CREATIVE ALCHEMY~ Poetry, Art & Community

A ten-week creative retreat series
with Lisa Kagan & Margaret Hartsook

“At it’s essence, art is an alchemical process. Alchemy is a process of transformation.”
~ Julia Cameron

Transform, Mixed Media by Lisa Kagan

Dates & Times:
Fall 2026:
Mondays 6:30pm-9pm
September 28, October 5, 12, 19, 26, November 2, 9, 16, 30, December 7
(skipping 11/23 during Thanksgiving week)

Location: Studio of the Imagination at Margaret’s home in SE Portland, the Creston neighborhood.

Costs:
Program Fee: $505
Art Materials Fee: $35
Total Fee: $540

We invite you to join us in creative community at the cusp of autumn, as we move towards the darker days of the year. This weekly retreat series offers you the chance to step away from the demands of daily life and to connect more deeply with yourself and your innate wisdom through the creative process.

During this session we will explore our relationship to the concept of “creative alchemy” as it relates to how we can transform ordinary experiences, emotions, and raw materials into treasures, innovative creations, and fresh insights. We will experiment with distilling our creativity into forms and shapes that speak to our lives and a deeper connection with ourselves through engaging in active imagination, exploring magical realism, and transforming the discarded into gold.

Our weekly projects will utilize a variety of mixed media techniques including painting, drawing, collage, and sculpture. Featured projects for this series include creating assemblage sculptures incorporating personal treasures, designing balance and harmony mobiles, and making bleeding tissue paper paintings. This program offers you a chance to kindle your creative spark and cultivate new ways of enriching your imagination while nourishing yourself in the supportive, uplifting company of other women.

This program offers space for creative expression for women of all ages and backgrounds. All women are welcome, including cisgender, transgender, and those whose gender identity aligns with womanhood. No writing or art experience is necessary. All art materials, as well as snacks and drinks, will be provided.

Registration & Payment:
Online registration for this retreat series is available here: https://events.humanitix.com/creative-alchemy-poetry-art-and-community

If you have any questions or would prefer to pay through Zelle or by check, please contact Lisa at: Lisa@FamilyHeirloomArts.com or at 503.347.1391. Due to the limited number of participants we can accommodate, early registration is recommended.

This program has two payment options:

Option 1: Payment for the full amount of $540.00 can be made at the time of sign-up. Online payment is available for this option.

Option 2: Payment can be made in two installments. The first payment of $270.00 is due at the time of sign-up. The second payment of $270.00 is due by October 26th. We only accept payment through Zelle or by check for Option 2, as partial payment is not available online for this program.

This program is offered through Touchstone Retreats. Learn more at:
https://familyheirloomarts.com/touchstone-retreats/

Featured image (top): Butterfly Moon, Mixed Media by Margaret Hartsook

“This time together in our weekly retreat sessions has helped me reconnect with the part of myself longing to create. It has been confirmation that stepping away from home and having a loving structure to come to each week works well for me. I love the energy of creating together, the consistent ritual of our gatherings, and the graceful space holding by Lisa and Margaret.”
~ Touchstone Retreats Participant

About Touchstone Retreats Facilitators:

Margaret Hartsook sees art making and writing as spiritual practices that can open the gates of creativity and self-expression. She believes we each have a unique creative language that can promote well-being, healing, meaning making, and growth in our lives. Through de-mystifying the tools of visual art making, she guides individuals to explore and find their own unique expression. Trained in drawing and painting at California College of Art, Margaret completed her BFA at the University of Oregon and received a master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling & Psychology with an emphasis in Art Therapy from Naropa University. Margaret is currently working at Legacy Good Samaritan in the Cancer Institute as an Art Therapist. In addition to facilitating many art-based workshops she co-created the Art Therapy program for Pathways Hospice in Northern Colorado and established the Memories in the Making art program for the Alzheimer’s Association in Oregon.

Contact:
Margaret Hartsook
303-682-1073
margarethartsook@yahoo.com
mhartsook.com

Lisa Kagan is a writer, artist, creative facilitator, celebrant, and personal historian. She is a co-founder of Touchstone Retreats, facilitating art and writing programs throughout the Portland area. Her business, Family Heirloom Arts, is dedicated to helping individuals and families celebrate their life stories and significant life milestones through conducting oral history interviews and creating illustrated heirloom books. Through her work as a celebrant, Lisa runs Full Circle Ceremonies, supporting people to create custom ceremonies honoring celebrations, transitions, and healing. Lisa believes in the transformative nature of the creative process to renew, empower, challenge, inform, and awaken the human spirit. Lisa received her BA from Wesleyan University in Connecticut with a focus on writing and fine art. She has completed intensive studies in the arts at Skidmore College, the University of New Mexico, Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and the Maine Photographic Workshops. Lisa has completed her celebrant training through the Celebrant Academy and the Ceremony and Rites of Passage Global Training certification program. Lisa has published two books of original art and poetry, Coming Home to Myself (2021) and Emergece (2009).

Contact:
Lisa Kagan
503.347.1391
Lisa@FamilyHeirloomArts.com
familyheirloomarts.com

Touchstone Health & Safety Policy
• We ask that all retreat participants do a self-evaluation before coming each week and that they remain at home if they have any symptoms of illness.

Touchstone Retreats Cancellation Policy
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 start of the program. 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 you have a COVID related situation arise, and you need to cancel please contact Lisa Kagan at Lisa@FamilyHeirloomArts.com or 503.347.1391.