A (Digital) Midsummer Creative Retreat
A special five-day seasonal series of prompts and reflections kicking off on June 21
You can find all of the midsummer retreat posts and prompts here. These are now behind a paywall and available to paid subscribers.
“If I could wish something good for someone, I would wish for them an island with no address.”
- Tove Jansson
We are nearing the summer solstice.
Next week, June 21st marks the official start of summer, and in honor of this seasonal transition, I’m going to do a little creative experiment: a 5-day series of creative midsummer prompts and reflections.
For the last six years, every December I have written a digital Advent calendar called 24 Days of Making, Doing, and Being. Ages ago my friend
and I were brainstorming various ideas, and he suggested that maybe I do some other seasonal version of that. I nodded in agreement and then promptly put it where all ideas go: on the back-burner to marinate.As the spring days got longer and longer, I kept coming back to that idea. What would a seasonal summer series look like?
Every summer—sometimes starting on the summer solstice, but sometimes a bit later—I read Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book.
Jansson—the famed author and artist behind the Moomin series, and my constant creative muse—knew a thing or two about islands. For over two decades, she and her partner Tuulikki Pietilä spent every summer living on the island of Klovharun.
Back in the winter of 2020, my friend Paula Flach and I actually sent in an application to be residents at Klovharun during that summer. We all know that the year in question had other plans in mind, but even the act of writing that application planted a seed for me.
In reading about Jansson recently, I found the “island with no address” quote, and realized exactly what this summer series should: an invitation to a creative retreat on an island.
“But Anna, I don’t have access to an island!” you say. “And even if I did, I can’t just drop everything and escape to one.”
Yes, I am well aware of these restrictions. Which is exactly what this series is for.
I’d like to welcome you to spend this creative midsummer retreat on the Isles of Curiosity and Wonder.
“But what are the Isles of Curiosity and Wonder and how do I get there?”
Back in the summer of 2020 I painted a simple little map and called it The Isles of Curiosity and Wonder. This was the original drawing:
I had been inspired by Paula to do some imaginative mapping, and that led to all kinds of explorations, like finding the book Archipelago: An Atlas of Imagined Islands.
Why not have a physical, geography place to hold all of my creative ideas? After all, an island is a breeding ground for creativity, a space in between.
These isles are entirely imaginary, and there are many to choose from. The beauty of this place is that the map is as fluid as its seas, ever-changing. You can construct your own solitary island of creative retreat as you see fit.
You may have an hour a day that you can commit to this, or maybe you have five minutes. Or maybe you have absolutely no idea what kind of timeframe you can commit to but you know that you need something. That’s what this is for.
Just like my Advent calendar, this digital midsummer creative retreat is all about slowing down, creating some pockets of space, and cultivating a little more magic.
This is a self-imposed creative retreat. I send you prompts and reflections, and you figure out how to put them in place.
That could mean just reading them. It could be responding to the prompts. You could print them out and get off screen. You could do them with a friend. It could mean setting aside half an hour for five days in a row and seeing what happens in that space.
You don’t even have to do them when they hit your inbox—save these prompts for later in the summer when you’re able to block out a little more time for creative space if that feels better. You have permission to use these however you want and need to.
There is so specific project to complete. This is simply encouragement for allowing ourselves to be in process.
It kicks off on Wednesday June 21st and will run through Sunday June 25th. You will get one newsletter a day, each one with a little prompt or reflection. Something to ponder in your imaginary island space. A little time to breathe, a little time for creativity, a little time for wonder.
If you’re a Creative Fuel subscriber, you’re already signed up. If you’re not already a subscriber you can do so right here.
Know someone who you think also wants to take part? Send them this newsletter and encourage them to sign up!
I look forward to spending some time with you exploring the Isles of Curiosity and Wonder.
I’ll see you back here on the 21st.
-Anna
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Very excited to retreat on a Creative island.
What a wonderful idea!! Can’t wait!!