Monthly Archives: June 2018

We’re going to back to San Miguel de Allende!

Dear Superheroes,

If you’ve been following me for a while, you already know that San Miguel de Allende, Mexico is one of my favorite places in the entire world! It’s full of beauty and art, warm + friendly people and incredible architecture. It’s my favorite place in the world to collect color…. and is now my favorite place to bring a group! (We had the pleasure of taking a group this year to explore + learn and create… + it was ah-mazing)

The city attracts artists and lovers of art because the light there is magic. It is that painterly sort of light that exists in a handful of places in the world and it always fills me with awe. It’s a place where you want to drink in the terracotta walls, walk for hours on the cobblestone streets and peek into hidden artist studios. It’s a place where you want to create. (And sit in chairs with wings)

My dear friend + Wild Writing teacher Laurie Wagner and I are taking a small group of creative folks back to San Miguel this January 2019. (January 6th-11th, 2019 to be exact) We will be exploring, writing, storytelling, taking lots of photos and having one of the most creative and delicious adventures we’ve ever had! 

Our days will be a perfect blend of Wild Writing, creative photography exercises, storytelling and exploring this magical city together. We’ll learn from local artisans, take a food tour of the city (total foodie paradise), take photo walks during the magic hour, and wander to the town square where celebration fills the streets at night.

Bring your walking shoes, your favorite camera and a notebook and we’ll take care of the rest! Spaces are limited to 15 – we want this to be an intimate gathering. Our group will be occupying an entire bed and breakfast right in the heart of downtown San Miguel. We’ll have walking access to galleries, restaurants, shops and historic sites. Breakfast will be included each day in addition to a variety of room options.

Here are the details all in one place:

Dates:
January 6th – 11th, 2019 (5 nights at a gorgeous bed + breakfast)

Your investment:
$2,200 (small, private room)
$2,300 (shared room, shared suite)
$2,400 (deluxe, private room)
$2,500 (supah fancy shared suite)

The price above includes:
-Lodging for 5 nights at Casa De La Noche
-Breakfast each morning
-Wild Writing class each day (sometimes we do this twice a day!)
-Magic hour photo walks + instruction
-Group art class from a local artisan
-Food tour of San Miguel (the most delicious way to get familiar with the city!)
-Shuttle to + from the airport (as long as you are arriving in Leon, Mexico (BJX) or Queretero)

Deposit:
$500 (non-refundable deposit to secure your spot!) 

Space limited to 15 lovely peeps. All sold out! Email us if you want to get on the waiting list.
Nab your spot soon. This will sell out!

You will come away with:

A Wild Writing practice: Something that has sustained me and my creative life for more than 15 years now. It’s how I create every blog post + learned to tell the truth in my writing. It’s one part creative practice, one part healing practice. If you know it, you already love it. If you don’t know it, you’re in for a treat. (Led by Laurie)

A camera (or phone!) full of glorious colors + amazing images: And skills that will take your photography to the next level. (Photography led by Andrea)

15 new friends for adventure + support + connection: We will create a gorgeous little tribe for the week. We trust that just the right constellation of people will show up for a really magical time.

A fun + easy creative adventure where you get to learn + grow + play + explore. We can’t wait to be with you!

 

Click the button above to pay your $500 non-refundable deposit + secure your spot! 

 

This is joy.

I’ve been doing a little experiment lately. Whenever I feel anxious, stressed or just generally crunchy, I ask myself the following question: What if you let it be easy? How could this be more fun?

These might sound like ridiculous questions. Especially in situations that are absolutely not easy at all and zero on the fun meter. But you know what these questions do? They put me in a state of curiosity. They open up a space of inquiry where I am no longer thinking my habitual thoughts. These two little questions help me open up to the possibility of ease and joy without having to change my circumstances at all.

Yesterday, as I was writing for my new course Summer School (starts Monday!) I noticed I was feeling stressssssed… and crunchy and stuck. I called a friend to help me think through the flow of the lessons and the conceptual ideas behind the class. As I was giving her a monologue about ease and self-compassion, I stopped myself.

“Wait a minute!” I said to her. “I’m trying to design this class in the mindset of struggle – of trying to get it perfect, trying to prove that there is a rigor behind all of my totally delightful (and silly) prompts. I’m already coming from a place of lack. The stress is about fear… But this class is about FUN! It’s about pivoting towards ease and joy + letting go of whatever is in the way of that.”

“Problems cannot be solved with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein

I started telling her about all of the delicious things we were going to do together – The Smilympics! Paint chip poetry! Foraging for color! and when I connected to my authentic joy, I got more clear:

Play has no purpose!
It is an end in and of itself.
It’s about seeing the world again with creative eyes.
It’s about seeing your life as a poem. A story. Something juicy and colorful and worthy of enjoying.

My intention for this class is to give you an experience of creative play – a whole month of it in fact! Consider this your experiment in cultivating more ease + joy in your life. So excited to do this together. Thank you for being with me in my joy!! xo Andrea