Costa Rica FAQ's

 

If you have been thinking about joining our Pura Vida painting retreat in Costa Rica but have some questions we thought that these FAQ’s would be helpful:

“I have been thinking seriously about joining your painting trip to Costa Rica and wanted to ask a few questions...”

1. Is this trip going to be pretty intensive in art making and teaching? I have not been able to make much art in the past few years and there is nothing I am craving more than 24 hours a day to paint, talk about art, learn new techniques etc. Does that sound about in line with how you have designed the trip?

Answer: We've had a lot of questions about the nature of the retreat and the balance of art making to relaxation. Really, you can decide how much you'd like to go to the beach vs make art, but we wanted to flesh out the structure. We plan on teaching in the mornings from 9 to 1pm and you will have 24 hr access to the work studio and art supplies. Breakfast and lunch will be served buffet style in our common space, so you can eat at our leisure. Both Faith and Mati have a lot to share both techniques and art-making wise and we'll be available for instruction at other times too. We envision that this retreat will be super juicy and inspiring and you may want downtime to soak up the lessons and be further inspired by the ocean, tropical nature and colors. 

2. What time does the retreat begin on the 19th and end on the 25^th for logistics and airline purposes?

Answer: Participants are welcome to arrive any time after 12PM on July 19^th to settle in and enjoy the beach and pool. At 5PM that evening we will begin the retreat with an opening circle gathering and a shared welcome dinner. Check out on the 25^th will be at 10AM, shuttles to the airport will leave that morning to get people to their flights.

3. How far is the retreat location from the airport....is there a shuttle that can be taken?

Answer: The Jungle Beach House is about an hour from the airport. There are multiple shuttle services that we can recommend. We’ll send you a list of those services once you register. When we have everyone’s arrival/departure times we can coordinate shuttle shares for retreat participants upon request.

4. What is the name of the airport closest to the retreat?

Answer: The closest airport is called Liberia, Costa Rica and the retreat itself will be held in the town of Nosara, on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Penninsula.

5. Are all the art materials included in the price? If so will we have access to canvases or professional paper?  

Answer: We will supply most of the art materials including a couple of larger canvases (24” x 24”)— all included in the price. We only ask that you bring a few small things: select paints, brushes and collage paper of your liking.

6. How fast do your retreats generally fill? I am trying to figure out logistics for that week. Do you have a general idea of when I should register by to ensure a spot?

Answer: We have had a lot of interest in the retreat and spots are filling up, we suggest you book ASAP to reserve your spot!

Please feel free to run any further questions by us!

Faith (at) faithevanssills.com

Hope you can join us on this amazing adventure! :)))

Pura Vida in Costa Rica!

Dreaming, Visioning, Manifesting, 2014 was a big one for me with those three.

It kicked off strong with my trip to Bali which began a year ago today, and continued last year as I ran art retreats and workshops in the US with my beautiful inspiring friend Em.

2015 is shaping up to be huge for me too as I'm partnering with my super talented fellow painter and friend Mati Rose, running my first international painting retreat at a Jungle Beach House in Costa Rica! Pinch me, I'm pretty much doing my dream job! We have so many magical exciting lessons and experiences planned for this adventure that we can't wait to share with you, come along!

nosara, costa rica

april 19-25, 2015

We'll take over a lush secluded retreat center for 6 days of making art, nuturing relationships, and adventuring in the jungle paradise of the Nicolya Peninsula in Costa Rica. Our group will lodge in a private villa with our own pool and secret path to the beach surrounded by rain forest, falling asleep to the sound of the surf. Each morning I'll lead us on a nature mandala walk to the beach to begin our day. Mati Rose McDonough and I are teaming up to take you on a layered painting adventure! Each morning we'll dive into lessons in our gigantic open air porch filled with hammocks and comfy couches. We'll lead you through collage, working with stencils, silk screening, spray painting, layering with drips and washes, creating abstract layers along with painted Mandalas and Feather Power Girls!

What’s Included:

*6 nights accommodation in a private villa, our own Jungle Beach House.

*healthy breakfast and lunch daily by a private chef—lots of fresh tropical fruit and fresh local fish! 

*daily painting lessons by both Faith & Mati…using our jungle beach location for inspiration we’ll dive into mixed media layered goodness with lessons in creating abstract paintings through a variety of marks and materials to express natural space and tropical inspiration. Through a slow build up of process you’ll create two paintings in our open air studio. Mati and Faith will lead you through lessons in collage, wash painting, stencilling, silk screening, spray painting along with painted mandalas and feather power girls. You’ll come away with work that you love, and lots of new ways of seeing and working, to take home to jump start your own studio practice.  

*around the clock access to our own open air art studio, a thatched roof central space full of hammocks and lounges where you can let your inspiration run wild. 

*meditative morning nature mandala walks

*private beach access

*private pool on site

*optional yoga

*daily housekeeping

*free day for horseback riding, zip-lining, massage, surf lessons, local wildlife tours

*lots of free time in the afternoons to explore the local beauty and nurture relationships with other creative women.

*a short distance to Nosara, a funky, holistic, hip enclave in the jungle. 

Spots are already filling up, head over here to my Workshops page to reserve yours today!
Visit our FAQ page for more info about our schedule and what we have planned.

Are you feeling called to join us on this fantastic adventure? Register today to reserve your spot, and remember, if you have any questions please shoot me an email at faith (at) faithevanssills.com
Visit our FAQ page here.

A bit more about our teachers~

Mati Rose McDonough is an artist and daring adventurer whose name is pronounced Matey, like Ahoy! She is an Oakland, California based artist, illustrator, painting teacher and author of “Daring Adventures in Paint”.  After wanting to be an artist for many years, but feeling like it was “impractical”, at 29 years Mati took the leap and went back to art school at the California College of the Arts. Almost 10 years later, she is still excited and terrified every time she sees a blank canvas. She has had dozens of art shows, taught painting classes internationally and had her art used by clients Patagonia, University Games, Pier 1, as well as greeting cards, and her very own home decor line. She also has illustrated several children’s books including “i carry your heart” written by ee cummings. Through her workshops, book, and popular online course, she spreads a warm message of creative courage: it’s never too late to show the world your magic.  

Faith Evans-Sills is a painter, wife, mother, doula, world traveler and New York City transplant. With 20+ years of personal painting experience she enjoys inspiring others to manifest their most heartfelt ideas through creating art. Her art has been exhibited widely, included in multiple publications and she is very excited to now be fulfilling her longtime dream of offering creative workshops and retreats. She lives with her husband and 3 young children by the sea in Charleston, South Carolina, where they enjoy exploring southern beaches and maintaining a close connection with nature through frequent trips to wild places. Follow along here on her eponymous blog and on Instagram where she posts daily beauty and inspiration.

Time Lapse Mandala Creation

 

I've been dreaming up more online offerings and ways to invite you to play with me from your own home and studio. One idea that keeps popping up for me is a nature mandala e-course! Eeeeeep, I'm super excited about it! I've got some logistics to figure out. In planning I've been experimenting with documenting my mandala process through videos as I create them. There's definitely a learning curve but I think that my love of the process comes through, and I really just want to watch the start to finish creation over and over again. Be the first to know when I announce my e-course offering by signing up for my newsletter right here.

Enjoy! xo

A New Offering: 90 Days of Mandalas

::90 Days of Inspiration to Awaken your Heart and Ground your Soul::

Join me for 3 months of Nature Mandala images and inspiring quotes delivered directly to your inbox daily.

Do you often feel like you go through your days thirsty for inspiration? When you catch glimpses, in words or images, that inspire your best self do you feel a refreshment deep within your soul? Do you long for more of this soul saturating beauty in your life but often can't find the time to seek it out, or become overwhelmed looking for it on social media?

Feeding your soul with inspiration is so important to living a rich, whole and integrated creative life.

::I believe that when you make it a priority to ground your self in wisdom and beauty, practically every area of your life is affected in a positive way, including your outlook and your relationships::

 I know that searching for inspiration can start to feel very overwhelming, especially in our information saturated world. It can feel frustrating, discouraging, and like there is never enough time.

I love sharing my nature mandalas with the world over on Instagram as I create them, and I've had such an overwhelming positive response to them that I have come to see how much they help people.
Many of my followers write to me saying,

"When your flower mandalas come up in my feed I literally feel myself stop and take a deep breath, and sigh with joy."

I want everyone to be able to have this experience every day as a beautiful part of your daily relaxation practice. That is what led me to create this 90 day journey.

Spend a season grounding yourself in inspiration and reflection as each day I deliver a nature mandala, along with words of wisdom for you to reflect on, right to your inbox. As an artist and a mother I live a fully integrated creative life, which means I allow space for my creativity to seep into every aspect of everything that I do even on my busy days... this takes effort to constantly stay inspired, but what I have learned is that creativity feeds creativity and inspiration fuels inspiration. Keeping yourself in that creative mindset as often as possible is the key, and I want to share that with you!
Over the years I've found lots of prompts and tricks to keep myself inspired...one of the greatest has been my nature mandala practice, I've put all of that into this e-mail program through words and images.

Testimonial for Mandala Meditations:

 Mati Rose McDonough; artist, author, teacher: "These emails make me insanely happy on a daily basis! I love them!"

I created this 90 Mandala Journey as a way of immersing myself in beauty (my favorite place to be!) Over time they will give you not only a daily dose of inspiration and reflection, but also to slowly build within you a heightened awareness of life's beauty and new appreciation for whatever you hold most dear. You can start this journey at any time, it is completely self directed and at your own pace! At the end of your three month journey I'll send you a prompt detailing a soulful ceremony to help you lighten your load as you release all that is not serving you on your creative path.

 ::A beautiful journey awaits you::

What do you get?:
Daily for 90 days I'll send joy to your inbox, you'll receive one of my original nature mandala photographs coupled with a thoughtful quote to inspire your best self and encourage your own creativity to soar. Strengthening your soul's journey in connection to nature's peace. Using nature mandalas to awaken and ground your heart. At the end of three months I'll send you prompts for a personal ceremony to help you let go of things that are not currently serving you.

The emails are yours to keep and enjoy again and again for your own personal meditation practice, you can print them out, make a book, whatever you choose.

Logistics: 

As soon as you purchase, you’ll be redirected to a private page where you input your name and email address. You’ll receive a confirmation email, and you just have to confirm that you want to receive the prompts. As soon as you do, you’ll start receiving daily prompts for the next 90 days. Simple and easy, but if you have any questions along the way or you aren’t immediately redirected to sign up, just shoot me an email at “faith@faithevanssills.com” without the quotes, and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.

Does this sound like something you need?

Come along, begin the journey of grounding yourself in connection to nature's peace on my 90 day Mandala Meditation Journey.