Your Story Workshops and Guides
Your Story Retreat 2011 (photo by Liz Ness)
Kelly Barton, Ali Edwards, Vivienne McMaster, and Liz Lamoreux will be your guides throughout the Your Story Retreat.
During our time together, we will explore ways to tell our stories through:
- Photography, especially self-portraits
- Journaling and blogging
- And lots of creative fun that will feel a bit like summer camp meets the best creative girls' long weekend ever
This retreat is about gathering and sharing and investigating where we are on our paths. It is about breathing in the quiet to remember who we are. It is about exploring the reasons that we hold back from including ourselves in our photos. It is about holding the space while someone tells her story. And it is about inviting in joy and wonder as we explore the gorgeous Oregon Coast and inviting in laughter as we stay up late into the night sharing pieces of our collective experiences.
Each day there will also be time to listen to what you most need. Maybe this will mean taking a nap or collecting sand dollars at dawn or staying in your pajamas all day or walking into town for ice cream or driving down the road to Seaside or sitting side by side with someone who is becoming a dear friend as she shares her truth.
Find out more about your guides below:
Ali Edwards
Ali writes:
I tell my story to document our lives.
I tell my story to remember the smallest, most wonderfully routine details of our daily lives.
I tell my story to encourage others to tell their own.
I tell my story to learn more about myself.
I tell my story to remind myself how truly blessed I am.
I tell my story to make sense of things.
I tell my story to grow my creative skills.
I tell my story to teach my kids that there's magic in this self-reflection and real-life documentation.
I tell my story to celebrate life.
Ali's passion resides in that very special place where the stories and images of life intersect.
Designer, blogger, author, and mother of two, Ali is well known for capturing everyday life with photos and words and creating scrapbooks from those moments that often pass by in an instant.
“I started scrapbooking in 2002 as a way to organize all the stuff I collected after the birth of my son. It has become so much more than an organizational process for me. Through the techniques of photography and personal storytelling I have discovered my voice. My hope is that by sharing the stories of my life and the methods I use to document our days, others will feel inspired and encouraged to record their own.”
Since embarking on this creative career, Ali has written four books about scrapbooking, authored a popular monthly column for Creating Keepsakes magazine, conducted workshops around the country, internationally, and online, and currently designs digital scrapbooking products for Designer Digitals and stamps for Technique Tuesday.
Learn more about and connect with Ali at her website.
Kelly Barton
Kelly writes:
i am a girl who believes in the everyday simple. i love sharing empowering stories through each girl i paint. stories that we each tuck away in the layers of our days, sometimes just needing a little reminder that it is okay to come out and play.
i am kelly barton. mixed media artist, designer. i own a laugh that sounds like betty rubble and a love for the word d.a.n.g. a girl filled to the brim with color. the girl next door.
Connect with Kelly at her website.
Vivienne McMaster
Vivienne writes:
I believe that at any moment there is potential for see ourselves with love and that when we hold our cameras in our hands and turn it on ourselves, it is a powerful tool to cultivate self-compassion.
I believe that creative playfulness is an amazing tool for getting us out of our left brain fears about photography and shifts us into a right brain place of the wonder of experiencing and seeing the beauty of the world around us (and within us).
I believe that our stories, your stories are worthy of being told. Right here, right now. That you don’t need to wait to be in a different place or until you are a ‘better version’ of you before making space to tell them.
I love the energy of art retreats, of journeying together in community and making space for each of us to be seen, heard and supported.
I see the world its vibrancy, sparkly way and photography has been the most beautiful surprise in my life, appearing after a rough patch and becoming my guide back to myself and has helped me create a visual roadmap of creating a life that I truly love.
I guide women to be their own muse and to cultivate self-compassion through photography in the form of E-Courses and In-Person Workshops and you can come on over and discover more about me at: www.viviennemcmaster.com
Liz Lamoreux
Liz writes:
I believe that we must spend time recharging and refilling the soul's well so that we can be present in our daily lives in a more open and truthful way. I believe that unearthing our stories by looking at our past and standing right here and looking within and then sharing our stories through creating, writing, and community are vital to connecting deeply with ourselves and others.
My experiences of community with other artists has encouraged me to see creativity as a form of yoga, and I honor creating and writing as part of my personal yoga practice. As a yoga teacher and writer, I see creating as a meditative exercise for the spirit and I currently focus on sharing this inward journey with others through my writing, ecourses and workshops, hosting the Be Present Retreats, and my Etsy shop Soul Mantras and Other Stories.
Learn more about Liz at her website.
Sasha Clements
Sasha will be nourishing us in the kitchen during Your Story. She writes: I am... a free-spirited wild child, tethered to the responsibilities of the real world,walking a tightrope of compromise, and searching for a sweet blend of dreams and reality.
I work a full time as a communications and project coordinator for an electric cooperative in Indiana. After 30+ years, I’m still in love with my high school sweetheart. I’m a mom to a grown son and a “G” (grandma) to a 4-year-old superhero in training. When my alter ego demands creative play, I dabble in writing, photography, food, clay, yarn, and paint.
I believe the recipe for “retreat magic” includes a lovely combination of wise and generous teachers, like-minded souls circled together, and the invitation to share the truth of your story in a safe space. I crave the nourishment this magic gives - it’s why I attend retreats.
At Your Story, I’ll be attending to your kitchen needs and other details so you can make some magic with Ali, Kelly, Vivienne, and Liz. I can’t wait to meet you and hear your story!