Story Seekers:
A Writing Retreat at Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center
Saturday and Sunday, May 28th-29th, 2016
Description: The poet Mary Oliver writes, “Let me keep my mind on what matters… which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.” In this creative writing retreat, we will immerse ourselves in the wild landscape of Opal Creek so that we, too, may become astonished.
We will explore the ancient forest with our senses wide open, allowing objects of intrigue to awaken the stories inside us.
With the help of prompts that invite interaction with the Opal Creek Wilderness, we will generate pieces of writing that are as wild and alive as the woods and rushing waters that inspired them. By the end of the weekend, we will each have a creatively rendered record of our discoveries and a variety of story seeds to take home. This retreat is a great opportunity for writers, artists, teachers, and anybody else who wants to break through blocks and access the wild and creative force howling inside us all.
$185, includes food and lodging
Register now at Opal Creek’s website.
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Freedom Within Form:
A Daylong Painting & Creative Writing Retreat in the Columbia River Gorge
Saturday, August 20, 2016
10am-4:30pm at The Artifactory at Atlan Center
Description: If you’ve ever stared at a blank canvas or empty notebook, yo know how paralyzing it can be to enter such boundless terrain. While there is a certain appeal to unlimited possibility, our creative selves thrive when they have just enough structure to run truly wild within.
In this day-long painting and creative writing retreat, we will set ourselves free by utilizing overlapping circular compositions as a portal into the painting process and our own creative genius. Guided writing exercises take us deeper into the territory we explore through our paintings.
No matter your starting point, we will engage in a process that is at once playful and focused, bound by form and exploding with potential. Using artist-grade acrylic paints, we will each complete three colorful wooden panels to take home as aesthetic reminders that with just the right amount of structure, you can indeed, hold infinity.
Instructors: Jazz-minh Moore received her BFA from Cornish College of the Arts and MFA from CSULB, both in Drawing and Painting. She has exhibited widely and been featured in various publications, including New York Magazine, the Huffington Post, Zingmagazine and the Village Voice. Moore has taught Color Theory and painting at university level, organized community painting events and also worked to bring the Arts to under-privileged children on both coasts, through Time In Children’s Arts Initiative and Artsbridge Scholar Program. She is currently transitioning back to the Northwest after living for seven years in New York City, where her work is represented by Claire Oliver Gallery.
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Becca Deysach, M.S., teaches creative writing and environmental studies for Prescott College and facilitates writing programs at Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat and Conference Center and Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center. Her writing has appeared in Terrain, Mamalode, MsFit, The Whitefish Review, Nervy Girl, Punk Planet, and other literary journals and magazines. When she’s not teaching and writing in beautiful places, you can find her galavanting in the Central Cascades, cooking dinner for friends, or drawing in her wee cabin.
Price: $110 (includes a catered lunch)
Becca Deysach, Ecstatic Wanderer 