3.5 Day Expressive Arts Retreat
Wild Creative Enchantment: An Intuitive Painting Journey for Midlife Folks
May 15-18, 2025 | Loveland, CO | $900 Early Bird Pricing
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“The retreat was great for getting unstuck in the creative process and letting yourself create without a plan of your end piece. This way of creating frees you up to enjoy exploring different media and materials for the shear curiosity and playfulness of it.” – Sherry K.
Connect to Your Spirit Animals Through Words, Paint and Conversation.
What does Wild Creative Enchantment mean? It means reconnecting to that joyful inner feeling of delight and wonder, finding pleasure in the every day moments of our lies.
This retreat is about exploring how our personal connection to nature and especially to animals around us and guides within us can help us tap into pleasure, to awe and to the magic of the world around us.
This will be a time for you to step away from the ordinary everyday busyness of life and into a time of play, reflection and connection.
Working with spirit animals in midlife offers you a powerful avenue for self-discovery, helping you reconnect with your inner wisdom and navigate life’s transitions with renewed clarity and purpose. Spirit animals serve as symbolic and archetypal guides. These guides reflect your strength, challenges, and hidden truths, while fostering a deeper sense of kinship with nature and oneself.
Through creative exploration—painting, journaling, and intuitive play—you will unlock new layers of insight, tap into your innate creativity, and reclaim forgotten parts of your identity. This intuitive creative process supports a spiritual journey of empowerment and enchantment so that you can cultivate a sense of wholeness and wonder wherever you go.
Wild Creative Enchantment is for those in midlife, who are ready to reconnect with their Inner Wild and explore their creative voice. This retreat welcomes those who:
feel called to reconnect with your inner artist and inner wisdom.
long for a deeper connection to nature and the spiritual guidance it offers.
are curious about exploring spirit animals as allies for self-discovery.
crave time and space to reflect, express yourself, and recharge.
value or are curious to learn creative practices like painting and journaling as tools for personal growth.
want to learn how to paint whimsical mixed media animals in your own expressive style.
You wish to leave with beautiful artwork and a renewed sense of wonder and delight.
If this resonates, then Wild Creative Enchantment is calling to you. Come join Minette in her wonderful studio in Loveland, CO.
Connecting to spirit animals is a deeply symbolic and spiritual practice rooted in ancient traditions across cultures worldwide. Spirit animals are believed to act as guides or messengers, offering wisdom, protection, and insight to those who seek their connection.
Spirit animals serve as mirrors of the self, reflecting strengths, vulnerabilities, and untapped potential. By observing their behaviors, habits, and symbolism, you can gain intuitive insights into you own life and uncover guidance that feels both personal and universal.
For those in midlife, this connection can be especially powerful. As you navigate transitions and seek a renewed sense of purpose, spirit animals can serve as a source of grounding, inspiration, and affirmation.
The creative exploration of spirit animals—through painting, journaling, and time in nature—offers a pathway to discover hidden parts of the self, tap into a sense of wonder, and align with the rhythms of the natural world.
It’s a way of reclaiming personal power, reconnecting to intuition, and celebrating the wild, untamed wisdom within.
These are samples of Minette's Spirit Animal Paintings:
What Awaits You at Wild Creative Expression
This retreat is spacious by design—an invitation to breathe deeply, explore, and tend to your inner self as well as plenty of time in the studio to write, draw, paint and connect with others.
Daily Highlights:
Spirit Animal Exploration: Get to know your chosen spirit animal guide(s) for the weekend through writing, sketching, collage and a final painting project of the animal.
Journaling & Reflection: Engage with prompts that inspire clarity and focus, allowing you to distill your insights and intentions and deepen your connection to your animal guide.
Movement: Explore your connection to your Spirit Animal through intuitive movement.
A Nature Walk: Depending on the weather, we will take an afternoon to sit, stroll and explore the beauty of the local area sketchbooks in hand.
Delicious Meals: Share stories, insights, and laughter with kindred spirits around the table with a special welcome dinner on Thursday evening and lunches on Friday and Saturday and a sumptuous brunch on the Sunday.
What others have to say...
"This retreat created a safe, expansive and compassionate container to open and bloom in new ways. It's like an adventure of being locked in an art supply store and getting to play in every fun way my imagination takes me. How fun to transform as the side effect of creating and playing."
- Annette
"Thank you for creating such a safe and supportive space for us to explore and heal individually and together. Each of activities offered it's own invitation to go deeper. I felt held equally in my forward steps and my mis-steps. Through this retreat I embraced old wounds and re-purposed the elements for a joy-filled future." - Karen Joy
WHAT'S INCLUDED IN WILD CREATIVE ENCHANTMENT:
3.5 days of creative immersion in Minette’s home studio in Loveland, CO.
Explore painting, collage, journaling and more with plenty of spacious time to play and create!
An intimate experience, we only have space for 9 students!
All art supplies are provided, you get to just show up.
Some meals including a welcome dinner and opening session on Thursday evening.
Lunch, snacks and beverages on Thursday and Friday with a special brunch on Sunday.
An outdoor excursion to a nearby nature area (easy access, weather permitting).
Connection with other like-minded creative sisters.
Masterful facilitation by Minette Riordan, Ph.D
This event is limited to 9 folks. Save your space today.
Schedule and details:
Thursday, May 15: 3pm to 7pm (includes a light dinner)
Friday, May 16: 9:30am to 5:30pm
Saturday, May 17: 9:30am to 5:30pm
Sunday, May 18: 9:30am to 12:00pm
Price: $1200 $900.00 or 3 payments of $300.00 (Early bird pricing through March 30 - save $300 today)
Location: Minette's home studio in Loveland, CO. Address and details provided upon registration.
My studio is in the basement, you must be comfortable going up and down a flight of stairs.
Lodging and transportation are not included. Minette can offer recommendations for places to stay nearby.
Closest airport is Denver, CO. Shuttle bus and car rentals are options for travel to and from Loveland.
Photos from previous retreats in Minette's studio:
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I'm not creative?
Then you are in the right place to rediscover that yes you are creative! No special skills or previous art experience needed. We are all creative. This is about the journey and Minette will guide you step by step through the process.
What is included with my registration?
All art supplies, one dinner and three lunches as well as abundant snacks and beverages.
Where is the retreat located?
The retreat is located in Loveland, CO in Minette's basement studio.
Please note: accommodations and transportation are not included.
What is your cancellation policy?
Please make sure the dates of this event work for you. We are not able to offer any refunds once you have registered.
What is the weather like in Loveland in May?
The weather is variable in Colorado but by mid-May we will have the beginnings of spring showing itself and warm sunny days as well as cool mornings and evenings. Average high is 71 and average low is 41.
Meet your guide for the retreat
Dr. Minette Riordan
An adventurer and rebel with a deep love for expressive arts, Minette believes in stepping bravely into new challenges. A passionate teacher and seeker, Minette finds joy in guiding others to tap into their vision and passion through art and self-reflection. With three decades of experience leading groups, she brings depth, warmth, and wisdom to every gathering.
"I am steeped in immense gratitude for the depth and richness of the experience. From the moment we began this 4 and 1/2 day retreat, we traveled in a liminal space of radical acceptance, profound insight, and heartfelt generosity. We were surrounded by the saturated colors of the sacred space created to contain and support our creative unfolding. Delicious food, the company of wise women, the natural environment we spent time in, the abundance of diverse materials and gentle, loving guidance were food for my Soul. The theme delighted and inspired me with well orchestrated and thoughtful stepping stones along the path end with the sacred sharing of our creations on our last morning together. Leslie and Minette are masterful Magicians who took me on an enchanted journey that I will forever cherish."- Tamara Brody
© Minette Riordan/Mindful Patterns, LLC 2024