Creative Retreats & Journeys
Creative Retreats Rooted in Art, Story, and Place
There are moments when stepping away isn’t about leaving life behind—
but about seeing it more clearly.
These retreats are an invitation into a different rhythm…
one of noticing, gathering, and tenderly responding to what is unfolding within you.
Together, we travel to beautiful places—European cities, coastal villages, and landscapes that invite both wonder and stillness—
not just to explore, but to experience place as a companion to your own journey.
Through art journaling, reflective writing, and simple creative practices,
you’ll gather moments, textures, and impressions—
allowing art to become a language for what you’re sensing and discovering along the way.
There is no pressure to create something perfect.
Only an invitation to notice…and to follow what feels quietly true.
You’ll return home with a handmade journal that holds the spirit of your journey—
and a deeper connection to your own way of seeing.
Come as you are.
Begin where you are.
Some journeys are upcoming.
Others are echoes of where we’ve already been.
All of them are part of the same unfolding.
Creating with Found Beauty in Paris
There is something about Paris that invites you to see differently.
The way light falls across stone buildings.
The rhythm of footsteps along narrow streets.
The quiet presence of history layered into every corner.
We’ll spend our days in Montmartre—walking the same streets once wandered by artists and dreamers—
not just to follow in their footsteps, but to notice what calls to us now.
This is a week of gathering.
In flea markets.
In antique book stalls.
In museum halls and small, unexpected corners of the city.
You’ll search for what draws your eye—
a fragment of paper, a piece of handwriting, a color, a texture—
what the French call l’objet trouvé.
Not just found objects…
but found moments.
Along the way, these small discoveries begin to collect.
And slowly, they find their way onto the page.
Through collage, simple mixed-media, and reflective writing,
you’ll create a travel art journal that becomes more than a record of where you’ve been—
it becomes a reflection of how you experienced it.
There is no right way to do this.
Only your way.
A way of noticing.
Of gathering.
Of letting the city meet you—and responding in kind.
We’ll wander through museums, linger in cafés, explore beloved neighborhoods,
and share moments of creativity, conversation, and quiet discovery.
And yes… there may be a little French wine along the way.
By the end of the week, you’ll carry home a journal filled with the textures of Paris—
and a deeper awareness of how you see, gather, and create.
Because in a place like this…
you don’t just find beautiful things.
You find the way you want to remember them.
A past journey. A future offering may return.
Creating in the Light of Lake Como
Capture the beauty of enchanting Italy in your personalized, handmade vintage travel journal. With the perfect blend of small group travel and inspiring art classes, Tammy Gilley’s art retreat in Italy offers a truly unique and enriching experience.
Creating Along the Sunlit Coast of Spain
Capture the Spirit of Spain in a Vintage Travel Journal
Wander sunlit streets, gather small treasures,
and turn your journey into layered pages of art and story.
Join artist Tammy Gilley for a soulful creative retreat
in Barcelona & the Costa Brava, Spain — Summer 2027
Create. Explore. Remember.
Creating in a Landscape of Stillness and Light
Create a Vintage Travel Journal in the Heart of Switzerland
Slow down, take in the beauty of lakes and mountains,
and capture your journey in pages of art and reflection.
Join artist Tammy Gilley for a soulful creative retreat
Zurich, Lucerne & beyond — Summer 2027
Notice. Create. Keep.
Found Objects: An Art Journal Workshop for Collectors
Take your vintage art journaling to the next level in the Found Objects Workshop. This step-by-step online experience guides you through the process of creating richly textured, meaningful pages using found papers, ephemera, and layered techniques.
Found Objects: An Art Journal Workshop for Collectors
Take your vintage art journaling to the next level in the Found Objects Workshop. This step-by-step online experience guides you through the process of creating richly textured, meaningful pages using found papers, ephemera, and layered techniques.
Art Journal Workshop in Portugal
My intention is to inspire creativity, nurture connection, and empower transformation through mindful retreats that honor wisdom, spark joy, and celebrate the art of renewal.
Sunshine and art in beautiful Portugal - a vintage travel workshop in the beachside town of Setúbal.
Join me for a week of creativity in Portugal inspired by the beautiful coastline, back roads and laid-back lifestyle, creating a gorgeous travel diary that you’ll treasure always. I’ve partnered again with Jeannette and Suzy of The Blue Walk to create a fabulous week creating, sightseeing, and exploring the history, art, and culture of our home base town of Setúbal, plus Lisbon, Sintra, and other lovely areas.
We’ll collect found objects, papers, ephemera, and other treasures throughout the week that will become the layered pages of our vintage travel journals. I’ll show you my process for putting together my signature vintage travel journals. I’ll show you how I source materials and ephemera from these inspiring locales to use in a keepsake artist book that you’ll treasure long after you return home. We’ll create these bespoke art journals and fill them with found objects and collected memories from our time together in Portugal.
Registration is live! My retreats sell out, y’all! Book your sport now!
Wanderlust Journal @ Art & Soul Retreat, Portland
The Belle Epoque was a period of French history characterized by optimism, peace, and prosperity. The arts in Paris flourished during the Belle Epoque, with literature, music, theater, and visual art gaining extensive recognition.
In this workshop, we’ll create 4”x4” art journals to pay homage to that “Golden Age” and capture the “joie de vivre”, or joy of living, of the period. Think the Moulin Rouge and the Can-can Dance, the Eiffel Tower and 1889 World Exposition that took place in Paris, Art Nouveau and the post-Impressionists. There are so many areas of inspiration to draw from and capture in our art journals.
Belle Epoque Journal @ Art & Soul Retreat, Portland
The Belle Epoque was a period of French history characterized by optimism, peace, and prosperity. The arts in Paris flourished during the Belle Epoque, with literature, music, theater, and visual art gaining extensive recognition.
In this workshop, we’ll create 4”x4” art journals to pay homage to that “Golden Age” and capture the “joie de vivre”, or joy of living, of the period. Think the Moulin Rouge and the Can-can Dance, the Eiffel Tower and 1889 World Exposition that took place in Paris, Art Nouveau and the post-Impressionists. There are so many areas of inspiration to draw from and capture in our art journals.
Art Journal Workshop in Nice, France
Sunshine and art on the French Riviera: a Vintage Travel Journal Workshop in Nice, France
My friends at The Blue Walk and I are putting together the most fabulous week in Nice, France this summer. Spend a week focusing on you, creating, exploring, and forging new friendships with women of all ages and artistic skill levels.
We’ll spend our days strolling the walkways of Vieux Nice, the city’s vibrant old town. With its narrow cobblestone streets and pastel-hued buildings, shops sell Nicoise soaps and Provencal textiles, as well as cheese, olives, and more. A daily market on pedestrian street Cours Saleya offers produce and flowers, and busy bistros and outdoor eateries serving specialties like socca crepes dot the area. You’ll feel a sense of renewal and joy taking in the gorgeous vistas, pebbled beaches, and the wonderful scent of herbes de provence.
We’ll also explore coastal villages such as Menton, Antibes, Cannes and other lovely little towns collecting treasures and capturing memories to add to a one-of-a-kind vintage travel journal that recounts the story of your experiences on the French Riviera. I’m so excited to get there and start gathering vintage ephemera to embellish my artist book!
I’ll show you my process for putting together my signature vintage travel journals. I’ll show you how I source materials and ephemera from these inspiring coastal villages to use in a keepsake artist book that you’ll treasure long after you return home. We’ll create these bespoke art journals and fill them with found objects and collected memories from our time together on the French Riviera.
There are still a few spaces available for our French Riviera tour. It promises to be a week filled with creativity, laughter, and maybe a splash (or two!) of French wine. To register, or for more information, click the button below.
A bientôt!
Vintage Travel Journal Workshop
Whether you’re creating it for an upcoming trip or you want to document a journey already taken, capture your experiences in this Vintage Travel Journal class.
Gathering together photographs, postcards, travel brochures, menus, and other ephemera picked up from your vacation or cultivated prior to travel, we’ll combine these with vintage papers to create a travel journal that will become a unique record of your adventure.
This workshop is perfect for beginners and experienced artists alike! Come join us for a fun-filled weekend.
Times for workshop: 4/29 10am-4pm & 4/30 11am-2pm
To register, visit here.
