments throughout the day. If you want to receive the posts directly in your email inbox, just leave your email address in the box on the sidebar, and subscribe so you don’t miss a post!
I’ll share photos every day, some of them good, and some of them mediocre, because baby leaves me little time to worry about taking and editing the perfect photos.
I’ll also be sharing my daughter’s thoughts, as dictated to me telepathically while she nurses, because she has informed me that she is a mind ninja, and I am merely her portal to the outside world.
Mom-lady fed me quickly this morning. I should have known something was up the way she was rushing me through my morning routine. I thought it was maybe because she wanted to hang out with me and look lovingly into my eyes.
Turns out she just wanted to take me on errands.
She took me to some place known as Target. She made a big fuss about how I would one day grow to love this mega-store, what with it’s bright lights, pretty colors, and soothing aroma of all things pretty.
Mom-lady needed a reminder on the drive to the store, and my persistence in screaming paid off because when we arrived, she picked me up and held me while we picked up the necessary items from the “holy land,” as mom-lady referred to the store on and off. Some of the items she had to retrieve?
Actual pumpkins, which are as lovely and sweet as they sound like they would be. So why, again, is my torture chamber car seat called a “pumpkin seat” again? These are curious matters to me.
Incidentally, I quickly fell asleep in mom-lady’s arms while we shopped the store.
Turns out Target is a lovely place, indeed.
This month, I’m linking up with The Nesterfor this 31 Day series as I survive the newborn haze of sleepless nights, endless nursing, and squeezing in life in twenty minute increments throughout the day. If you want to receive the posts directly in your email inbox, just leave your email address in the box on the sidebar, and subscribe so you don’t miss a post!
I’ll share photos every day, some of them good, and some of them mediocre, because baby leaves me little time to worry about taking and editing the perfect photos.
I’ll also be sharing my daughter’s thoughts, as dictated to me telepathically while she nurses, because she has informed me that she is a mind ninja, and I am merely her portal to the outside world.
Mom-lady decided to have another little photo session this morning.
I mean, really.
I’ve paid her back by only cat-napping all day and bellowing for food at every opportunity.
I WIN AGAIN!
This month, I’m linking up with The Nester for this 31 Day series as I survive the newborn haze of sleepless nights, endless nursing, and squeezing in life in twenty minute increments throughout the day. If you want to receive the posts directly in your email inbox, just leave your email address in the box on the sidebar, and subscribe so you don’t miss a post!
I’ll share photos every day, some of them good, and some of them mediocre, because baby leaves me little time to worry about taking and editing the perfect photos.
I’ll also be sharing my daughter’s thoughts, as dictated to me telepathically while she nurses, because she has informed me that she is a mind ninja, and I am merely her portal to the outside world.
I’ve decided that the conference life is not really for me. While mom-lady seems to be have a slam-bang time, I am more exhausted than anything else. Blogger ladies are noisy. They are also a verbose bunch, and when they all cackle at the same time it sounds like an explosion of joy, which one would think would be a delightful sound, but when you’re in a dead sleep it sends you into spasms of fear.
There are a few pros to attending a conference with mom-lady, though. First, I have been held almost non-stop. Mom-lady has been the primary holder, but when her arms started to tremble under my weight, there were an abundance of other mom-ladies here who gladly offered to take me for her.
It’s been a snuggle fest this week in Greenville, South Carolina.
The other pro is that mom-lady finally started feeding me more. Maybe it was to shut me up. Hard to say. In any case, it’s about time she upped the formula because I WAS STARVING TO DEATH.
Seriously – yesterday afternoon I almost died in the two minute that it took her to prepare my bottle. I saw my entire life flash before my eyes.
The cons lie firmly in the fact that I am exhausted. Just when I get into a deep sleep, the blogger ladies start applauding something or other, or someone starts playing music, or mom-lady decides to scratch her nose and jostles me awake.
The nerve.
It’s been a lovely adventure, but I’m ready to go home. And judging by the way mom-lady and her friend seem to have lost their minds, I think it’s time we all got back to normal.
My mom is strange.
This month, I’m linking up with The Nester for this 31 Day series as I survive the newborn haze of sleepless nights, endless nursing, and squeezing in life in twenty minute increments throughout the day. If you want to receive the posts directly in your email inbox, just leave your email address in the box on the sidebar, and subscribe so you don’t miss a post!
I’ll share photos every day, some of them good, and some of them mediocre, because baby leaves me little time to worry about taking and editing the perfect photos.
I’ll also be sharing my daughter’s thoughts, as dictated to me telepathically while she nurses, because she has informed me that she is a mind ninja, and I am merely her portal to the outside world.
While this is true for all women to some degree, for creative women, relationship is almost like oxygen. As Creatives, we are known to have ALL THE FEELINGS! We see life in a unique way, and by unique I mean totally different from our more realistic, left-brained peers.
