Integrating Mind, Body, and Art, a Color Woodblock Printmaking Retreat
June 20 - 22, 2025
at the Rowe Center, Rowe, MA
To participate, or to know more, read details and descriptions below, or call Matt at 603-306-6547, or send a note to Jane Kaufman, coordinator for the weekend.
Hold a spot by sending
a deposit of $400
(using a credit card for online payment).
The first 10 sign-ups pay an early bird rate of $350. There are still 4 spots left at the early bird rate (5.2.2025).
The next 10 spaces are available at $450 (maximum participation is 20).
If something comes up and you need to cancel, expect full refund of this deposit up to 2 weeks before the start of the class.
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- Seeking a time apart? A chance to be part of a group making art, making music, and learning about Buddhist and Taoist thought?
- Hoping for a chance to immerse in a collaborative art-making experience pursuing an innovative way of integrating relationships?
- Curious for a hands-on interaction with the mechanics of making woodblock prints using the Japanese hanga method?
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Join Matt Brown and co-leaders Todd Binzen, painter and Tai-Chi instructor, Matthew Daniel, former Buddhist monk, teacher, and founder of the North Shore Insight Meditation Center, and singer, teacher, and music-maker Maureen Burford for a camp-style retreat at a beautiful location in western MA.
The weekend is structured around a one-day art project, emulating the creation of the ukiyo-e prints of Japan. Working together in small groups to develop color woodblock prints using the Japanese hanga method, participants will explore the spiritual implications of making art as part of a team.
Together we will participate in Qi-Jong movement, investigate and discuss relationships of color and form and of mind and body, take part in music-making and insightful conversation, and create beautiful hand-made prints that each participant help create (and will get to take home at the end of the weekend).
Our emphasis will be on the integration of parts: how to make a print using multiple blocks, how to be a part of an art-making team, how to work with our minds in new social situations, and how to overcome our fear and find joy during a dark time!
What is the Hanga method?
Hanga is printmaking using a hand-held baren instead of a press, water instead of oil. It is relief printing from multiple carved blocks. Participants will engage in a quick introduction to the mechanics of the process - how to get imagery onto the various blocks, how to carve, and how to print with brushes and baren, including brief introductions to making paste, using the pigments, and handling the paper. There will be creative inputs from all on aspects of color, form, expression and visual expression.
And the concrete goal of this workshop?
Completion of one or more sets of prints that participants helped create.
Everyone will take home an editioned print, mounted in an acid-free mat suitable for framing.
And the subtler goals of the workshop?
A time apart to explore relationships of body and mind in relation to others, and to the natural world in a beautiful setting. This is intended as spiritual fortifiing time, a way to access some deeper power. We surely need that now.
Class schedule:
- Friday evening we gather at the Sibley farmhouse for hors d'oeuvres at 5pm. Dinner will serve at 6pm. At 7, Matthew Daniell starts things off with an insight meditation talk, a guided intro into a Buddhist tradition seeking to enhance our listening and centering, likely a pursuit of the topic Reflections on the Eight Worldy Winds.
- Saturday morning breakfast is served at 8am. We begin at 9:30 with a Qui-Jong movement class led by Todd Binzen.
- Saturday late morning and afternoon we begin our printing project at 10:30, break to enjoy lunch at 12:30 pm, and return to our art-making at 1:30. We finish the day at 5, leaving time for relaxing, hiking, or using the sauna before gathering again for dinner at 6pm.
The print project is finishing one or more woodblock images worked out from imagery of Todd Bibzen's. Much will have been put together as a started kit ahead of the class by Seth and Matt. As a team we will carve, print, and seek to bring one or more small print editions to a completion.
- Saturday evening, we gather for song and celebration, led by Maureen Burford. (Consider bringing acoustic instruments, songs or poems to share, and an open curious heart.)
- Sunday, after breakfast, we finish our project, sign the prints and assemble portfoilios. We take time to reflect on what we learned and how to keep working with the spirit of the weekend. This will also include some "shop talk", a student guided discusion of sources of tools and materials, ways to keep making hanga woodblock prints on your own. The workshop closes with lunch at 12:30 and a leisurely departure.
The Location:
The Rowe Center is located at 22 Kings Highway in the town of Rowe, MA. Situated at the foot of Adams Mtn., it is surrounded by beautiful forest, access to over 50 miles of hiking trails, and is only a short walk to beautiful Pelham Lake. A variety of lodging is available, and Chef Dan will provide delicious meals, accommodating most dietary restrictions.
Be great if you are able to join us!
Matt
Terms:
If you are among the early bird sign-up group, your total cost will be between $550 and $930, depending on your housing choice.
Class Tuition:
- $350 includes all tools and materials for our project
Onsite Housing:
- $305 includes meals and basic lodging in a dorm room or heated cabin (weekend total of $655).
Room upgrades :
- Add $75 for a single twin in a semi-private room
- Add $80 for a single twin in a private room
- Add $100 for a private room, double bed
Off-site housing at 15 Kings Hwy or 16 Hazelton Rd:
- Add $275 for a private room, double bed, at one of two nearby houses
Off-site housing, on your own:
- $200 commuter fee in lieu of the $305 onsite housing (this is how you get a total of $550 for the weekend which includes all meals)
Please contact Jane Kaufman - tojanek@yahoo.com, (303) 974-8936, with questions.
Photos from class of 2024 at Rowe:
