Isles of Curiosity and Wonder (Digital) Midsummer Creative Retreat: 2024 Edition
Starts June 20th! A seasonal series of creative midsummer prompts and reflection.
Hello friends,
It has been raining most of the week in my neck of the woods, which makes it a little more Junuary than actual June. But we are just a couple of weeks away from the summer solstice, so today I wanted to introduce you to the next seasonal edition of Creative Fuel which will be coming later this month: the Digital Midsummer Creative Retreat hosted on the imaginary Isles of Curiosity and Wonder.
If you’re already thinking to yourself, “imaginary islands, what is she talking about??” then let me back up for a second.
You may know that in December, I run a 21-day digital Advent calendar, a seasonal offering that’s focused on slowing down and creating a little space for gratitude and creativity. It’s very much geared around the winter season, and last year I decided that it would be fun to do a seasonal counterpart around the summer solstice. The Digital Midsummer Creative Retreat was born.
But how do you do a digital creative retreat that doesn’t just feel like a bunch of lists of prompts? How do you cultivate a digital space that feels inspiring and a little magical even when you know that so often the internet does not spark joy? How do you connect a bunch of people all tuning in from their various laptops and devices? How do you help to cultivate a little curiosity, a little wonder?
Well my friends, you host your retreat on an imaginary archipelago of islands.
“If I could wish something good for someone, I would wish for them an island with no address.”
- Tove Jansson
Islands are special. The meeting place between land and sea, they are solitary, isolated points on a map, connected only by the land mass found beneath the waves of the water. In the real world, I actually do host in-person creative retreats on islands. But these are limited and hard to get to, which is why we have The Isles of Curiosity and Wonder.
This is an imaginary place that I dreamed up in 2020, a time when we all were very much in need of an escape from reality.
So we’re clear, I’m not necessarily talking about turquoise waters and sandy beach islands. My dream islands are blustery and craggy. Barnacles and kelp abound, as does the constant smell of saltwater. If the Isles of Curiosity and Wonder had a patron saint, it would be Tove Jansson.
Here is the original map1 I drew of the islands:
Why not have a physical geography to hold all of my creative ideas? After all, an island is a breeding ground for creativity, a space in between. Even better when it’s imaginary.
As these are entirely made up, there are many islands to choose from, making it the perfect place for a creative retreat. The beauty is that the map is as fluid as its seas, ever-changing.
Which means: you can construct your own solitary island of creative retreat as you see fit.
The retreat will run June 20-24th.
During this 5-day period, 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 to sink into creatively for a few days.
That’s what this is for. I’m just here to give you some jumping off points.
DIGITAL MIDSUMMER RETREAT BASICS
This creative retreat is all about slowing down, creating some pockets of space, and cultivating a little more magic through your own creative process.
This is a self-imposed creative retreat. I send you prompts and reflections, and you figure out how to put them in place.
The retreat takes place over 5 days, starting on June 20th, summer solstice. Every day for five days a newsletter will land in your inbox.
There is so specific project to complete (unless you want to). This is simply encouragement to allow ourselves to be in process.
HOW DO I SIGN UP?
As you all know, it’s really important to me to keep most of the offerings on Creative Fuel open and accessible to everyone. I know for a lot of people money is tight, and we all only have so many newsletter subscriptions we can handle. I also know that often creative retreats can feel entirely inaccessible to most people. So, this retreat is for EVERYONE.
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.
Obviously, this takes time and energy to produce, and as a thank you for helping to bring it to life, I’ll be doing a couple extra perks for paid subscribers, including an audio version.
If you want to help the production of this retreat and newsletter and general, you can upgrade to a paid subscription.
I’m looking forward to spending another midsummer with you on the Isles of Curiosity and Wonder!
-Anna
Have a friend you want to do this retreat with?
Pass this along to them!
Upcoming Creative Fuel Workshops + Events
Next Create+Engage workshop is June 12, 2024, 5-6:30pm PT for Mapping Belonging: Art & Connection with Christine Wong Yap and Jose González. More on the session here and sign up here. All of this programming is free, made possible by paid subscribers and other supporters. Thank you!
If you can’t wait until June 20th for sea-inspired inspiration, check out the recent edition of Nice Things, a new monthly Creative Fuel feature. It’s all about seaweed!
And yes of course there is some Isles of Curiosity and Wonder merch.
- ’s interview with the one and only Judy Chicago is definitely worth a listen.
- is organizing a fundraiser for Palestine Children’s Relief Fund to harness the power of writers and communities on Substack. I donated and I hope that some of you other Creative Fuel community members will too. Donate here.
Do you enjoy Creative Fuel? You can support this work by becoming a paid subscriber. You can also order something in my shop, attend one of my workshops or retreats, or buy one of my books. Or simply share this newsletter with a friend!
I’ve been wanting to make an updated map for ages… maybe this is the year.
I’m “feeling” the vibes already! My curiosity is peaked and my bag is packed with wonder, paper and pencils 🪸 thank you for creating this getaway for us!
This sounds great. Can’t get to the ocean but in my imagination. Love the idea of making an island map!