Organizing a 4 day vacation art retreat took a lot of planning, especially trying to anticipated everything we would need, not only to work together, but to live together while creating. Other than forgetting blue paint for Santa’s eyes, I almost had it perfectly planned. Luckily I found a jar of blue paint in the garage and we were able to give Santa his magical twinkle.

The location was beautiful, on a lovely private lake in La Peche, Quebec. The participants were talented, interesting and a pleasure to work with, and I’m happy to say I now consider them life long friends. I’m thrilled and relieved to say my first retreat was a success. My students experienced several “AhhhHaaa!” moments and very important for me was that they completed their beautiful heirloom Polar Bear Santa’s in the allotted time.

I learned a lot too! Planning a little extra time for sight seeing is a must, as well as planning for flight delays and cancellations. Nonetheless, my out-of-town students got a condensed tour of Ottawa plus a side trip to the NAK Gallery to see my work. They also got a tour of my unrealistically clean and organized staged version of my home studio. It’s already back in working conditions again. One of the highlights of the retreat was the opportunity to test a new concept with my students and as I hoped, it’s a game changer for figurative artists. I have a few kinks to work out but I hope to share this with my other students very soon.

Although the next vacation retreat won’t be until next year, the same workshop project will be offered at the NAK Gallery over two weekends this October. Check the NAK Gallery website for more information coming soon.