Discover the wild edges of your creative practice using your body, voice, and imagination with the brilliant guidance of leading, creative luminaries and artists from around the world.
Creative Expression
Seriously Funny: The Magic of Humour in Storytelling
With Janelle Hanchett and Lisa Page Rosenberg
June 11 - 16, 2023
Cortes Island
Let’s explore the transformative power of humour in storytelling. What makes a character funny? What do we mean by “humour = tragedy + time?” How (and why) do we laugh at the human condition in a way that deepens meaning? In every genre, nuanced writing uses humour to create three-dimensional…
SAORI: Weaving without Boundaries
With Terri Bibby
June 11 - 16, 2023
Cortes Island
Immerse yourself in colour and texture while creating your own unique weavings! Explore the beautiful SAORI weaving philosophy from Japan where there are no rules and no mistakes.
The Embodied Voice
With Amy Thiessen
June 16 - 21, 2023
Cortes Island
Our voice is both the channel through which we excavate past traumas and conditioning as well as a vehicle through which we may find healing & reconciliation with the various facets (voices) of our being. In each embodied voice session, you will be guided into a new dimension of voice…
Joy of Ukulele: Beyond C, F, & G7
With Kimo Hussey
June 30 - July 5, 2023
Cortes Island
Beyond C, F, & G7 is the much-anticipated extension of our Joy of Ukulele series with master player and teacher, Kimo Hussey. Expand your aptitude and appreciation of this beloved instrument by embracing new techniques to enhance musical quality.
Crafting Ritual for Life Transitions
With Day Schildkret
July 5 - 9, 2023
Cortes Island
Life has many transitions: From the birth of a child, to the loss of a parent, from getting a new job to grieving a pet. We all experience these "hello or goodbye" moments of change but what do we do to mark them meaningfully? Could our lives be better, richer,…
Singing in the Vocal River
With Rhiannon
July 14 - 19, 2023
Cortes Island
Hear your own song and learn new ones as you find your place in the world of music and invention. This program is for strong singers with solid, inventive skills in rhythm and pitch, and are comfortable singing in a group setting. Together, we stretch our intuitive courage, tell our…
Art of Spiritual Guidance: The Reunion
With Thomas Atum O'Kane, PhD and Margie Gillis
July 14 - 19, 2023
Cortes Island
Reunion - Remembrance - Renewal - Rededication. A 5-day reunion gathering of Spiritual Guidance graduates from around the world.
Drawing Towards the Earth: Making Journals for Life
With S. Portico Bowman
July 19 - 23, 2023
Cortes Island
Learn how to draw and make art with natural earth elements provided by nature. We will make paper with abaca, bast and stock from the Hollyhock garden. We will cook our own vine charcoal, and take this to the paper, or twigs and tools to the beach for more performative…
Dancing from the Inside Out
With Margie Gillis
July 19 - 24, 2023
Cortes Island
Move into your body’s experiential wisdom and reveal the soul in motion. Develop your sensitivity to the connection between thought, feeling, spirit and body as you listen in to your body’s inner wisdom, impulses, conversations and emotions.
The Song & Dance of the Drum at Olatunji Hall
With Gordy Onayemi Ryan and Zoë Ryan
July 28 - August 2, 2023
Cortes Island
Bumbamba! - Celebrate Life! Activate the Fire in your hands, the Beat in your feet, and the Song in your Heart on this Soulful journey in Rhythm at the Olatunji Hall.
Painting Between Person and Place
With Jeremy Herndl
August 2 - 6, 2023
Cortes Island
Painting outdoors (or plein aire) was popularized in the mid 19th century with the advent of portable paint in tubes. It was the latest, most radical departure from the standard academic practices at the time as it sought to represent the realities of contemporary life in the industrialized West in…
Science, Art, Sound, and the Sacred
With Merlin Sheldrake and Cosmo Sheldrake
August 2 - 6, 2023
Cortes Island
What we call art and science both arise from our faculties of imagination, wonder, and curiosity. In this program, we explore the entanglements between science, art, sound, and the sacred in a beautiful wild setting.
In The Garden: Low Tech Photography Workshop
With Sarah Fuller
August 6 - 11, 2023
Cortes Island
This alternative photography workshop focuses on the Anthotype and Cyanotype Print processes using plants from Hollyhock's garden for inspiration and creation of non-toxic photo emulsions.
Flying SOULO: Your Story on Stage
With Tracey Erin Smith
August 11 - 16, 2023
Cortes Island
Transform your life’s stories into a Solo Theatre Show or Keynote. Through improvisation, writing exercises, and one-on-one coaching, uncover the stories that need to be told and reveal your truth in a powerful and entertaining show. Culminates in a short performance of the work created in class.
Writing to Awaken: Memoir as a Path of Healing
With Mark Matousek
August 11 - 16, 2023
Cortes Island
This transformational five-day program uses personal writing as a path of self-discovery, authenticity, and spiritual growth.
Science and Poetry of the Salish Sea
With Dr. Marjorie Wonham and Melanie Koenderman
August 30 - September 3, 2023
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off campus rates! Offer valid until May 31, 2023.
How do you see the sea? Explore the ecology and poetry of the ocean with a place-based focus on the Salish Sea. Through a unique combination of field observations, marine biology, and poetry, we will examine compelling and timely questions in the relationship between humans and the sea. Each day…
Songs of The Open Road: Exploring The Practice of Pilgrimage
With Dawn Pemberton and Jenn Cianca
September 8 - 13, 2023
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off campus rates! Offer valid until Jun 9, 2023.
For centuries, across cultures, and around the world people have made pilgrimages—moving towards distant, unfamiliar and often sacred places. While the destination often promised spiritual or personal redemption, the journey itself became a means of personal transformation and social connection. Today, pilgrimages continue to offer individuals unique opportunity to explore…
BE-LONGING: A Reverent Partner Dance Experience
With Malina Dawn and Wren LaFeet
September 13 - 17, 2023
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off campus rates! Offer valid until Jun 14, 2023.
O keep squeezing drops of the Sun from your prayers and work and music And from your companions’ beautiful laughter, And from the most insignificant movements Of your own holy body. Now, sweet one, Be wise. Cast all your votes for Dancing! -Hafiz Let’s gather around the fire of community…
A Secret Garden: Writing Childhood Memories
With Caroline Adderson and Kathy Page
September 17 - 22, 2023
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off campus rates! Offer valid until Jun 18, 2023.
“Anybody who has survived childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.” - Flannery O’Connor No matter who we are, we have this in common: we were all children once. It is during this universal stage of life that we are the most open…
Courageous Spaces & Cultural Intersections: Movement and Your Cultural Compass
With Heidi MacPherson
September 22 - 26, 2023
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off campus rates! Offer valid until Jun 23, 2023.
Cultural intersectional pedagogy teaches us to live in a courageous space, the space that marginalized and stateless individuals survive in every day. What are cultural intersections and how do we navigate diversity through mindful, thoughtful, and courageous living? Create and develop your Cultural Compass that guides you towards holistic living…
Writing with Ghosts: The Power of Haunted Writing
With Hiromi Goto and Kyo Maclear
October 1 - 6, 2023
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off campus rates! Offer valid until Jul 2, 2023.
“It seems that the essential impulse in working at all is to rehaunt your own house, or to allow what haunts you to have a voice, to chart what is deeply private and etched on the soul, and find form and structure for it.” —Colm Toibin What haunts you? What…
Animal Spirit Painting
With Autumn Skye
October 11 - 18, 2023
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off campus rates! Offer valid until Jul 12, 2023.
"Painting with Autumn Skye is a process of levelling up, not only in painting technique but in spiritual connection to creativity. Just like her works, Autumn Skye's teaching is enlightening." -Signe Knutson Explore the creative process of acrylic painting and connect with the animal realm! Over seven days of studio…