# Creativity Lab Art Retreat with Artist Carla Sonheim in France

Join a whimsical art retreat with artist Carla Sonheim in the picturesque Dordogne countryside of France. Reconnect with your childlike curiosity and reinvent your artmaking process through Carla’s daily classes, one-on-one guidance, and a treasure trove of playful creative exercises. Experiment with mixed-media materials, explore your unique artistic voice, and complete at least three unique mini artist books by the end of the retreat.Carla’s teaching blends structure with spontaneity, helping you approach art with joy and curiosity. The retreat welcomes both beginners and experienced artists who wish to loosen up, explore new techniques, and rediscover the fun of making art. Between sessions, enjoy inspiration from the surrounding Dordogne landscape, with visits to the storybook villages of Beynac-et-Cazenac, Issigeac, and Eymet, where golden stone streets, colorful markets, and river views invite you to pause, sketch, and collect ideas for your next piece.Enjoy accommodation in one of the five fully renovated traditional gîtes and savor delicious chef-made food paired with fine wines from one of France's most celebrated wine areas. Find inspiration for your sketchbook in the impressive fortified villages of southwestern France, castle-topped medieval towns, and the surrounding French countryside.

## Details

- **Dates:** October 3 - 10, 2026
- **Location:** Eymet, Dordogne, France
- **Starting Price:** $4,850
- **Category:** Painting

## Program

### Creativity Lab Art Retreat
Join artist Carla Sonheim on a magical art retreat in the enchanting Dordogne countryside of France. Together with your instructor and 14 other like-minded artists, you’ll rediscover a sense of play in your creative process, explore a joyful mix of mixed-media materials, and infuse your artwork with a touch of whimsy. By the end of the retreat, you’ll have completed a wonderful project: a series of small artist books that reflect your time spent exploring and creating in rural France.This retreat welcomes both beginners and experienced artists who want to reconnect with curiosity, loosen up their process, and find new joy in making art. You’ll enjoy daily classes, inspiring demonstrations, playful creative exercises, and group discussions, balanced with individual feedback to help you grow at your own pace. Carla will guide you in discovering your own artistic voice, developing confidence in your decisions, and experimenting with materials such as collage, ink, watercolor, and acrylics. Her imaginative and unconventional teaching style ensures that each day brings fresh ideas, laughter, and delightful surprises.Throughout the week, you’ll venture into the heart of Dordogne’s picturesque villages for inspiration. In Beynac-et-Cazenac, you can wander cobblestone streets lined with golden stone houses, sketch along the Dordogne River, or capture the medieval castle perched high above the valley. A visit to Issigeac, known for its colorful Sunday market and half-timbered houses, offers endless textures and details to draw or photograph. In Eymet, a charming bastide town with a lively central square, you’ll find cozy cafés, blooming flower boxes, and old stone archways perfect for gathering visual references. Each trip offers a new palette of colors, shapes, and stories to bring back to the studio and weave into your artwork.Some of the topics covered in your classes include:An arsenal of drawing and creativity exercises to help you recover your child-like freedomLayered watercolor techniquesAdding mixed media: crayons, ink, collage, watercolor, acrylics, and more"Blob-hunting" - using your environment as inspiration in unexpected waysLots of one-on-one instructor time to help you figure out what you like to make and how you like to make itPainting what's authentic to youAnd above all else, how to have a lot of fun when making art!Your accommodation will be in an elegant historic estate from the Napoleonic era, set amidst vibrant gardens, secluded woodlands, a natural pond, and a heated pool. Delight in Dordogne’s culinary heritage with daily chef-prepared meals, and savor the local wines through a cheese and wine-tasting experience.

### Day 1: Arrival
Catch the 3:30 PM shuttle from Bergerac train station to your retreat venue, a stunning 25-acre historic estate in the heart of Dordogne. Upon arrival, settle into your cozy accommodations, take a moment to unwind, and meet Carla Sonheim, your instructor for the week. Start your experience with a guided tour of the estate, showcasing its charming communal spaces, beautifully landscaped gardens, sunlit terraces, a heated swimming pool, serene woodlands, and a tranquil pond. The day concludes with a warm welcome dinner featuring exquisite French cuisine and fine wine, setting the tone for an inspiring and unforgettable week ahead.

### Day 2: Art at the venue
Fuel up with breakfast, then meet Carla and the group over coffee. Learn more about the course schedule and set some objectives for the day.Dive right in with a series of exciting drawing exercises. These warm-ups are designed by Carla to reintroduce playfulness into your creative process. You'll create lots of drawings in a short amount of time; the goal is to focus less on getting it right and simply letting your imagination fly. Brainstorm ideas for future drawings as you fill the first few pages of your sketchbook. The morning ends with a watercolor demonstration from Carla, where you'll learn her unique, "fail-proof" way of working with the medium.Celebrate your first day of classes with a delicious oven-made pizza party for lunch, then join Carla for the second art class of the day. In the afternoon, you'll receive your first creative assignment. Work on your first artist book by adding color to your morning drawings as well as working with collage, colored pencils, crayons, and more.Rest before dinner and let the work breathe. Afterwards, gather again for a three-course dinner paired with a glass of flavorful wine.

### Day 3: Art trip to Issigeac
Enjoy a hearty breakfast before setting off toward Issigeac. The ride will carry you past vineyards, stone farmhouses softened by ivy, and open fields shifting in the morning light. Woodland will break the view with shadow, then open again to reveal wide skies and the occasional church spire above the hills.Take part in a whimsical blob-hunting exercise; as you explore, find intriguing shapes in your environment and write down observations in your sketchbook. Capture the "blobs" with your camera or in your drawings. The village will unfold in fragments as you move through hand-lettered signs, narrow alleys framed with climbing vines, and market vendors arranging fruit and bread.Head back for lunch and take time to pause before the afternoon session begins. You'll explore collage under Carla's guidance, trying out different materials and arrangements with a series of fun exercises. You'll also further develop your blob sketches, trying to find patterns and subjects among the shapes. An oddly shaped stone could become a cat or a hedgehog, leaf shapes can turn into butterflies, and so on; the sky's the limit!After some well-earned spare time, gather again at the table for a three-course meal with wine.

### Day 4: Art at the venue
Kick off the day with a refreshing breakfast before settling in with coffee and conversation as Carla gathers you into the rhythm of creative play.This day is all about experimentation and letting your creativity loose! With a true smorgasbord of materials to choose from, you'll learn a wide variety of mixed-media techniques. Follow along with Carla's demonstrations and try these methods out for yourself. Using alcohol inks, watercolor spraying, printmaking, and acrylics, you'll create a stack of collage materials and pages that you will incorporate into your second artist book project.Break for a refreshing lunch, then continue your art classes in the studio. You'll spend the rest of the afternoon developing your artist book prototype. Carla will show you examples of her artwork to get you started and explain her process of creating an artist book. Follow along with her explanation and have fun playing with different concepts. Carla will guide you in discovering what draws you to a certain subject or theme, and how to depict it in your style.Take time to breathe before dinner, then gather once more for a three-course meal with wine, your sketchbook filled with vibrant papers, layered textures, and the beginnings of collage compositions that pulse with energy.

### Day 5: Trip to Beynac-et-Cazenac
Start your day with a nourishing breakfast, then head out with Carla toward the hilltop village of Beynac-et-Cazenac. The streets climb the cliffside beneath the medieval fortress, rooftops softened by ivy and stone warmed by the morning sun.Wander through alleys and terraces at your leisure. Carla will guide you in gathering inspiration, taking reference photos, and picking up small pieces of ephemera. Notice textures in the walls, shifting light across steps, and details that draw your attention. Fill your senses with fragments of place and memory that can be carried back into your work.Pause midday for a meal in the village, then continue through the winding streets with new eyes. If something captures you, sketch it into your book as a memento. Carla will encourage you to mark down what feels alive, whether it is a corner of stonework, the tilt of a window, or the pattern of shadows on a door. You will gather images and impressions that can later grow into more complex pieces.Return to the estate in the evening and close the day with a three-course dinner and wine.

### Day 6: Trip to the French market
Wake up to fresh fruit and strong coffee before walking into Eymet just as the market begins to stir.The square shifts with movement as striped awnings ripple overhead and stalls brim with vegetables, flowers, herbs, and handmade soaps. Sellers call out greetings while shoppers weave through the square. Take photos, pick up small bits to use later in your collage, and hold on to what draws your attention.Head back for a midday meal and rest, then settle into the studio for the afternoon. Carla will demo one more artist book structure, and then you are free to dive back in to your artist books. You'll be able to put all of the week's drawings and techniques to good use as you work on your final series under Carla's guidance. As you paint and draw, your instructor will be available for one-on-one feedback and advice, helping you become looser in your artwork, defeat that pesky inner critic, and see your vision come to life. She'll also touch on elements of composition, design, color, and adding surprise elements to your project.The evening will close with a three-course dinner and wine, your table scattered with pages inspired by the day’s discoveries.

### Day 7: Art at the venue
After a hearty breakfast on the last full day of the retreat, you'll have the chance to put the finishing touches on your artist books. Carla will help you practice any areas you feel could use some more work.Get ready for an important event after a brief break with a light lunch. In a show-and-tell, you'll get to share your thoughts on the class's most memorable works and projects, as well as your takeaways and plans for the future. You are not required to participate in this mini-exhibition, but doing so will allow you to showcase your work and get comments from your classmates.The retreat ends in style with a delicious farewell dinner prepared by the private chef, paired with a glass of delicious wine. Raise a toast to your achievements and chat the night away!

### Day 8: Departure
Enjoy a final breakfast with Carla and your fellow artists before it's time to part ways. Departing at 9:00 AM, you'll head to Gare Bergerac train station, arriving around 9:45 AM. As you journey home, you'll carry with you a heart full of inspiration and unforgettable memories.

## Instructors

- **Carla Sonheim** - Artist, illustrator, author, designer

## Accommodation

### Historic countryside estate

### Shared standard room

### Shared superior room (female only)

### Single standard room

### Single superior room

## Book This Retreat

Visit [https://uptrek.com/retreat/creativity-lab-art-retreat-artist-carla-sonheim-france](https://uptrek.com/retreat/creativity-lab-art-retreat-artist-carla-sonheim-france) to make a reservation.

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