Space is limited. Register early to avoid disappointment!

Grooves of Nature: Come make music with rhythms found in nature! In this workshop we will explore patterns from the outdoors and transpose them into our own compositions. Be prepared to improvise and collaborate. Open to musicians of every instrument and skill level. ($10 fee for retreat participants / $40 for public drop-in)

Felipe Gomez is an award-winning musician, adventurer and public speaker. He takes the “touring musician” or “troubadour” concept to a whole new level as he cycles across Canada with his 6-string bass and amp. Felipe hopes to inspire people to explore Canada, experience the outdoors and embrace the wide diversity of art, cultures, landscapes and wildlife that Canada has to offer. See www.bikandbasstour.com

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Carving workshop: Learn how to carve soapstone using hand tools. Clayton Cave will give a half-hour tutorial of the carving process and share insight from his years of experience working with a variety of media. Participants will learn about cutting, shaping, sanding and polishing soapstone to produce a pendant and will be free to carve their own small pieces or work on a collaborative project throughout the day. ($10 fee for retreat participants / $40 for public drop-in)

Clayton Cave is an internationally renowned artist whose carvings of ivory, wood, soapstone, antler and bone are in art collections around the world. He has enjoyed collaborating with widely-recognized artists including Edward Mobondo from South Africa, Stanley and Bobby from Inuvik, Northwest Territories and Joan Foulston from Tugaske, Saskatchewan. In addition, Clayton has been honoured with the gift of sacred red pipe stone and has been commissioned to carve several ceremonial First Nations peace pipes. He lives in the Resort Village of Manitou Beach with his partner, bronze sculptor Sarah McKen, where they run Little Manitou Art Gallery. Check out fourfeathers_claytoncave on Instagram and the Little Manitou Art Gallery website and Facebook page.

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Photography workshop: Katie’s love of nature transformed into a passion for photography. She is excited to share her knowledge on how to take your DSLR camera out of auto mode and embrace its technical aspects in this 2-hour hands-on session. In addition to landscape photography, Katie will discuss how she uses the great outdoors as a backdrop for her portraits, tips for shooting indoors and composition techniques for achieving eye-catching photos. For the second half of the workshop participants will venture outside to experiment with their cameras, with Katie available to answer questions. ($10 fee for retreat participants / $40 for public drop-in)

Katie Miller is a multidisciplinary artist from the rolling valleys of Esterhazy, SK. After pursuing her music as a singer/songwriter and recording artist, Katie now devotes most of her creative energy to her photography. Katie’s photography strives to capture her love of nature, the beauty of the prairie landscape and the joy of living in the moment. Katie’s photography has been featured in Greg Johnson’s photography book, “Camera Canada, Portrait of a Nation”, Tourism Saskatchewan and Canon Canada. Katie’s most recent project is the collaboration of her photography and poetry. See https://katiemiller.ca

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Painting workshop: Refresh your skills, learn new ones and enjoy relaxing camaraderie while painting alongside others. We’ll focus on creating great compositions, blending to create dimension and getting the paint to do what we want it to do while paying attention to how energy in our bodies, mind and soul affects our artwork. A still life will be the starting point for this workshop, but where you take it is up to you! No experience is necessary; all supplies are included. ($20 fee for retreat participants / $50 for public drop-in)

Bevin Bradley paints pictures of houses. Bevin earned her BFA at the University of Saskatchewan. She works as an arts educator at Remai Modern. Bevin co-owned The Stall Gallery for 7 years. She’s delivered art programs for under-privileged youth and taught art in schools. She’s also been an artist-in-residence in schools throughout Saskatchewan. Bevin likes to daydream a lot and doesn’t mind if there are children and chickens in her studio. See http://www.bevinbradley.com

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Hike n’ Write: Explore how walking can be a key part of your writing practice in this meditative workshop. We will begin the session with poetry and a brief discussion, then break apart to walk and find our own stretches of beach and water. After 40 minutes we will reconvene to debrief, and of course, continue writing. (No fee)

Tricia Friesen Reed is an educator, writer and storyteller with international experience in teaching and community development. She loves to see people recognize and use their creative gifts and her own work has been published in literary journals, magazines and her blog: experimentingaswegrow.wordpress.com. Tricia enjoys getting outside, whether on a backcountry canoe trip or simply walking down her back lane. She is the founder and facilitator of Wonderscape Creative Arts Inc.