Art & Faith Creative Retreats - Recap & 2027 Announcement!
Happy Summer everyone!
Grab your iced latte or cup of tea and come sit with me for a bit…
I hope you’re enjoying the start of your Summer. What’s on the itinerary for you? This year I have a bit of a different summer, I’m actually home instead of abroad… and I love it. I shifted the retreats a bit to fit in some events we have going on, and I’m really enjoying being home most of the summer months this year.
Don’t get me wrong… I love being in Europe, and we just wrapped up our Art & Faith Creative Retreat in Bellagio, Italy on June 6th, but… I’ve been sitting with all of it since coming home from the retreat and two weeks in Spain with Isabella, and wanted to share what’s been on my heart with you today.
This year, a few days after Isabella graduated from University, we headed out to explore Spain together! We’ve never been and she’s wanted to go for years, so went to three cities in the span of two weeks: Sevilla, Madrid and Barcelona. Spain is such a different country and has a very unique culture as well. Not eating dinner until 9 or 10pm was quite an adjustment! Taking a siesta in the afternoons when everything closes was much easier to adjust to. :) And, seeing tile on everything in places like Sevilla was a dream come true. I’m kinda obsessed with tile now! But, it was quite the whirlwind of a trip, especially since I hadn’t been home long from our Paris retreat, a quick trip with my husband, and all the graduation events. Needless to say having the summer home (or mostly home) is something I am very thankful for this year. Here’s a few photos from our time in Spain:
After Spain we headed straight to Bellagio and met up with Rebecca, Jacob, Henry and Jacob’s mom Kathi. The nice thing about back-to-back trips was that Bellagio IS like home to me, so with a few days before the retreat to get things done I was also able to rest and relax in my favorite place in the world. And, since I had two of my daughters with me to help host the ladies in Bellagio, it made life so much easier and such a JOY to share it with them as well. Since I started these retreats in 2012 (when Isabella was just 7 years old) the girls have always been my helpers. But as I’ve posted on here before, life has changed. My oldest daughters are married and raising children, Isabella has now graduated from college and will have a career. So life is full for all of them, and the retreats will look different each time because of that. The Paris retreat last April I was by myself, so this retreat reminded me of what a beautiful thing it is to have my daughters along on this ministry journey with me, and I appreciate every moment they can be a part of my retreats!
And… at this retreat, we got to have little Henry with us, and celebrate his FIRST birthday in Italy! Here’s a little collage of photos from our week:
Art &Faith Creative Retreat in Bellagio,Italy
Most of you have followed me for a while and have seen photos and videos from our retreats on Lake Como. You may have even been to one of our retreats there. But as the years go by, (and we’re going on 15+ years of hosting them in Bellagio) it’s so evident to me that this place is where God has designed a place for exactly the kind of slowing down and refreshing of our faith that our Art & Faith retreats are built around. It’s where He gave me the idea, where He brought us year after year as a family, it’s where He connected us with so many wonderful people on the lake, and where I feel He’s called me to bring YOU.
It’s also where He allowed us to welcome our very first Scholarship Fund Recipient! What an absolute JOY to meet Mary, who won the scholarship. I love how the Lord has brought SO much goodness from these retreats, that He planted in my heart so many years ago. I loved how the fruit of that has continued to blossom in so many incredible ways! The stories I could share, the moments I try to write down, but often forget, the faithfulness of God to continue to allow me to bring women here… It brings me to tears and to my knees. I am in AWE of our GOD!
Bellagio is where He started this calling in my life, and it’s where I will continue to bring YOU here… To slow down, be refreshed in your faith, to build new friendships, to connect your creativity to our Creator… And see what He has for you next. So, Lord willing, I will continue to host these retreats here as long as He allows me.
Which leads me to share that the first Art & Faith Creative Retreat of 2027 is going to be back right there, in:
Bellagio, Italy May 22-29, 2027!
Registration OpensFriday for our 2027 Creative Retreat in Bellagio, Italy!
Yes! Registration for our 2027 Bellagio, Italy Art & Faith Creative Retreat opens THIS Friday, June 26th at 8am MST.
I can’t wait to welcome a new group of women to this special place! All the details for this retreat are already up on my website HERE.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me via the CONTACT page on my website, I’m happy to answer them.
Next Year’s Scholarship Fund:
I am still praying and planning for that. I know that will determine where you might be able to come, so know that it is still in the works, and I will have more information about it next month. I would love for you to pray alongside me in this as well.
If you’d like to see a little bit more about our retreats, you can check out the YouTube video from last Saturday. I think that will help you get more of an idea of what we do during our time together. You can check it out below:
I’ll be sharing much more on Travel Journaling and Art & Faith Journaling on my YouTube channel, so I’d love for you to join me over there and subscribe to my channel HERE.
Whether you join us in Bellagio or not, I am so grateful you’re here. This community of women is something the Lord is building, and I don’t take that lightly for even a moment.
Check back on my blog for another post on Art & Faith Journaling this week. I was sitting on my patio yesterday morning, reflecting on the retreat and my journaling practice and wanted to share some thoughts with you on that soon. This post just got a little too long-winded, so I fear you don’t want to continue reading… :)
Until next time, go create something beautiful, and give Him all the glory!
Hugs to all,
Laura
Art & Faith Creative
Laura McCollough is a mixed media artist, teacher, and host of Art & Faith Creative Retreats in inspiring destinations around the world. She posts every Saturday on YouTube and would love for you to join her there.