Secluded Tucson Art Retreat

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Photo by Nikolett Emmert

Photo by Alejandro Henriquez

Photo by Santiago Manuel De la Colina

Photo by Gary Barnes

Price: £ £600/£700????

Join us on a 5-night stay in the Tuscan countryside for daily art practice, yoga, mindfulness exercises and connect with nature on this simple, back to basis art retrate. This refershing detox from modern life will get in-touch with your innerchild.

Hosted by Royal Collage of Art graduate Caroline Tatham, you’ll learn fun, yet informative sketchbook exersies, helpful watercolour techniques, useful tips and tricks, plus get lots of feedback and encouragement from the main tutor Caroline, and teaching asistant Emma Tatham. All art materials are provided and included in the course cost.

Located in a secret area just 5km from Siena, the 11th century historic monastery, is equppied with a swimming pool, lavender fields, olive tree fields, a lake and vibrant Tuscan gardens. You’re welcome to explore the gardens whenever you like.

Please do note, that this pared-back art escape requires a half day of volunteering in the local community. The volunteering will be garden-based. Please do get in touch if you have an injuries that might hinder your ability to take part in physical activities.

Photo by Aliona & Pasha

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Photo by Julia Sakelli

Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV

The Location

SECRTE HIDE AWAY. Bespoke ediactional area within a famly home and historic monastery . beuatiful. we havn’t actally been there. not even on google. Hint they’re Mum’s garden design clients. Big on privacy. You can’t take photos or videos of the property. 1hectar width. a small lake by the other side of the property, a lavender field, olives trees and pool. gardens available to explore 24/7. trekkings into the countryside to the lake and around the estate that you can easily follow with the participants during daytime. close to Siena city center (about 5km, just before Ponte a Bozzone).

The menestary dates back to 1,070. Which has since been restored

Meet Your Tutors

What you’ll Learn

Daily art. mindfulness. yoga. garden themed art.

-Include mindfulness/journaling/stretching info. Optional evening where we go deeper info mindfulness.

What Is and Isn’t Included

  • All Eqiupment

  • All meals are included and will be cooked by the Monestry’s chef

  • Accomidation

  • 3.5 Days of art tuition

  • Daily mindfulness practice

  • Acess to pool from 9am - 7pm

  • Acess to gardens 24/7

  • the chance to give back to the local community through volentiering

  • Tourist taxes and fees

  • Transport to and from the airport is provided

  • Private bathroom with hairdryer, hair & body soap and towles.

  • Kitchenette with coffee machine, electric boiler, microwave oven, dishwasher.

  • Free wi-fi service available indoor and outdoor.

  • Flights

  • insurance?

  • Day trips

  • No smoking, vaping, drugs or alcohol

  • Deposite??

Accommodation

This pared down accommodation offers shared bunk beds and a double bed.

Accommodation list:

APPARTAMENTO TOLOMEI

- Caterina 1 single bed (1pax) with bathroom: (usually kept

free for quarantine)

- Giovanna 2 single bed (2pax) with bathroom:

- Lisabetta 1 bunk bed (2pax) with bathroom:

- Agata 1 bunk bed (2pax) with bathroom:

- Margherita 2 bunk beds (4pax) with bathroom:

APPARTAMENTO SANSEDONI

- Nicolosa 3 bunk beds (6pax) with bathroom:

APPARTAMENTO PICCOLOMINI

- Antonia 1 double bed (2pax) with bathroom:

- Maddalena 2 single beds (2pax) with adjacent bathroom:

Services provided: in the rooms there are sheets, towels, a private bathroom with

hairdryer, hair & body soap, toilet paper. In the apartments there is a kitchenette with

coffee machine, electric boiler, microwave oven, dishwasher, drying rack and soap to

hand-wash clothes. Free wi-fi service is available indoor and outdoor.

DONT SAY ABOUT QUARENTINE ROOM.

Please click the button below to view and book accommodation options.

Volntering

Put on the web a list of possible volunteering activities they might be doing. Garden themed art

The monastery prmoets afforable education, cultural exchange and international awareness and is filenthropic. Because of this, you have the opportunity to experience the local community in half a day’s volenteiring. We’ll update participants on teh exact volunteering nearer the time. If you have any concerns reagrading your health abilities, please contact us. 

Usually we organise an activity with an association that could be Le Mura (that takes care of green areas in Siena), Urban Garden il Boschetto, the American Monument Cemetery, Le Bollicine (that creates integration program for disabled people) and many others that we contact based on the characteristics of the groups (numbers, languages, abilities...)  

We usually organize as a volunteering activity a half day with local onluses that are mainly related to gardening/physical activity. 

We cooperate with several Sienese associations that take care of maintaining community gardens, Siena's precious and very ancient walls, green areas and so on. Of course we also have contacts with other social and humanitarian associations, but I think that you'd rather cooperate with the first ones (right?). 

Anyway, we won't know exactly with whom (which onlus) they are going to have this experience until a few months before I'm afraid. 

You can tell them that it's basically going to be something related to gardening or experiences with local handcrafts, our students usually really enjoy this kind of activity.

In case anyone has physical (or any other) limitations of course we will customize the volunteering program accordingly and we will tell the onlus about it, so I don't think it's going to be a problem. 

Anyway, please consider that we would still have to know about anyone's eventual disability/limitation before their booking so we will be able to tell them if our structure and our program is going to be right and suitable for them. 

FAQs

  • All meals are included and will be cooked by the Monastery’s chef. Meal time are as follows: breakfast: 8-9am, lunch: 1-2pm, dinner: 7-8pm.

    you may stress dietary requests on the registration form.

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  • Monday: just a settling in day. T will do some activity, students can use pool and explore gardens.

    Teaching: Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri + half a day volunteering (we’ll know about a month before)

    Stay until Saturday mornin

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  • No.

    You have to be here at this time. 

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  • No, drugs, alcohol, smoking or vaping both indoor and outdoor is prohibited.

  • Italy pay’s for tourist taxes and fees

  • Transport from the airport is provided

  • no

  • yes

  • Yes. The minimum number of participants is 7 and the maximum is 17.

  • Yes. Waiver of Liability and Code of Conduct. also a Registration Form with dietary requests

  • yes. Feel free to use this if you get lost.

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  • no.

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  • no need to bring any art equipment with you.

    all materials are provided.

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  •  £150????) non-refundable unless we cancel the course

Notes for us:

Make sure students sign a waiver of Liability and Code of Conduct. also a Registration Form with dietary requests. alos need to send the monestry copies of passports. MUM NEEDS TO WORK OUT WHAT TIME SHE’LL BE TEACHING  (5 hours with lunch in between. Long lunch?, finish at 5) and the general content so T can plan mindfulness activities. create specific timetable.