Contemplative Mind, Spontaneous Brush: Ink, Colour and Japanese Washi Papers
With Heather Midori Yamada
June 22 - 27, 2025
Hollyhock Cortes Island
Relax body, breath and mind with short guided meditations and simple perceptual exercises. Follow brushwork demonstrations using Japanese sumi ink and watercolour on various Japanese washi papers (provided). Inspired by the natural beauty of Cortes Island, we will explore mixed media approaches of layering, tearing and collaging. Deep intuitive and…
Locus Amoenus: Exploring Organic and Artificial Systems in Art
With Rebecca Brewer and Veit Laurent Kurz
July 25 - 30, 2025
Hollyhock Cortes Island
How can we, as physical beings in an increasingly digital world, reclaim the intimate, tactile gestures of our hands? Can we react to the vast, almost cosmic scale of artificial intelligence with grounded, human-centered creative acts? In this hands-on, visual arts workshop, participants explore the underlying connections between living systems…
Nature Paints Itself
With Jeremy Herndl
July 25 - 30, 2025
Hollyhock Cortes Island
What if the world created us humans to speak its names, sing its rivers and winds? What if nature paints itself, using our deft human hands and the tactility of sight to emulate its textures, colours and spaces? In this workshop we shall enter the space of nature, the garden,…
Science, Art, Sound & the Sacred
With Merlin Sheldrake and Cosmo Sheldrake
July 30 - August 3, 2025
Hollyhock Cortes Island
Explore the entanglements between science, art, sound, and the sacred in a beautiful, wild setting. What we call art and science both arise from our faculties of imagination, wonder, and curiosity. We will spend part of our time outdoors – in gardens, on seashores and in forests – connecting with…
Kintsugi: Embracing Imperfection
With Yuka Morino
September 21 - 25, 2025
Hollyhock Cortes Island
Book now and get 10% off accommodation prices. Offer valid until Jun 22, 2025.
Kintsugi, 金継ぎ translated literally from Japanese means "golden joinery". This traditional Japanese art used to repair broken ceramics uses natural materials, like tree sap or urushi lacquer dusted with gold (or other precious metals) to make the cracks, or broken lines beautiful. The cracks are called Keshiki 景色 and in…
Fish as Storytellers: Intangible Knowledge and Lived Practices
With Zoe Todd and Courtney Chetwynd
October 2 - 6, 2025
Hollyhock Cortes Island
Book now and get 10% off accommodation prices. Offer valid until Jul 3, 2025.
Drawing inspiration from fish as storytellers in their own right, this workshop will explore storytelling, play, and artistic creation as tools for sense-making. Through interactive dialogue, collective visioning sessions, collaborative art-making, and land-based reflection, participants will explore how diverse relationships in their lives give rise to profound knowledge in storied…