CREATIVE RETREAT IN THE SPANISH MOUNTAINS

with Katie Sollohub

13-20 June 2024    £1850

(includes tuition, most materials, food, accommodation and transfers)

Spend 6 days immersed in one of the world’s top 20 Mountain Retreats* nestled in the mountains of the Aragonese region of Matarraña, Eastern Spain. This is an area of untouched natural wilderness which has been likened to Tuscany because of its “bucolic beauty, vineyards and hill towns”. You will be looked after by your teacher Katie Sollohub and host Alasdair Grant, in this exquisitely restored traditional masia farmhouse, with top quality food and accommodation, drawing classes, and sightseeing trips into the surrounding areas.

*Sunday Times 2022

“Our guests relax under acres of vast skies, dramatic mountain views, almond groves and pine forest whilst wild ibex graze amongst the flora and fauna: a truly secluded wilderness paradise to escape to”    Alasdair

Have you ever been on holiday to a place so beautiful that no photograph truly captures the sensation of really being there? How can we even begin to express all of this on paper? This creative holiday retreat is an opportunity to explore just that – through all the senses, through letting go of expectation, through relaxation and play. Let the place inspire you, the food and location nourish you, and the creative exercises guide you. Let yourself be held in presence, awe and wonder, with like minded people, a spectacular landscape, and a swimming pool to die for!

Throughout the retreat you will be guided by Katie, with creative drawing exercises, writing and meditation practices, to find your own authentic voice, in response to what will be a fully immersive, sensory experience; in a landscape as rich in flavour, colour and texture as the food.The practical side of the retreat will have drawing at the heart, exploring the immediate surroundings and the local area with portable drawing materials (including colour and some water based media), enjoying the immediacy of quick studies made in situ. Think of it as a visual diary, with writing encouraged to accompany your journey. Katie will introduce a playful and experimental approach with exercises and materials suited to working fast and freely when on location, awakening the senses (walking drawings, drawing sound, mark making and experimental collage). These drawings can be further developed, layered and drawn into with Katie’s intuitive sense of each individual’s needs and one-to-one guidance, in order to truly express and record your own personal experience of the places you visit. You will be given a sketchbook on arrival, to bring home full of memories, in the form of drawings, writing, collage and other experimental studies. All the work will be portable, small enough to take home with you, whether collaged into your bulging sketchbook, or in a folder (also provided). The course will offer you an alternative way of drawing and a lasting visual memory of an unforgettable experience. There will be plenty of time and space to relax and rest around the pool, plus a day off in the middle of the week for an optional sightseeing tour. You will come away rested and refreshed with enough inspiration to last you for the rest of the year!

For more information on the location and for booking form contact Alasdair at www.masdelaserra.com – pay a deposit now and full balance in 2024

For more information on the course content contact Katie at katiesollohub@gmail.com