There is a version of you who used to create just because it felt good. Before the deadlines. Before the audience. Before you talked yourself out of picking up the paintbrush, the pen, the clay, because there was always something more important to do.
This retreat is an invitation back to her.
Reflective Harmony is opening our doors for the very first time to a public, immersive retreat -- three days held inside our energetic ecosystem here in Albany, built for creatives, artists, and anyone whose spirit has been quietly asking for permission to slow down and make something beautiful again.
Let's be clear about what this isn't. This isn't a craft weekend. It isn't a class where someone shows you how to paint a nice tree and you go home with a nice tree. We don't do ordinary here. This is three days built with precision and intention, because when you step away from your routine, put materials in your hands, and give yourself permission to stop being useful for a little while -- something cracks open. Art gets past your defenses in a way conversation never quite manages. That's not a mystical claim. That's why someone can sit down to paint something perfectly pleasant and end up crying about their mother.
Christina King, LCAT, our resident art therapist, has spent her career holding space for people to move through grief, joy, transition, and everything in between using the language of art rather than the language of words alone. Under her guidance you will not be handed a lesson plan. You will be handed permission -- to create honestly, to feel what rises, and to let your hands lead you somewhere your mind alone couldn't find the door to.
Around the making, we've built the rest of the weekend to hold you. Grounding ceremony to arrive fully. A morning that moves your body before it asks anything of your heart. A catered lunch and a window of collaborator pop-up sessions if you want them. A closing circle where you get to say out loud what happened. And a small group, on purpose, so this stays an intimate held experience instead of a crowded event.
You'll make something you didn't expect. You'll laugh more than you planned to, because we have never once kept a straight face for a full weekend and we're not starting in October.
And you will not leave as the person who walked in.
The Weekend
Friday, October 23 | 4:00pm--7:00pm
We arrive and land together -- settling in, setting up your creative space, and meeting one another. After a welcome and a walk through the weekend ahead, we move into a guided grounding meditation to arrive fully in the body before the work begins, closing with quiet journal time and an optional share to open the group's creative voice. Dinner on your own to settle in for the night.
Saturday, October 24 | 9:00am--5:00pm
Our deepest day of art making. We open the studio with a shared creative prompt, step away for Ashley Rutledge’s SAH experience, then return to the studio to pour out what surfaced. Midday, we break for a catered lunch alongside our Collaborator pop-up window — optional 30-minute à la carte offerings including Massage, Reiki, Halotherapy, Aura Readings, and Tarot Readings, available to preregister. The afternoon continues with extended studio time, a sweet Fika-inspired moment with Hailey Skinner, and a closing reflection before the studio day wraps. Evening is yours to rest.
Sunday, October 25 | 9:00am--2:00pm
We rise gently into a morning yoga practice with Karen Radley, before settling into our final, extended studio session — finishing pieces, gathering what emerged over the weekend, and making meaning of the work. We close together in a circle, share reflections, and send you back into your life lighter, more whole, more connected, and inspired to continue on this road.
Collaborator Pop-Up Experiences (Saturday)
During Saturday's lunch and pop-up window, you will have the option to preregister for 30-minute a la carte experiences offered by RH's Collaborator Community, including Massage, Reiki, Halotherapy, Aura Readings, and Tarot Readings. These sessions are booked and paid for directly with each practitioner, separate from your retreat registration.
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Investment
Your retreat investment reflects three days of expert facilitation, a fully immersive art-making experience, supplies, gentle movement, grounding ceremony, and the container of Reflective Harmony itself.
A $250 non-refundable deposit reserves your place. Your remaining balance will be invoiced separately.
Early Bird: $1,221
Space is intentionally limited to a small number of participants, so this remains an intimate, held experience rather than a crowded event.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Not at all. This retreat is for anyone who feels the pull to create, regardless of skill level or experience. Christina meets every participant exactly where they are.
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Your registration includes all workshop and art-making sessions, Saturday's SAH experience and catered lunch, the Sunday yoga practice & FIKA, and the full container of the retreat experience. Collaborator pop-up sessions on Saturday are optional and billed separately.
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The $250 deposit is non-refundable and holds your space in this intimate, limited-capacity retreat.
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Lodging is on you, and we'll always share nearby options in your confirmation so you're not hunting alone. Our retreats are hosted at Reflective Harmony in Albany, which means local friends can sleep in their own beds and out-of-town friends have plenty of good choices within a few minutes' drive.
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All payments are non-refundable, non-transferable, and final, as noted above. If something significant comes up, reach out to us by email or phone and we'll talk it through like humans.
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Provided Art Supplies
The listed supplies will be available for use on a first come first serve basis; Pencils, rubber erasers, glue sticks, painted and textured papers, white glue, glue brushes, roll of craft paper (for tables and workspace) oil pastels, water color paint and brushes
Suggested Art Supplies
Sketchbook, Chalk pastels and paper, blending sticks, oil sticks, acrylic paint, palette, palette knives and brushes, all vessels and water containers (we will have some available) *there is NO sink available for mass cleaning - you may wish to label your brushes in case they get mixed in with others during cleaning-Cleaning is the responsibility of the participant
Please, no solvent based products including but not limited to; oil paint, alcohol markers, printing inkscription.