One of the things that I DIDN’T do well was photograph the steps and days of my retreat. Photos of me don’t come out all that well and I never seem to be truly comfortable with shooting pictures of everyone around me. So even though I have a camera in my iPhone and another digital camera in my bag I forget to use them! So please forgive my lack of visual documentation of my time. Remember to do this for your retreat as you will want to tell everyone about it and pictures help. You may even want to create a memory book for yourself as one of my friends suggested!
PLANNING – THE GIST OF THE MATTER
Once you have determined the where and when of your retreat, then you have to decide the what. What you focus your time on doesn’t matter as much as that you do have a focus. You MUST decide this before you go! Without a subject or topic to work on the creative mind will wander aimlessly over a lot of ground. Creative people often feel themselves running off in tangents with just the slightest suggestion from outside sources. Doing this often results in a lot of cool ideas plus the frustration of not knowing which one you even want to do. So to avoid having your mind wander out too far, choose a topic/subject/material to focus your time on and leave your decision making stress at home.
In my case, I have a LOT of different interests. These are spread out around my home and I fully intend to get to them. Sometime. Among all the crafts and arts that I am interested in doing a few just aren’t that portable. I really wanted to work on polymer clay, but I didn’t want to shlep my toaster oven along and I was afraid it might not be wise to bake the clay in my room – if there wasn’t an openable window, or a working bath fan. Painting could work (acrylics). Weaving could work (I have a small portable loom). Beading would work (though I have a pretty big supply of tools and materials). Zentangles and coloring. Drawing. Knitting. Scrapbooking. Card making!
Two considerations for my choice of focus was could I find a class to take – to get me out with some playmates – and did I already have a supply of materials and projects to work on. I didn’t really want to have to spend a lot of time planning out every step – I have been too busy for that. Time also has a way of rushing by me so I really didn’t get too much planned until 3 days before leaving. Don’t do this!
My suggestion is at least one month before your travel date,
- decide on a focus,
- research classes/workshops,
- make out a tentative daily schedule,
- and gather supplies and materials for your retreat.
Finding classes to participate in can be a bit more problematic. In a day where everything is on the internet, many shops and art centers just haven’t gotten up to speed yet. I’ve never been one to just pick up the phone and call someone either. I was disappointed that I couldn’t find more classes available in my target area. I had a car and I was willing to travel at last some miles to a class. I actually started looking for class offerings before I decided on a focus for my retreat. I’m glad that I did because that information helped me to decide what I was going to do.
There are several places to look for information you might not have thought of:
Local galleries could offers classes via their artists
- City listings like chamber of commerce, or visitors bureaus
- Community centers
- Stores – craft, specialty, name chain stores
- Local artists listings – some people teach in their studios
- magazine listings both in print and online
- museums and institutes sometimes offer classes
- Facebook/twitter/Linkedin friends where you are going
- Even major crafts companies keep a list of their designers and where they will be teaching – try them!





