The second retreat is an hour outside of Milan, Italy from July 6-10, 2015. When I found the mansion we’ll be creating at there was no way I could turn it down. I immediately exclaimed: “I hope someone comes and shares this with me!”. The house that is booked for our living accommodations is super luxurious (totally opposite of what I’m used to booking into!) and I can’t wait to see it in person.

                                                          Flayosc, FRANCE                                 Milan, ITALY
                                                          May 21-25, 2015                                   July 6-10, 2015
                                                          $2,450                                                     $2,800

www.brookeshaden.com/workshops

Both prices include all expenses while at retreat (living, food, locations, transportation, etc…). Travel to our living accommodations is the responsibility of attendee.

The difference between the retreats is that attendees share rooms (2 per room) in France whereas each attendee gets their own room in Italy.

The information packet details everything from our itinerary to addresses and info about the content of the retreat. If you decide to join me, be ready for an adventure and discovery of inner-inspiration. And lots of hugs. Always lots of hugs <3

The FRANCE location:

The ITALY location:

We talked a lot these last few days about personal story, and how important it can be to put that story out there for others to benefit from. It is healing for the artist and for others. I asked some of them to share what their story is, and I commend them for bravely stepping forward to do something which puts the soul front and center.

Aloha – blessings to all, as I so lovingly learned.

Image taken at the Red Sand beach here in Hana, modeled by Marsha Denlinger.

A full year ago I went surfing the Internet and found a sofa I liked. I was trying to decorate my house and went to Google to see what came up. When I tried to find where the sofa was from, I landed on a website in which the sofa was not for sale at all…but the house it was in was for rent. So I contacted the owners, who live in the south of France, and inquired about shooting in their castle.

They wrote back positively and I booked it on a whim, only to then have a panic attack when I realized I couldn’t pay for it. My thoughts were this: How am I going to afford a castle in France? How am I going to gather the courage to travel alone and shoot there? And so I decided that I would host a retreat, book the castle for an extra day, and live with the attendees for 4 days. Perfect, I thought. This will be perfect.

But, as with anything, you have fears and doubts. What will they be like? Will they understand my thirst for adventure? Will they enjoy what I have to say? And so I went with both excitement and fear, just the same as everyone attending. The first night we gathered I asked everyone intimate questions. I didn’t want the feeling of isolation to linger. I wanted us to share openly and honestly, and we did. Things like our greatest desires, something no one knows about you, and what your favorite movie is. We all shared, and we all learned.

The next day was the official start of the retreat. It started with laughter and tears, as we talked about storytelling and got to see how each person thought and created without lifting a camera. From there we headed to the castle where we did a blindfolded shoot and then got to practicing with the three models who joined us. The day was chaotic but theraputic, fun and exhilarating. When we walked into the chateau that day, I think that at least seven of us cried at how beautiful it was. We wanted to live up to that beauty, and that stress is overwhelming. So I talked to each attendee, told them it was okay to fail and try again, and that we would be back here in two days time.

The end of that day brought a movie – a documentary that talked about seeing the world differently and with more love, adventure, and compassion. It was the perfect end to the first day.

Day two brought even more tears as we talked of our strengths and weaknesses, something which we are all connected by but afraid to speak out loud for fear of making them real, or being judged, or simply admitting them. We talked of a great many things, but what we had in common bonded us very strongly. We edited and talked of business, and had a lunch on a terrace of a restaurant, and then we sat down to a homemade dinner at night. I tried to help prepare the meal in some down time, but as I have learned, retreats are a 24 hour a day job and I was on the move.

That morning, though, was a most interesting experience. I ordered everyone up at 5AM to walk to a waterfall. Of course those who didn’t want to come didn’t have to, but I gave them my best pouty face just before bed to convince them. Everyone showed up as I rang the bell at our house to convene. There were 17 of us all together, and we marched to that waterfall like we weren’t afraid of anything…except we were. The water was colder than any water I had felt, and I told them I was jumping. And I did…along with about ten others. We lined up on the edge of the water and, on the count of three, we all jumped in. Some stayed behind and took pictures, others swam around, others were so shocked by the temperature that they got out immediately. Whatever happened in that waterfall was magical, and we are all bonded by it.

On Day 3 we went back to the chateau and got to shoot for a full eight hour day. We were better prepared this time, having a whole day in between to think about the space and come up with stories. Many people shot a series, while others were inspired by individual rooms and props. It was absolutely magical to see. I spent the morning doing 1-1 meetings with the attendees, and then after lunch I got to shoot my own series – 12 images that I can’t wait to start working on!

It wouldn’t be complete without telling you about the lunches and dinners at the chateau – huge, multi-course meals eaten outside of the castle with a view of the whole town below, mountains in the distance, blue skies and white puffy clouds. Perfect temperatures…and a feisty gray cat who wanted to dine with us.

That night we made t-shirts and reverted back into our childhood selves. We were very sad it was ending the next day, but so happy for what we had together. We danced, painted t-shirts, laughed until our bellies hurt, and hugged until we couldn’t anymore.

When morning came we had to pack up. Everyone slowly took their leave and made the ending official, but we all promised to meet again someday…and we will, of that I am certain.

Please meet the family I made in France. We affectionately call ourselves “Fromagi”, which is a joke I can’t begin to explain, except that when you put an American in France you’ll start to say some pretty strange things. They are all uniquely talented, and I love them dearly:

Bonnie Caton

Dawn Culen

Delphine Millet

“These days seem to me like a dream and I can’t believe it was the reality. I still can’t find the words to describe it because I don’t know words which are powerful enough to express these moments. The only word that I have in mind is “goose-bumps” because I had so many “goose-bumps” moments and here I still have them when I read the posts of others Fromagi. I really really hope that we all will meet again because I can’t imagine that our life won’t cross in the future.”
– Delphine

Emmanuel Lhermitte

Jade Sayers

Jessi Bowman

Kory Zuccarelli

“I’ve gotta say my expectations of this retreat were absolutely blown away. I guess I really hadn’t imagined what I had gotten myself into. I would think coming into a fairly sized group of people, some of us would click and we’d have our little circles, but no. We were solid group of individuals who came from all corners of the globe, and meshed together like old friends hitting a comforting connection right off the bat. Words of wisdom, stories of woe and laughter, shared throughout the week. If this weren’t enough, we had the most amazing models, helpers, and locations to shoot in! Something so etherial and wonderful about the abundant joy we each shared on our faces ; like a slight glare into another’s eye and we share the same thought, “Is this seriously all real?” 
I’m so grateful that I had this opportunity and that I got to share it with so many like-minded people. This retreat sparked a new passion I have on life and I came home from France with a family. Le Fomagi for life!”
– Kory

Lieke Anna Haertjens

“Words can not describe the feeling that has entered my being after these wonderful days with all of these beautiful people. In such a short amount of time I learned so much. Not only about photography, but about myself, about the world. How we see the world and are able to change this if we set our mind to it. I learned more than I could have ever dreamt of. My heart is filled with inspiration, love and joy. I am so grateful to have been a part of this life-changing adventure. It was the most magical bubble we lived in during these days and I hope we can all take our little bubbles with us, cherish them, hold on to them until we meet again. ”
-Lieke

Marisa White

Melissa Hutchinson

Mike Epner

Rebeca Cygnus

“The whole experience filled my heart with love. As I said to you in the chateau, you make magic and the right word for me to describe your workshop is magical. I loved every second of the workshop. You made me feel completely alive those four days. I only have to say thank you infinitely.”
– Rebeca

Tom Newforge

Very special thanks to Jen Brook for being our resident model and, as usual, blowing everyone’s expectations out of the water. Many thanks to my assistants, Kelly and KD, for being my best friends and greatest helpers. And to everyone who joined me – you gave me a new family that I will forever cherish, and all I can say is…FROMAGI for life <3

To join me on my next artist retreat in Hana, Hawaii, you can find more information on my website or my blog!

]]> https://www.promotingpassion.com/memories-from-my-artist-retreat-in-france/feed/ 10 https://www.promotingpassion.com/artist-retreat-in-hana-hawaii-2/ https://www.promotingpassion.com/artist-retreat-in-hana-hawaii-2/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2014 14:04:35 +0000 http://www.promotingpassion.com/?p=1761 Read More Read More

This retreat that I’m hosting in the UK is a unique creative experience. Focused on art photography, yet designed to allow all attendees to find, cultivate, and pursue their own creative voice, this retreat is 3+ days of hands on learning, sharing, giving, and adventure.

The UK retreat is the longest I’ve hosted, running from the evening of August 7th to the morning of August 11th. From shooting at ruins to photographing on a lake, in boats, in a forest, on rolling hills, and even inside our giant studio space, we will have the opportunity to shoot in many different inspiring situations.

The premise is simple: We all live under one roof for the days of the retreat. The price ($2,450) includes your lodging, all meals, and helps to cover model fees and location rental. Once you arrive at the house, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. That’s what we’ve been planning behind the scenes, and our hope is that you show up, relax, get creative and have fun.

We will discuss many different topics like…

Inspiration & Fear
Business & Goal Setting
Editing & Image Compositing
Creative Shooting & Set Design

We will focus on creating a small series while we are together. One afternoon is dedicated to practice shooting. The next day we edit and talk business. And the final full day is dedicated to 1-1 meetings as well as shooting at all of our inspiring locations. With 5-7 models available each person can grab their model of choice and run with it. The retreat is capped at 12 participants for an intimate gathering.

We’ll be eating healthy meals, staying at an amazing “green” facility that caters to retreats in a small town in Norfolk, UK, and enjoying activities outside of photography like a bonfire, t-shirt making, and movie-watching.

The great thing about a retreat is that while I’ve got our days jam-packed with activities, we can adjust as we go and work on the fly…so if you’re feeling inspired, you can run out and shoot with our resident model (the amazing Jen Brook, who will be living with us for your shooting pleasure…any whim or fancy, she’s your girl!).

I hope that you can join me on this retreat!

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These two U.S. workshops are the last traditional workshops I will be doing for some time: Bordentown, NJ & Phoenix, AZ.