CELEBRATING YOUR LUMINOUS NATURE: A Summer Garden Retreat

A full day in-person retreat
with Lisa Kagan and Dawn Thompson

“Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers.”
– May Sarton

Join us for a full-day art and writing retreat to soak in the brilliance of summer while honoring the light within you. We will reinvigorate our curiosity, reengage our imaginations, and offer ourselves the chance to be inspired by nature’s infinite wisdom of design. Through writing and art making, we will connect with the words and stories from our inner landscape and will experiment with painting on river rocks, print-making with natural materials from the garden, making mini sculptures (with self-drying clay), and designing paper mosaics as we create our own personal alters, an ode to the brilliance in each of us. Inviting in the four elements, water, wind, earth, and fire, we will have a chance to consider what balance and harmony mean to us in the ecosystem of our own hearts amidst the push and pull of this tenuous world. This soulful gathering offers you the chance to deeply nourish and refresh yourself in the supportive, uplifting company of other women.

This retreat offers space for creative expression for women of all ages and backgrounds. No writing or art experience is necessary, all art materials will be provided.

Date: Friday July 22, 2022
Time: 10:00am-5:00pm
Retreat Program Fee: $175
Art Materials Fee: $15
Total fee: $190
Location: This retreat will be held outside in Lisa’s garden at her home in the Woodstock neighborhood in Southeast Portland.

Participants will be asked to bring a bag lunch. Drinks and light snacks will provided throughout the day.

Registration: To register for the retreat, please contact Dawn at: dawnrenethompson@gmail.com or 503.568.6145. Due to the limited number of participants we can accommodate early registration is recommended.

“I recommend this retreat to women who are looking for a safe place to connect with their inner voice and creativity, and also to connect with kindred spirits. Life is such a hectic race through our to-do lists that we hardly ever disconnect not only from electronics, but from our self-talk to do more and be more. Taking time for reflection is so important. Participating in a retreat like this is a way to be kind to yourself through taking time to write and create.”
– Touchstone Retreats Participant

To learn more about Touchstone Retreats visit: https://familyheirloomarts.com/touchstone-retreats/.

About Touchstone Retreats Facilitators:

Lisa & Dawn are the co-founders of Touchstone Retreats.

Lisa Kagan is a writer, artist, educator and personal historian. Her business, Family Heirloom Arts, is dedicated to helping individuals and families celebrate their life stories and significant life milestones through the creation of illustrated heirloom books and custom art. Lisa offers art and writing workshops and retreats throughout the Pacific Northwest and is a facilitator through Portland Women Writers. Lisa believes in the transformative nature of the creative process to heal, empower, challenge, inform, and awaken the human spirit. Lisa has published two books of original art and poetry, Coming Home to Myself (2021) and Emergence (2009).

Dawn Thompson oversees Portland Women Writers and has had the honor to be a part of it since 2008. She has also worked as a staff member for Write Around Portland. Dawn currently holds writing workshops for individuals healing from cancer through the Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU and Words for Healing through Legacy Cancer Center. She believes writing our stories, whether they originate from our life experience or imagination, is a sacred act that liberates, heals and transforms us. Dawn is passionate about how writing in community offers the gift of becoming more intimate with our self and more connected to one another.

Touchstone Retreats Vaccination Requirements
We require that all workshop participants and facilitators be fully COVID-19 vaccinated prior to participating in a Touchstone Retreats in-person retreat.
COVID-19 Retreat Policy:
• All participants signing up for an in-person retreat are required to email a photo of their vaccination card to Dawn at the time of registration.
• As of now, face coverings are optional at Touchstone Retreats programs. If this requirement changes, participants will be notified ahead of time.
• We ask that all in-person retreat participants do a self-evaluation before coming to a retreat and that they remain at home if they have any symptoms.
We will continue to monitor guidance from the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) in regard to best practices for gatherings of fully vaccinated adults and we will update our policies accordingly.

Touchstone Retreats Cancellation Policy (for full day retreats)
Payment is fully refundable with one month’s cancellation notice. Participants will be charged for 25% of the total program fee with less than a month’s notice up to 14 days prior to the retreat. No refund is possible with less than a 14 day cancellation notice. Family emergency situations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
If this retreat is cancelled due to the pandemic you will receive a full refund. If you have a COVID related situation arise and you need to cancel please contact Dawn Thompson at dawnrenethompson@gmail.com or 503.568.6145.