Engaging the Senses - A Creative Arts Retreat

Creativity is available to all of us. We’ve found a place that gently opens channels, connecting us to ourselves and to the creativity that is uniquely our own.

A four-day retreat in Maine guided by Natalie Davis and Maura Ambrose, centered on sensory play, herbal crafting, sound healing, and time in nature.

As Casa Portal, we’ll gather in a secluded setting once devoted to decades of silent retreat — a place shaped by stillness, reflection, and attentive presence. Now lovingly stewarded by new caretakers who honor that history while welcoming diverse paths and perspectives, the land offers a rare kind of quiet: not empty, but alive and listening.

Through hands-on making, forest bathing, sound, and shared daily rhythm, guests are invited into a slower, embodied relationship with creativity shaped by land and season. Days unfold through tactile experiences — using your hands, your attention, and the natural world as teachers.

This retreat is for those seeking to reconnect with their creative instincts, deepen their relationship with nature, and explore creativity as a lived, sensory process rather than a finished product.

What to Expect

• Creative Play
• Herbal crafting 
• Forest bathing, solo and guided walks on wooded trails and open fields
• A sound bath in the barn loft
• Somatic and sensory practices to support grounding and creative flow
• Journaling, reflection, and facilitated group conversations
• Time with the farm’s Navajo Churro sheep
• Time to read, sketch, stitch, walk, or sit quietly across the property
• Chef-prepared meals using seasonal, local ingredients
• Evenings by the fire and access to the wood-fired sauna

All-Inclusive Rates Include: 

• Three meals per day (plus snacks & non-alcoholic beverages)
• All teacher-led programming and workshop materials
• Accommodations for the duration of the retreat
• Exclusive private access to Casa Portal and its amenities

You’ll leave with handmade pieces, shared experiences, and a renewed relationship to creativity shaped by land, rhythm, and attention.