Full course description:

This workshop invites participants to approach mark-making through discovery and experimentation. Instead of traditional tools, we will gather materials encountered throughout the retreat—natural fragments, overlooked objects, and unexpected textures—and transform them into inventive mark-making instruments.

Working on both traditional and unexpected surfaces, participants will explore gesture, rhythm, repetition, and chance through a series of exploratory exercises. The focus is not on producing a polished result, but on engaging fully with the act of making and allowing visual language to evolve through curiosity and play.

The practice will also expand beyond the hand alone. Through movement and physical interaction with materials, participants will experiment with ways the body itself can generate marks, allowing motion, balance, and gravity to shape the work in surprising ways.

We will also reflect on the relationship between the senses and creative expression, considering how experiences such as scent can awaken memories, images, and emotions that quietly influence the marks we create.

Over the course of the retreat, participants will develop a collection of tactile, layered works that reflect exploration, material discovery, and a deeply personal visual language.