Creative Workshops & Retreats
Art-making as a way to slow down, reflect, express what words can't always hold, and discover something new.
A space to create, reflect, and explore.
Our world is organized around words. We speak, listen, and read words all day. But some things are difficult to put into words.
Sometimes we need another way to pay attention—to what we're feeling, wondering, grieving, imagining, or becoming.
Through art-making, contemplation, conversation, embodied practices, and shared reflection, I create spaces where people can slow down, make something with their hands, listen to what is stirring within, and share space with others doing the same.
“More than an art class”
If you ever walk into one of my workshops or retreats, you’ll discover immediately that these aren't art classes where the goal is to make something impressive. They're invitations to making room for the following:
Slowing down
We make space to notice what is happening beneath the surface.
Reflection
We linger with questions that matter rather than rushing toward an answer.
Creativity
We use art-making and other creative practices as ways of exploring, expressing, and knowing—not simply producing something beautiful.
Process over Product
You don’t have to make anything “good” or pretty. The primary gift is the experience itself.
Gentle Structure
There is enough structure to help you begin, and enough freedom to make the experience your own.
Connection
We make room to share, listen, and bear witness to what is emerging. You never have to share anything you don't want to.
Creative Experiences for Groups
and Individuals
Create a space for your people to slow down, reflect, and explore.
I work with organizations, churches, nonprofits, teams, and communities to design workshops and retreats around their particular context and needs.
Depending on your context, a workshop or retreat might explore:
rest and renewal
creativity and reflection
identity and belonging
grief and transition
discernment
relationship and community
justice and collective care
Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all curriculum, I collaborate with you to create an experience that fits your people and the questions you're holding.
For Organizations & Communities
For Individuals
Seasonal spaces to slow down and reconnect with what matters.
I occasionally offer workshops and gatherings for individuals who want time and space away from the pace of everyday life to create, reflect, experiment, and connect with others.
These might be art-making workshops, creative practices, contemplative gatherings, or seasonal retreats.
No previous art experience is needed!
Past Workshops
A creative workshop for exploring our relationship to imperfection through the Japanese art form Kintsugi
Come join us for a restorative and contemplative experience inspired by Kintsugi– the Japanese art form that repairs broken objects and approaches breakage as something to be highlighted vs. hidden.
This workshop will include personal reflection, art-making (repairing a broken ceramic vessel), learning about the Japanese art of Kintsugi, and group sharing (which will take place at the conclusion of the workshop).
Together, we will be invited to tend to the sacred reality of imperfection and notice the beauty in our stories.
A workshop exploring the joy and calming effect of watercolor through painting loose, expressive florals.
Come slow down and play with colors! In this intuitive watercolor workshop, we’ll practice letting go of the pressure to make something “perfect” and instead letting our curiosity guide us as we paint loose, expressive florals through simple prompts and playful experimentation.
This beginner-friendly workshop is more than a watercolor class. It’s an invitation to try something new and to connect with others in a relaxed and meaningful way.
No art experience is needed—just a willingness to play, notice, and see what emerges!
A mindful art workshop for exploring the challenge of "letting go."
We often hear the phrase, “just let go,” but we all know the reality involved in that action is quite complex and difficult! Join Ruth (a certified spiritual director and creative) and Shannon (a clinical therapist), as they guide you through a mindful art practice using water-soluble pastels to explore the challenge of making counter-intuitive choices that are value-aligned.
Together we'll engage with color and play as a way of noticing what happens within us when we attempt to make choices that feel stretching and uncomfortable.
Where it all began.
In 2023, after a season of great loss and change, my good friend Shannon and I started to meet to dream together. Both of us were recovering from pain and loss, and part of our healing was to wonder aloud: What would it look like to create the kind of life-giving spaces we ourselves wished we had?
We weren’t looking for more spaces to perform or fix ourselves. We longed for spaces that could attend to pain but also to delight and possibility, and our desires eventually led us to host our very first workshop.
What began as a dream we shared has since grown into workshops I've facilitated both with Shannon and on my own—each shaped by that same desire to make room for healing, creativity, delight, and possibility.
Come make something with us.
There are no upcoming workshops at this time but I always welcome inquiries from groups, teams, or organizations!
Some organizations I’ve shared the honor of working with:
