“The creative process puts us in touch with our soul, our spirit, our inner wisdom. Self-expression through the creative arts is a sacred and often mystical experience.” – Natalie Rogers
Are you looking for a space amidst your busy life to connect more deeply with yourself and your community in a supportive and inspiring environment?
Illumination, Photograph by Lisa Kagan
Touchstone Retreats offers you the chance to immerse yourself in the creative process of sharing your stories through art and writing. We facilitate art and writing retreats throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Upon request, we also provide specialized programing for organizations and community groups with a focus on serving caregivers, health care providers, educators, counselors, artists, writers, and social justice activists.
We invite you to:
- Take a break from your responsibilities and enjoy the opportunity for self-reflection and creativity.
- Allow yourself to be nurtured and nourished, supporting the process of regeneration and renewal.
- Embark on your own journey of transformation, stepping more fully into your personal power and expressing your authentic voice and vision.
- Share insight, inspiration, and wisdom through deepening community connection.
We honor writing and art as a creative process that belongs to all people. Each person’s voice is unique and of value. All writing, art and creativity is welcome here. No previous experience is necessary, just an openness to exploration.
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR SPRING 2023 PROGRAMS!
EMERGENCE: Coming into Balance ~ A Journey of Flow, Care & Compassion
A full day in-person retreat
with Lisa Kagan and Dawn Thomspson
“Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows.”
– Henry David Thoreau
Drawing inspiration from the natural world and its infinite wisdom of design, we will explore how the currents of our own lives move through us, offering their own gifts and insights. This year, during our annual spring Emergence retreat, we turn to a personal and collective call for balance and flow, care and compassion. When we strive for balance in our own lives, we identify what we are ready to let go of so that ample space is made for creativity and new beginnings. This generates the possibility for flow in our inner and outer landscapes. When life is flowing, we return to a place of trust. We open to our great human capacity to deeply care for ourselves, one another, and the planet in a spirit of compassion. Through writing and art making, utilizing painting, drawing, collage, and printmaking with natural materials from the magnificent Oregon forest, you’ll have the chance to honor your own process of emergence this spring. This soulful and inspiring day in the beauty of the natural world also offers you a chance to deeply nourish yourself with a delicious lunch, a beautiful retreat setting and 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.
Source, Mixed Media by Lisa Kagan
Dates & Times:
Sunday, April 16th, 2023, 10am-5pm (This is a full day retreat)
Location:
Alton L. Collins Conference & Retreat Center
“Surrounded by giant fir and cedar, lush fern and abundant moss covered vine maple, the Alton L. Collins Conference & Retreat Center near Eagle Creek, Oregon provides an environment and facilities conducive to study and reflection, relaxation and recreation…Trails take you through the woods and along the streams that meander around the grounds.”
A professional chef specializes in using fresh, local produce to create meals that are truly culinary works of art. This retreat includes lunch.
Costs:
Retreat Program Fee & Lunch: $200
Art Materials: $15
Total Cost: $215
Registration:
Payment is due at the time of sign up. Registration and payment is made through Alton L. Collins Retreat & Conference Center. Click here to register. Visit our event page for more information or if you have questions about the retreat, please contact Dawn at: dawnrenethompson@gmail.com or 503.568.6145.
Here is what participants have to say about Touchstone Retreats…
I have now been to two art and writing retreats with Dawn Thompson and Lisa Kagan and both provided so much healing for my soul. There is nothing like gathering with others to create. Much like meditating with a group of people, the experience is very powerful in a way that cannot be replicated on your own. Dawn and Lisa are both very thoughtful, kind and supportive and just an inspiration to work with. I feel very nurtured with them, even (especially) at my most vulnerable moments sharing my work with the group. I am so grateful for them and can’t wait to retreat with them again!”
– Touchstone Retreats Participant
Extraordinary things happen when a group of women come together and commit to writing, creating, and exploring in nature. Dawn and Lisa of Touchstone Retreats provided a safe, nurturing space to simply be— without judgment or expectation. We were invited as individuals to experience our weekend as we needed. There’s such freedom in that. I wrote, hiked, put my feet up, and got my fingers sticky with paint. It was fantastic! Our group quickly became a unique type of family, forged in a creative space so often unattainable in the bustle of modern life. The delicious, locally-sourced meals prepared by an amazing chef made the weekend extra special. This was a writing and art retreat, but it was also a nature and foodie retreat! Dawn and Lisa are two of the most welcoming and talented humans I’ve ever met. I left feeling loved, nurtured, and inspired. I can’t wait for the next Touchstone retreat!
– Touchstone Retreats Participant
I recommend Touchstone Retreats 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
I registered for this retreat because I wanted time away in the forest with like-minded creatives. It was so much more ~ from the beautiful venue to the incredible meals and ‘forest bathing’ to the deep dive into writing and mask making, it was a pure joy. I hope to attend many more.
– Touchstone Retreats Participant
About Touchstone Retreats Facilitators:
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). Lisa is a co-founder of Touchstone Retreats.
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. Dawn is a co-founder of Touchstone Retreats.
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. 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.
Please contact us with questions, to register for our upcoming retreats, or to brainstorm on ideas for bringing a Touchstone Retreats program to your community.
Lisa Kagan
503.347.1391
Lisa@FamilyHeirloomArts.com
FamilyHeirloomArts.com
Dawn Thompson
503.568.6145
DawnReneThompson@gmail.com
www.pdxwomenwriters.com
Margaret Hartsook
margarethartsook@yahoo.com
303-682-1073
mhartsook.com
