My March Artful Living Retreat in Mexico was a magical experience. It exceeded my expectations on every level. As always happens in the circles I’ve been blessed to bring together, I fell in love with the women who came to work and play and dive deep into self-care and creativity. I fell in love with their courage, their unique gifts, their beauty, and their willingness to play and explore.

They greeted each new exploration, from meditation to bellydance to cricket tacos, with enthusiasm and open minds and hearts. When we sat down every day in the breezy garden courtyard art studio, courageous creativity poured forth. Our petite group manged to cover every available surface with paint, ephemera, scraps, pressed flowers, and general yummy creative chaos. Some nights before I went to sleep, I would peek into the studio courtyard, which was just adjacent to my casita garden, and see heads bent in quiet focus over the art tables. Lots of beauty happened, and I wanted to share some of it with you today for Artful Friday.

We played with altered book techniques, to transform vintage books into treasured art journals:

We incorporated journaling prompts for my Nine Keys to an Artful Life.

We learned some essentials about colour theory to make our painted and collaged pages more beautiful.

We explored fun techniques for incorporating ephemera and paper souvenirs into our altered books.

We recorded memories as they happened!

We played with simple watercolour sketches; tropical blooms and vibrantly coloured art glass made perfect studies.

We learned background techniques to prepare fun pages for future journaling.

The colourful courtyard art studio at Hacienda Mosaico is a joy to work in:

All things considered, it was a splendid creative experience. I’ll be doing it all over again in November – details on the next Mexico retreat coming soon!

Wishing you a joyfully creative weekend! Be sure to take some time this weekend for creative play and sensual joy.