Art Retreat in Portugal: Create Your Treasure Book

Join me at the Cork Tree Resort in the Alentejo, an unspoiled area south of Lisbon. Allow yourself time and space to create without expectation or judgement, and bring out that inner kindergartener who loves to play with art materials.

I love Portugal, and this will be my 4th art retreat in this beautiful country.

We’ll be making a handmade book with a cover made from local Cork fabric. We’ll learn about the cork forests of the area, and how cork is harvested to be used in so many ways. Using papers and natural elements collected on our walks in the area, as well as a carefully curated selection of materials, we will spend time in the studio each day creating our books. We will be adding embellishments as we develop our unique keepsake journals.

Also, you will each get a free “Creativity Coaching” session with me. I have been helping creative folks get “unstuck” and continue to reach their goals for years.

You’ll discover your own expressive style and develop and enhance your creative process in guided studio sessions involving a variety of art materials.

This retreat is designed to invigorate your artistic senses and help you find new ways to relax and renew. You will feel welcomed and encouraged to explore your creative side. Your imagination and sleeping “inner artist” will awake and delight you. And you will be given tools to continue your exploration of the arts when you return home.

Let me help you answer these questions in a beautiful space:

When was the last time you truly let your imagination guide you?

How do you express yourself with words and images?

What is your “creative language”?

In addition to being fun, art making can be healing, informative, insightful, encouraging, and especially in community with like-hearted folks.

This retreat takes place at the Cork Tree Resort, a small resort in The Alentejo. This is a beautiful area about two hours south of Lisbon that has incredible natural beauty. This venue is between a river, mountains, and the ocean, with something for everyone. We will have the entire retreat center to ourselves for the week.

Located in the Vicentine Nature Park, the resort offers a peaceful and calm vibe for nature lovers and a break from city noise. The living and dining rooms, workshop room, swimming pool, tennis court and an orchard with an outdoor bed offer the perfect facilities to relax and enjoy. 

Every room is decorated individually, inspired by traditional Portuguese architecture.

Meals are lovingly prepared by the talented on-site chef, and we will be venturing into town for dinner one evening, and to the beach for lunch one day.

Getting here: There is an option to meet at a designated location in Lisbon on Saturday, September 16th, for an additional price. However, for flexibility and freedom, especially if you want to explore Portugal before and/or after the retreat, it’s best to rent a car at the airport. More information on that will follow.

The agenda includes studio time each day, where I will teach you all the ins and outs of creating a unique treasure journal with a cork cover, and then embellishing the pages with pockets, tabs, tip-ins, and more. And each day will include free time to do as you wish: relax by the pool, take a walk on one of the nearby trails, go horseback riding, or keep playing in the studio.

We will visit a secluded river beach near the resort, where we can enjoy the peaceful and inspiring landscape and water, which will invite us to add to our journals in visual form.

Included in the retreat fee is one Ayurvedic Massage from the on-site massage therapist, and a highly relaxing “Sound Journey” before bed one evening. A trip to a local beach and a nice lunch will be refreshing and fun. We will be going into the town of Vila Nova de Milfontes one afternoon for some retail therapy and dinner, as well as a stop at a favorite bakery for some delicious coffee and “Pastel de Nata”, a specialty of Portugal.

The full agenda will be sent out once it’s finalized, but please know that after leading creative retreats for the past 15 years, I know how important it is to truly “retreat” at some point during the day, or it’s really just a workshop!

Each day at our retreat will look something like this:

Morning: Breakfast, then studio time, where I will teach each stage of creating our books, then embellishing the pages with various locally found materials.

Afternoon: Lunch, then time to truly “retreat” and relax. Optional trips into town, the beach, or the river most afternoons.

Evening: Dinner, then studio time to continue our creating.

Your Guide:

Kat Kirby

Prescott, AZ

Kat Kirby was born and raised in New Jersey, into a family that valued art, music, theater, and all things creative. She learned at an early age that creativity and self-expression were keys to a fulfilling life.

Since the early 1970s, Kat has been a believer in the healing power of the arts and creative self-expression. After retiring from a 40-year career as an Expressive Arts Therapist, her passions include teaching a variety of workshops such as creating art journals, mosaics, handmade books, Mixed Media arts, watercolors and doodles, SoulCollage®, and more. She has led art retreats around the world, including the South of France, Portugal, the Caribbean, as well as Sedona, Carefree, AZ, Taos, NM, and California. Kat enjoys exploring and experimenting with art materials, and loves encouraging her students and retreatants to make friends with their inner kindergartener.

When she teaches, whether it be virtual or in person, her two rules are:

1) You can’t be wrong, and

2) Have fun!

https://katkirby.com/

kat4clay@gmail.com

619-977-2345

What’s included:

Your comfortable single bedroom with private bath

All meals other than one dinner and one lunch which we will have in town

Coffee and tea

Some art supplies and materials

Encouraging instruction from your guide

Trips into town and additional activities

One massage

One Sound Journey

One Creativity Coaching Session with Kat

What’s not included:

Your travel costs

Alcoholic beverages

Your art supplies (list will be provided of what to bring)

Souvenir shopping and other expenses outside the retreat center

Personal, Medical, and/or trip cancellation insurance (essential)