Joshua Tree Retreat - Fall 2026
Return to Self
with Atelier Lanterne & Eco Atelier
Nov 15-18, 2026
Settle into slow nature & creativity.
Come meet yourself in the desert.
Let us hold space for you to slow down, be held in nature, and reconnect with yourself and the land.
Too many tabs open? Have an over-active mind but a tired body? Decision fatigue? If you are stuck in a cycle of doing and find it impossible to drop into the present moment, take this opportunity to stop the train!
Step back and create a moment of space for yourself. This retreat will clear a long weekend for you to hang out in a beautiful villa with therapeutic art, gorgeous walks in the National Park, and movement...and free time too! Soak it in, slow it down and be with yourself.
Our senses are invaluable in recalibrating our nervous system, to feel safe and grounded enough to be present.
We will be taking in the smells, sounds and tastes of the natural environment. We will be noticing how our bodies move and reconnect with our creativity.
Come ground yourself in this magical desert landscape. Then bring a settled nervous system back into your life at home.
This long weekend will offer practices that remind your body how accessible and possible it is to continue at a more sustainable rhythm. It is what burnout prevention looks like: walking the walk of being wonderfully productive beings, but also being able to swing back int o the present moment with our own bodies, intuition, creative fire, and right to rest. Not just occasionally on vacation, but in multiple moments, throughout each day.
This is a creative therapeutic retreat that your body will take home with you.
We will play with zooming out to the big picture and also hone in on beautiful details. It is the perspective shift that happens when you clear space for yourself.
We will hold experience for creative therapeutic processes and somatic art making that soothe your senses, using found materials from the land, and play with luscious colors, textures, and movements.
Guided Bilateral Drawing
Cyanotype Printmaking
Personal Altars
Eco Art & Rituals
Soundbath
Yoga & Somatic Practices
Guided Walks in the National Park
Stargazing
Your Hosts:
Alia Arbas, ATR, runs the Eco Atelier, a community therapeutic arts studio in her lush backyard in West Los Angeles. The Eco Atelier is a labor of love and an extension of her passion to hold creative space in nature for people to come together as a community. Her work is inspired by Eco Art Therapy, Wildschooling and Herbalism. She is a parent, synchronized swimmer, and active up-cycler bringing new life to found treasures.
Lindsay Clarke, ATR, CCC, is based in Montreal, with her own Art Therapy practice and community work supporting people through trauma, adjusting to new chapters in life, and recovering from burnout from unsustainable and anxious driven rhythms in life. She is also a parent, forever finding her own balance. Cooking, karaoke, and listening to the birds sometimes help bring her back down. https://lindsayclarkearttherapy.ca
Our gold and honey is bringing people together, supporting accessible ways of being creative that connect us to ourselves and to nature.
We met years ago through a network of Art Therapists from around the world, re-envisioning the therapeutic value of creating alongside one another in a community. Together we share a passion for open-studio Art Hives, where making is a process and not always about the end game. It has inspired our work to this day.
We've since been slowly dreaming up an offer of respite for people outside of the fast wheel of life where we can hold a nourishing space by weaving together experiences of the natural world, art making, and the ground presence of our own bodies. You will carry a different rhythm back into life with you.
Join us for our 4 day retreat in Joshua Tree this Fall!
