JULY 22–26 · BEACON, NY · REGISTRATION CLOSED
That Creative Retreat
Come Find Your Beacon.
Growing up, art spaces were always my sanctuary, the place I felt most like myself. Then life got busy. After years of corporate burnout, I found myself moving through life on autopilot. Between work, responsibilities, and the pace of everyday life, I had lost touch with the things that made me feel most like myself.
Art brought me back.
I created this for anyone who knows that feeling of losing touch with yourself. Come find your way back.
— StaceyA five-day experience filled with art, inspiration, nature, good food, meaningful connections, and the kind of experiences that stay with you long after you return home.
Whether you're an artist, an art lover, or simply someone looking for a different kind of getaway, there's a place for you here.
Only 6 participants.
No art experience required.
This isn't about becoming an artist. It's about reconnecting with a part of yourself you may have set aside.
The kind of travel I love most isn't about checking things off a list. It's about slowing down, paying attention, and leaving with something that changes how you move through everyday life when you get home.
What You'll Experience- ✨ Explore Beacon through the eyes of artists, historians, and locals
- 🎨 Experiment with collage, visual journaling, sketchnoting, and handmade pigments
- 🌿 Spend time in nature gathering inspiration from the Hudson Valley landscape
- 📸 Learn simple ways to collect and document ideas from everyday life
- 🏛 Visit Dia Beacon and a local artist studio
- 🍽 Share meals and conversations with a small group of curious people
- 🖼 Leave with new creative habits, a finished piece, and a different relationship with your own creativity
The experience
That evening, improv jam and wine at Savage Wonder, a veteran-founded nonprofit arts space.
That palette goes straight into what we call the "big make" — a guided collage session where everything you've gathered, photographed, and felt all week comes together into one piece.
Your facilitators
A yoga teacher, mindfulness facilitator, and transformational coach with 20 years of experience helping people slow down, reconnect, and find their own deep well of creativity and wellbeing. Amy is an award-winning singer-songwriter who believes creativity and mind-body awareness go hand in hand.
amysoucy.com
Kelly Kingman is a professional visual note-taker, visual literacy educator, artist, and Hudson Valley local. She's spent her career helping people discover the power of thinking and expressing themselves through simple sketching — and she has a gift for making it feel completely accessible, especially to people who insist they can't draw.
kingmanink.com
Laura Leigh Lanchantin is a fine artist and maker of organic watercolor paints based in New Paltz, NY. She blends the line between abstraction and landscape in her plein air oil paintings, and has completed several artist residency programs, many in national parks. Laura has created her own earth pigment library made from ochre minerals and clay from around the country.
lauraleighlanchantin.com
Stacey Burgay is the founder of That Creative Space, an artist, and creative producer based in Beacon, NY. A founding member of the New York Collage Ensemble, she brings a deep love of the Hudson Valley and a passion for helping people reconnect with their creativity. She'll be with you from welcome dinner to share-out — guiding the collage and mixed media session on Day 4 and holding the space for the whole week.
Here's what's waiting for you.
Beacon has great restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops within walking distance of the studio. We'll share our favorite spots in your welcome guide.
"I've taken a few workshops here and loved each one. Stacey, the director, is so welcoming, teachers are patient and inspiring. It's a gem of a place to have in Beacon."
Nidhi K.Good to know before booking.
Walking, car, Uber, Lyft, or the free bus are all options. Beacon is in the Hudson Highlands — there are some inclines.
Outdoor activities are planned for cooler mornings. Afternoons are in the studio or air-conditioned spaces.
None required. This is a creative reset, not a skill-building workshop. Art appreciators and working artists equally welcome.
Metro-North from Grand Central, ~90 minutes. Or drive. We'll send a full welcome guide 2 weeks before the retreat.
Maximum 6 participants. Intentionally intimate. You will know everyone in the room by the end of
Day 1.
Lightly active. The most physical day is the photo walk to Denning's Point — flat trail, one hill on the way back.
While we have a lovely plan on paper, life happens.
If the weather shifts or a facilitator is under the weather, we'll do everything we can to make sure you still have a full experience rooted in creativity, connection, and joy.
This is also a no-pressure zone — you always have the option to step back from an activity and do whatever feels right for you.
Questions
This retreat is for you if you've been craving a few days to step away from your routine, slow down, and reconnect with yourself through creativity and nature — rooted in community, the joy of making, and exploring expressive forms in a way that's open to everyone, alongside a group of like-minded people.
Beacon is a small town in the Hudson Valley, New York — set along the Hudson River and surrounded by mountains. It's about 90 minutes from New York City by car or by train via Metro-North Railroad (direct from Grand Central Terminal). It's an easy trip — but feels like a real shift once you arrive.
Beacon is walkable and most things are accessible on foot. The studio is about a 15–20 minute walk from Main Street. Uber and Lyft are available. Having a car can be helpful but it's not required. If you have any mobility concerns, feel free to reach out — we're happy to help you plan what works best.
This retreat is lightly active and designed to be manageable for most people. The most physical activity is the photo walk to Denning's Point — the trail is flat and accessible, though there is a hill on the way back up from the riverside. Everything else is a mix of walking, standing, and studio time with plenty of space to rest. If hills are a concern and you have a car, you can meet the group at the trail entrance. If you have specific mobility concerns, please reach out and we'll talk through what to expect.
No. This is less about skill building, more about immersing yourself in a variety of creative experiences you can continue to draw on when you get home. Curiosity is the only requirement. Art appreciators and working artists are equally welcome.
Yes — you're welcome to join us. We just ask that you treat this as time away from your everyday routine and plan to be fully present in the experience during the day.
Once we receive your deposit, you'll receive a curated list of accommodations as well as instructions for planning your travel to Beacon.
You'll receive a detailed welcome guide about 2 weeks before the retreat with everything you need to know. In general, plan for comfortable clothes you can make in, walking shoes, sunscreen and bug spray, and a phone or camera for the photo walk. All materials are provided.
We've designed the schedule with July weather in mind — outdoor activities in the cooler mornings, studio time in the afternoons. If it rains we'll adjust. If something outside our control shifts the plan, we'll always provide a thoughtful Plan B.
We'll have a group chat set up before the retreat date based on the group's preference — text or WhatsApp. It's a great way to coordinate, share excitement, and stay connected as a group throughout the week.
The final piece is not about creating something perfect. It's a way to bring together everything you experienced — what you noticed, gathered, and felt throughout the week. During the big make you'll be given gentle prompts to guide you, but how you approach it is entirely up to you. You're welcome to follow the process or use a different medium as your form of reflection — whatever feels right.
More than anything, this retreat is about making space for yourself. The hope is that you leave not just with something you made — but with a way to return to creativity when you need it. That might look like taking a photo walk, sketching or journaling, or simply sitting down to make something without overthinking it.