Nosara, Costa Rica
March 27 - April 2, 2017
Cost: $1500- 2800 USD
We'll take over a lush secluded retreat center for 6 days & nights of making art, nurturing relationships with other women, and adventuring in the jungle paradise of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. Our group will lodge in a private villa compound with our own pool and secret path to the beach surrounded by jungle, falling asleep to the sound of the surf. Each morning after a delicious breakfast served by our house cook, there will be optional yoga and surf lessons on the beach to begin our day, these lessons will be taught by our own instructors. After morning beach time Mati Rose McDonough and I are teaming up to take you on a layered painting adventure, we'll dive into lessons on our gigantic open air painting porch filled with hammocks and comfy couches. We will begin each day diving into layers of Watercolor for our Watercolor warm ups practice. Then in daily afternoon workshops we'll lead you through collage, working with stencils, silk screening, spray painting, gold leafing, layering with drips and washes, incorporating geometrics, and creating abstract layers along with painted Mandalas and Feather Power Girls! At the end of our time together you'll leave with 2 finished paintings and tons of new skills under your belt to invigorate your painting practice back home!
Mati will be leading you from the beginning of this retreat, teaching your first two days of painting lessons on Tuesday and Wednesday. We will have a luxurious break on Thursday to explore all that this magical part of Costa Rica has to offer. Rounding out the week, Faith will teach two days of painting lessons on Friday and Saturday. We will also have inspiring Ayurvedic Bodyworker Lara Cornell with us all week, as part of the retreat she’ll be leading our group in a workshop to create our own sacred smudging kits as well as leading us in gentle morning yoga. Throughout the retreat Lara will also be offering private flower essence consultations and ayurvedic facials with flower essences for each retreat participant. She will have a sign up sheet available when you arrive to book your sessions with her. With the Consultations each person will get their own special blend elixir of flower essences to take home and will include a grounding meditation. With the facials, she uses an ayurvedic kansa wand along with a blend of jojoba oil, tridoshic aromas and flower essences.
Cost:
The retreat week rate ranges per room from $1500- 2800 depending on your choice of accommodation. Choose your room now with a $500 deposit. Airfare is not included.
Consider this your invitation to join us for painting in paradise!
What’s Included:
6 nights accommodation in a private compound, our own Jungle Beach House.
healthy breakfast and lunch daily by a private chef—lots of amazing yummy fresh tropical fruit, veggies and fresh local fish!
daily painting lessons taught by Faith & Mati …using our jungle beach location for inspiration we’ll dive into mixed media layered goodness with lessons in creating abstract paintings through a variety of marks and materials to express natural space and tropical inspiration. Through a slow build up of process you’ll create two large paintings in our open air studio. Mati and Faith will lead you through lessons in collage, wash painting, stenciling, silk screening, spray painting along with painted mandalas and feather power girls. You’ll come away with work that you love, and lots of new ways of seeing and working, to take home to jump start your own studio practice.
a gift bag full of goodies & gifts for you to use in your art making!
1 private flower essence consultation and personalized special blend of flower essence elixir to take home.
1 private ayurvedic kansa wand facial with a blend of jojoba oil, tridoshic aromas and flower essences.
around the clock access to our own open air art studio, a thatched roof central space full of hammocks and lounges where you can let your inspiration run wild and work into the night if you desire.
24 hour access to our art supply buffet which will be set up throughout our stay for you to create & explore with...paints, silkscreens, stencils, brushes. Students will be asked to bring along their own canvases, watercolor and acrylic paints. If you have favorite supplies from home we ask that you bring those along, we'll send out a recommended supply list letting you know all that you will need to bring!
private beach access, one minute walk down a private path
private pool on site
morning yoga class led by our private instructor
daily housekeeping service
1 free day for horseback riding, zip-lining, massage, surf lessons, local wildlife tours, fishing, jungle hikes and sinking deeply into relaxation.
lots of free time to explore the local beauty, nature preserve, and nurture relationships with other creative women.
a short walking distance to Nosara, a funky, holistic, hip enclave in the jungle, with cute restaurants, juice bar, shops, spas and yoga. Lots of fun places to go out to dinner and to grab groceries.
Also as a bonus gift for our lovely retreaters: ~You'll receive a FREE year of access to Painting the Sacred Within: A Year of Exploration, Self Discovery & Finding Your Voice Through Painting; the year long online painting class with Faith & Mati (a $449 value).
Our creativity filled 7 day itinerary:
Monday {day 1} Arrival and Orientation:
Arrival, settle in, explore the sweet hippie town of Nosara and enjoy the beach and pool. Opening Circle and Welcome Dinner.
Tuesday {day 2} Painting Workshop Day:
Breakfast, Morning Yoga, surfing, beach time. Watercolor warm ups. Buffet catered lunch. Abstract Painting Workshop with Mati.
Wednesday {day 3} Painting Workshop Day:
Breakfast, Morning Yoga, beach time, surfing. Watercolor warm ups. Buffet catered lunch. Abstract Painting Workshop with Mati.
Thursday {day 4} Free Day:
Breakfast, Watercolor warm ups and Nature Mandalas. Buffet catered lunch. Free day to enjoy all that this beautiful part of Costa Rica has to offer...horseback riding on the beach, ziplining, massage, surfing, fishing and hiking, all are close by!
Friday {day 5} Painting Workshop Day:
Breakfast, Morning Yoga, beach time, surfing. Watercolor warm ups. Nature Mandalas. Buffet catered lunch. Abstract Painting Workshop with Faith.
Saturday {day 6} Painting Workshop Day:
Breakfast, Morning Yoga, beach time, surfing. Watercolor warm ups. Nature Mandalas. Buffet catered lunch. Abstract Painting Workshop with Faith. Evening closing circle and celebration!
Sunday {day 7} Farewell & Departure:
Breakfast, Check out, Shuttles will leave for the airport.
The Jungle Beach House
Here's some more information on our beautiful location at the Jungle Beach House compound:
The Jungle Beach House is an amazing group accommodation, made up of three separate buildings in a walled compound full of gardens and pathways, with a total of 8 bedrooms, this unique place is what vacationing in the tropics is all about.
The Jungle Beach House has its own private walkway to the beach (1 min. walk) so falling asleep to the sounds of surf is a definite. This large property is very private, lushly landscaped and has a swimming pool, lots of parking (for rental cars if you decide to rent one) and many great features.
The primary gathering area is in the oldest building, the Rancho, a rustic thatched roof structure, open to the outdoors with soul. It has a gigantic open air porch with a soaring thatched roof which will become our own large jungle studio space for the length of our stay, complete with hammocks and comfy couches, a living room, two dining areas, convenient bathroom and a large kitchen.
There is also the newest area: Private Swimming Pool / Cabina compound which contains two private bedrooms with additional loft area and private full bathrooms (mirror images of each other) both are adjacent to the large pool.
Finally, there is the Main Guest House which has four air conditioned bedrooms. Two of the upstairs bedrooms include private, balconies that overlook the grounds.
5 day week maid service is included and Marta our amazing cook will spoil us with a fantastic fresh breakfast and lunch daily. In addition to being just steps along a private path to the area's best beach, Playa Guiones, the house is a short walk down a dirt road to the very cute town of Guiones and to several excellent restaurants, juice bars, spas and surf shops...Casa Romantica, Gilded Iguana, Kaya Sol and Giardino Tropicale, along with a Super Mini Market also just a short walk away.
A bit more about our teachers...
Mati Rose McDonough is an artist and daring adventurer whose name is pronounced Matey, like Ahoy! She is an Oakland, California based artist, illustrator, painting teacher and author of “Daring Adventures in Paint”. After wanting to be an artist for many years, but feeling like it was “impractical”, at 29 years Mati took the leap and went back to art school at the California College of the Arts. Almost 10 years later, she is still excited and terrified every time she sees a blank canvas. She has had dozens of art shows, taught painting classes internationally and had her art used by clients Patagonia, University Games, Pier 1, as well as greeting cards, and her very own home decor line. She also has illustrated several children’s books including “i carry your heart” written by EE Cummings. Through her workshops, book, and popular online course, she spreads a warm message of creative courage: it’s never too late to show the world your magic.
Faith Evans-Sills is a painter, wife, mother, world traveler and New York City transplant. With 20+ years of personal painting experience she enjoys inspiring others to manifest their most heartfelt ideas through creating art. Her art has been exhibited widely, included in multiple publications and she is very excited to now be fulfilling her longtime dream of offering creative workshops and retreats. She lives with her husband and 3 young children by the sea in Charleston, South Carolina, where they enjoy exploring southern beaches and maintaining a close connection with nature through frequent trips to wild places. Follow along here on her eponymous blog and on Instagram where she posts daily beauty and inspiration.