Art Affair in Umbria

Keli and Janet are heading to Italy in 2017 for a week
of creative play, glorious food, wine, and adventure.

Art Affair in Umbria: June 10-17, 2017

 

We’ll celebrate the sweetness of Italian life and the camaraderie of women during this workshop as we relax around the pool, drink wine, eat delicious food, and create art. There are so many beautiful villages and interesting sites near Piegaro, it will be difficult to choose which to visit first. Fans of Art Affair in France…don’t worry, there’s a bounty of delicious cheese, wine and chocolate to be had in Umbria!

	Nurture your mind, body and spirit with Poggi Bonsi owner, Keli Sim DeRitis, and her teaching partner, Janet Crawley, in the green heart of Italy. Our home for the week will be the Villa at L’Antica Vetreria, a beautifully renovated glass factory originally founded in 1292 and located in the medieval village of Piegaro.
	Among our adventures will be a tour and tasting at the Perugina Chocolate Museum in Perugia and a visit to the ancient town of Deruta, world-famous for its Italian ceramics, where we’ll meet of one of Poggi Bonsi‘s pottery suppliers and have a private tour of their studio.
	Ancient hill towns abound in Umbria, together we will decide which ones to explore. Assisi is famous for the Basilicas of St. Francis and St. Claire, cobbled stone streets full of shops, and traditional olive wood products. Spello, just a short drive from Assisi, is a delightful medieval village with many shops and restaurants. Bevagna, one of the most charming towns in Umbria, is situated in a little valley and is perfect for a relaxing stroll and perhaps a gelato at the Gran Caffe Garibaldi. Montefalco is knows for elegant Italian linens and its magnificentlocal red wine Sagrantino di Montefalco.
	Morning yoga classes, energizing walks, and meditation with Janet will rejuvenate our bodies and open the doors to our creative centers. Keli will guide us through artistic exercises and teach mixed-media techniques to create a unique painting which will serve as a memento of our week in Italy. The glittering mosiacs on the facade of the Cathedral of Orvieto, created by glass masters of L’Antica Vetreria, and the medieval villages we visit, will serve as artistic inspiration for our individual masterpieces.
	We’ll expand our palates as we sample local wines and dine on wonderful meals in osterias and more intimate dinners prepared by our personal chef Jennifer McIlvaine of Life Italian Style. A Farm to Table cooking class with Jennifer will include a stop at a unique stone flour mill and wood-fired oven bakery where we’ll learn about bread making beginning with grain; a local farm where animals are raised for salumi, meat and cheese production; we will make cheese and pasta with Nonna Rita before indulging in a traditional farm lunch.  A winery tour and tasting with our host Colleen Simpson are also included. This special retreat will nourish your body, nurture your creativity and enliven your soul.

Come stay and play with us at L’Antica Vetreria,
where you can celebrate your love affair with art and rediscover yourself.

Cost: $2,750 per person

Price includes:

• Airport transfers to and from Piegaro and Fiumicino Airport in Rome.
• Charming Double-occupancy Rooms (king beds will be made into twins),
  all with En-Suite Bathrooms.
• Art instruction and Materials. Students will complete a 12″ x 12″ mixed media painting using ephemera and objects we find on our excursions.
• Continental Breakfasts prepared by Keli and Janet and all Dinners including local wines. Some evening meals will be prepared by our personal chef, and some will be enjoyed at local eateries.
• Winery tour of Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio with Colleen Simpson, our host at L’Antica Vetreria.
• A Farm to Table Tour and Cooking Class with Jennifer McIlvaine.
• Yoga and Meditation Most Mornings.
• Note: We all share in the cost of car rentals, Keli and Janet will be our drivers.
  (This is usually around $200 per person).

Registration:

Retreat is limited to 10 participants

ONE SPOT LEFT!. Click here to make your payment!

Art Affair in Umbria is a division of Poggi Bonsi Tours.

Price does not include airfare which can be arranged through Bob Kerr at Travel House. NOTE: Trip insurance is required, this can also be purchased very reasonably
from Travel House.

Email keli@poggibonsigifts.com or call Keli Sim DeRitis at 206-714-8278
for more information.

Bijoux Affair in France, June 22-29, 2016

Join Keli and Janet for a week of creative play, mindfulness, and adventure.

Bijoux Affair: June 22-29, 2016

Nuture your Mind, Body and Spirit at La Cascade in Durfort, France.

Bijoux means jewelry in French, and we all love to accessorize! Each day we will unlock our creative flow through meditation, yoga movement, walking, and artistic exploration. We’ll teach you basic knotting, stringing, and wiring techniques to complete several wearable art pieces. We’ll tour charming village boutiques, antique stores and a Sunday flea market to find unique components to incorporate into jewelry projects and inspiration for sketching and painting in our journals. One day we will stroll down the street to paint our own silk scarf with British artist Ann Mason. La Cascade’s sky-lit art studio is open 24 hours a day for artistic play.

This workshop will present a choice of relaxation, journaling, jewelry making or jumping in the car for nearby field trips. Among our adventures will be the famous Saturday market in Revel, a Sunday Flea Market at one of the nearby villages, as well as visiting the Metissage bead shop in the medieval town of Pezanes. We’ll visit Minerve, known as one of the most picturesque hamlets in France as well as being the capital of the Minervois wine region. Yes, there is much wine to be tasted! 

We’ll expand our palate as we dine on the wonderful food prepared by our personal chef. A French cooking class will be included, with Chef Nese sharing the intimate art of French cuisine with us. This special retreat will nourish your body and soul. Come stay, work and play with us at La Cascade, where you can celebrate your love affair with art and rediscover yourself.

Cost: $2,450
($500 deposit to hold your spot, balance is due by March 1, 2016.)*

Price includes:

Instruction and Materials

Charming Double-occupancy Room

Most meals prepared by our own personal chef

One Cooking Class

24-hour Open Studio

Registration:

Registration is limited to 8 participants

To reserve your place fill out the form below and mail your check for $500, payable to Janet Crawley to this address: 17803 5th Avenue Southwest, Normandy Park, WA 98166.

*$500 is non-refundable after March 1, 2016. If cancellation is necessary before March 1, 2016, deposit will be refunded if your spot on the tour can be filled.

Email kelisim@comcast.net or call Keli Sim DeRitis at 206-714-8278
for more information.

Culinary and Art Retreat, July 1-11, 2016

Create, cook, and imbibe…not necessarily in that order!

July 1-11, 2016

Enjoying lunch on the terrace,

Janet and Keli are teaming up with Nese Pelt, owner of La Cascade Art Center in Durfort, France for 10 days of heavenly French cooking lessons and new art experiences.

Included are five days with cooking lessons or food-related field trips interspersed with art workshops and travel to flea markets and historic villages in the region. We will partake of local specialties at charming eateries in the area for at least one lunch and two dinners.

Each day we will unlock our creative flow through guided meditation, intuitive painting and simple sketching exercises. Our observational skills will be sharpened while visiting charming villages and markets and recording what we see.  We’ll have fun exploring acrylic painting on Venetian plaster in La Cascade’s lovely sunlit studio as we create our own fresco masterpieces embellished with flea-market finds.

This 10-day workshop will present a choice of relaxation, painting, journaling, or jumping in the car for nearby field trips. Among our adventures will be the famous Saturday market in Revel, the Sunday Flea Market in Lautrec, as well as visiting the Episcopal city of Albi and visiting the Toulouse Lautrec Museum. Most mornings will be spent together in the studio, which is open 24 hours a day for artistic play.

12″ x 12″ Lemon Fresco by Keli Sim DeRitis

We’ll expand our palate as we dine on the wonderful food prepared by our personal chef. Five French cooking classes will be included, with Chef Nese sharing the intimate art of French cuisine with us. This special retreat will nourish your senses and feed your body and your soul. Come stay, work and play with us at La Cascade, where you can celebrate your love affair with art and food.

Cost: $3,450
($500 deposit holds your spot, balance is due by March 1, 2016.)

Price includes:

Instruction and Materials

Charming Double-occupancy Room

Most meals prepared by our own personal chef

Five Cooking Classes

24-hour Open Studio

Registration:

Registration is limited to 8 participants: Only 3 spots left!

To reserve your place fill out the form below and mail your check, payable to Janet Crawley to this address: 17803 5th Avenue Southwest, Normandy Park, WA 98166.

*$500 is non-refundable after March 1, 2016. If cancellation is necessary before March 1, 2016, deposit will be refunded if your spot on the tour can be filled.

Email kelisim@comcast.net or call Keli Sim DeRitis at 206-714-8278
for more information.

Karma Yoga and Art Retreat August 23-30, 2015

Experience a Unique Week in Southern France
August 23-30, 2015

Janet and Keli are teaming up with Nese Pelt, yoga practitioner, massage therapist,
chef and owner of La Cascade for this unique retreat.

Join us for a week of spiritual growth and artistic exploration in a
400-year-old house in the tiny village of Durfort in southern France.

We’ll spend time nurturing our body through yoga movement, learning about chakras and self-healing techniques. We’ll have the opportunity to enjoy European cuisine with cooking lessons taught by Nese and Keli, and even schedule private massage appointments with Nese.

Janet and Keli will engage your minds during guided artistic meditation and other creative exercises including intuitive painting, designing your own chakra cards, and creating a Mala bead necklace used in meditation.

You’ll have an opportunity to experience personalized sessions of Tarot Card, Rune readings, and quiet walking meditation. Through yoga, breathing exercises and a variety
of meditation you will practice calming your mind to find the silence within. This quiet of your inner being helps you to experience an amazing opening to your body, heart, soul
and spirit.

We will each take part in shopping local markets and preparing our delicious meals in La Cascade’s lovely kitchen. Part of our Karma Yoga experience will be caring for La Cascade and participating in daily life in a French village.

There are many charming villages, markets and artisan shops near Durfort which we will explore. Dining out at local eateries for one lunch and one dinner sampling some of the regional specialties of southern France such as cassoulet and foie gras, will round out our culinary adventures.

Cost: $1,750

Price includes:

• Instruction and Materials
• Charming Double-occupancy Room
• Most meals
• Cooking Classes
• 24-hour Open Studio

Registration:

• $500 deposit to reserve your space
• Final Payment due by April 1, 2015 (If payment is received after April 1, 2015,
  the cost for the workshop will be $2,000)
• If you wish to pay by credit card, there will be an additional 3% processing fee.
• Registration is limited to 8 participants

To reserve your place mail your check, payable to Janet Crawley to this address: 17803 5th Avenue Southwest, Normandy Park, WA 98166.

Email keli@kelisimderitis.com or call Keli Sim DeRitis at 206.714.8278
for more information

Art Retreat in Durfort, France September 1-8, 2015

Consummate your affair with art in the French countryside

September 1-8, 2015

Rendezvous with Keli and Janet for a women’s art retreat at La Cascade
in the charming village of Durfort which sits in the ancient Midi-Pyrenees Region.
Together we’ll experience a week of fun and inspired art-making.

On Art Affiar in France 2014:
“This is a must do again trip! The accommodations were great, the food was wonderful,
and Janet and Keli are the best! Everyday was a new adventure filled with
historical sights and facts about the area we were in that day!”
~Sally, Olympia, Washington

read more testimonials…

We’ll bring life to inspired creations in La Cascade’s large sky-lit art studio, working with acrylic paints, gels and mediums, building up luscious, vibrantly colored landscapes influenced by the beautiful French countryside. Together we’ll explore abstract, impressionistic and traditional painting methods, as well as experiment with design and composition.We’ll enhance our artistic senses as we dabble in paper clay sculpture creating whimsical animal characters.

One day we will stroll down the street to paint our own silk scarf with British artist Ann Mason. Each day we will unlock our creative flow through guided meditation and simple sketching  exercises and sharpen our observational skills by visiting charming villages and markets.

The week will present a choice of relaxation, painting, collage, sculpting or jumping in the car for nearby field trips. Among our adventures will be the famous Saturday market in Revel, the Sunday Flea Market in Lautrec, as well as visiting the Episcopal city of Albi and visiting the Toulouse Lautrec Museum. Most mornings will be spent together in the studio, which is open 24 hours a day for artistic play. We’ll expand our palate as we dine on the wonderful food prepared by our personal chef. A French cooking class will be included, with Chef Nese sharing the intimate art of French cuisine with us. This special week will nourish your senses and feed your soul. Come stay, work and play with us at La Cascade, where you can celebrate your love affair with art.

Cost: $2,350

Price includes:

• Instruction and Materials
• Charming Double-occupancy Room
• Most meals prepared by our own personal chef
• Evening Cooking Class
• 24-hour Open Studio

Registration:

• $500 deposit to reserve your space
• Final Payment due by February 1, 2015 (If payment is received after February 1, 2015,
  the cost for the workshop will be $2,500)
• If you wish to pay by credit card, there will be an additional 3% processing fee.
• Registration is limited to 8 participants
• 2015 Itinerary

To reserve your place fill out the form below and mail your check, payable to Janet Crawley to this address: 17803 5th Avenue Southwest, Normandy Park, WA 98166.

Email keli@kelisimderitis.com or call Keli Sim DeRitis at 206-714-8278
for more information

What to Pack?

Here’s a few suggestions for what to bring with you on your retreat:

Personal Items
Toiletries/Makeup
Ibuprophen or Aspirin
Ear Plugs

European Adapters
Electrical Adapter
Transformer (if you plan to bring your hair dryer)

Clothing
Pack a capsule of clothing that coordinates to keep packing to a minimum.
1 dress (optional)
1 pair slacks/leggings
1 pair capri pants
1 skirt (optional)
1 pair shorts
1-2 scarves (a pashmina is a good option to use as a wrap in the evenings)
1 rain jacket (light weight)
1 sweater or light jacket
3-5 tops
yoga/workout clothes
sleeping attire
walking shoes
sandals
swimsuit

Additional Items to Consider
Passport
French Dictionary
Reading Materials
Euros (at Least 100 to start, more if you are not intending to bring a debit card. There are cash machines in Revel to get additional cash with a U.S. debit card.)
Credit Card with European Chip (ask your bank about this)
Photo copy of credit cards and passport
Art Kit & Apron from Keli & Janet
Yoga Mat or Beach Towel

Optional Art Supplies
Drawing Pencils
Colored Pencils/Water Color Pencils
Watercolor Postcard Paper
Sharpie Markers
Art Papers
Ephemera and Embellishments (photos, mementos, broken jewelry, coins, etc.)

2014 Itinerary

This was our schedule for our glorious week at La Cascade in June, 2014.
A fabulous time was had by all! Read testimonials from our students.

Day one – Wednesday, June 11

Arrival after 3pm
Wine & appetizer reception
Introductions
Getting settled
Explore La Cascade and Durfort
Dinner
Opening Celebration

Day two – Thursday June 12

Yoga movement
Breakfast
Discover Durfort through Frottage
Photograph Safari in Sorez
Picnic Lunch at bassin san ferréol
Visited Montolieu for collage materials
Dinner
Free Art Play

Day three – Friday, June 13

Morning Yoga/Meditaion
Breakfast
Field Trip to Carcassonne
Lunch in Carcassonne
Paper Making at Moulin a Papier in Brousses
Dinner
Lay out Mixed Media Collage

Day four – Saturday, June 14

Morning Yoga/Meditaion
Breakfast
Field trip: Revel Market
Nese’s Market Lunch
Guided Meditation with Clay
Begin Paper Clay Animals
Picnic Dinner, everyone bought something at the market…delicious!

Day five – Sunday, June 15

Morning Yoga/Meditaion
Breakfast
Field trip:  Flea markets “Vide-Greniers” (clear the attic) in Garriques and Lempaut
Lunch
Layout found objects and add mediums Mixed Media Painting
Dinner

Day 6, Monday

Morning Yoga/Meditaion
Breakfast
Mixed Media Painting
Lunch
Silk Scarf Painting
Dinner
Mixed Media Painting

Day 7, Tuesday

Morning Yoga/Meditaion
Breakfast
Copper Museum in Durfort
Paint Paper Clay Sculpture
Lunch
Finish Mixed Media Painting
Dinner

Day 8, Wednesday

Breakfast
Departure…no flights before 10:30 a.m.

Art Retreat in Durfort, France – June 11-18, 2014

Consummate your affair with art in the French countryside

June 11-18, 2014

Rendezvous with Keli and Janet at La Cascade
in the charming village of Durfort which sits in the ancient Midi-Pyrenees Region.
Together we’ll experience a week of fun and inspired art-making.

                                 

 

We’ll bring life to inspired creations in La Cascade’s large sky-lit art studio, working with acrylic paints, gels and mediums, building up luscious, vibrantly colored scenes from our village walkabouts, adding interesting little treasures that we collect on our trips to the local flea markets. We’ll enhance our artistic senses as we dabble in paper clay sculpture capturing the animal characters of the French countryside. Each day we will stretch our bodies and minds with a gentle yoga practice and sharpen our observational skills, unlocking our creative flow through guided meditation and simple sketching exercises. Using charcoal in shades of gray, we will capture the lusciousness of the fruits and vegetables found in village markets, while learning about highlight, shadow, contrast and blending.

The week will present a choice of relaxation, painting, collage, sculpting or jumping in the car for nearby field trips. Among our adventures will be the famous Saturday market in Revel, the Sunday Flea Market in Albi, as well as visiting En Calcat Monastery, famous for its collection of art books.

Most mornings will be spent together in the studio, which is open 24 hours a day for artistic play. We’ll expand our palate as we dine on the wonderful food prepared by our personal chef. A French cooking class will be included, with Chef Nese sharing the intimate art of French cuisine with us, as we create an evening meal. This special week will nourish your senses and feed your soul. Come stay, work and play with us at La Cascade, where you can celebrate your love affair with art.

Cost: $2,100

 

Price includes:

• Instruction and Materials
• Charming Double-occupancy Room
• Most meals prepared by our own personal chef
• Evening Cooking Class
• 24-hour Open Studio

Registration:

• $500 deposit to reserve your space
• Final Payment due by February 1,2014
  (If payment is received after February 1, 2014, the cost for the workshop will be $2,350)
• Registration is limited to 8 participants
• Participants will be mailed a registration packet with detailed itinerary
  and more information.

To reserve your place fill out the form below and mail your check, payable to Janet Crawley or Keli Sim DeRitis to this address: 17803 5th Avenue Southwest, Normandy Park, WA 98166.

Email frenchartaffair@gmail.com or call Keli Sim DeRitis at 206.714.8278
for more information

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