Just announced: Geography of the Imagination 2023! will take place Sept. 16-23, 2023 and you can register now to reserve your place.

A multi-sensory creativity workshop engaging you
in nature-inspired writing, images, map-making, drawing, and more.
September 16-23rd, 2023, Siglufjordur, Iceland.

The Workshop:

Join us on a curated exploration of this fjord and mountainous region of northern of Iceland, a magical place that will take you away from the ordinary and familiar and inspire your journey of imagination. Over the week immersive experiences will include multi-sensory meditations and prompts that inspire creativity. You’ll be writing, image-making, and creating maps, sunprints, books, drawings, and other exercises that will expand and stretch your imagination. At the end of the week, you’ll have a journal of your travel experience that is deeply personal and uniquely tied to the Icelandic landscape.

You’ll explore the land with us from four different lenses: the natural world encompassing Iceland’s unique botanical landscape; the cultural landscape: mythology, and literary traditions; cosmology: the night skies (with luck, the Aurora Borealis) astronomy, astrology, and mythology; and the geological landscape on and below the surface of this volcanically active island.

With meditations, questions and multi-media prompts, you’ll engage with the layered dimensions of time, space, place and being. Prompts are tied to your sensory experience, moving into visual interpretation (sketching, photographing, drawing) and then delving into writing of any genre. By week’s end, we’ll work with some simple book structures to create your unique travel journal.

You’ll be asked to consider contemporary notions of travel from ecological impact, sustainability, and cultural implications. And you’ll reflect on questions that challenge what it means to be a traveler: Who are you in relation to this place? Are you bringing something that will be of value to the host, the people who live here, the land? What will be your impact? How are you changed as a result of the experience? And what creative insights do you bring home with you to share?

Workshop size will be limited to no more than 12 participants.

Your leaders:

Meg Weston and Jane Pirone will be your co-facilitators, working with prompts that give you the opportunity to combine sensory detail, imagery, and words to capture layered connections to place, time, characters and worldbuilding. We’ll be joined by Kirke Olson, writer, chef, psychologist also certified in forest bathing meditation techniques.

Meg Weston leads writing retreats connected to geological hot spots such as Iceland, Hawaii, and other places around the world. Meg is a photographer, poet and non-fiction writer who is passionate about the forces that shape the earth and the stories that shape our lives. Meg has been traveling to Iceland since 1974, photographing volcanic activity, and leading writing retreats there since 2014.

Jane Pirone’s creative and transdisciplinary practice engages with living systems, storytelling, and participatory futures from critical, queer and post-human perspectives. Jane is on the faculty of Parsons School of Design and leads international workshops focusing on creativity and collaboration.

Both Meg and Jane are trained as AWA (Amherst Writers & Artists) facilitators, and use these practices that help guide you past the inner critique to access your unique voice.

Kirke Olson is a psychologist who applies research results from positive psychology, neuroscience and mindfulness to his work with schools and other professionals. He is certified in forest bathing meditation techniques, a writer, and also our esteemed chef!

Meals:

Our food will be prepared with joy, love, curiosity for Icelandic recipes, as well as respect for your culinary restrictions by an experienced cook and fellow writer, Kirke Olson.  included in the price will be continental breakfasts, self-serve lunches and full dinner when served at our lodge.  Evening meals may be served in the spirit of the Icelandic tradition of Thorrablot when participants have a sacramental feast (a blot), make speeches and recite poems to honor the Norse god Thor.  

Lodging:

Our lodge is a comfy, private 11 bedroom lodge in Siglufjordur, beautifully situated in the north of Iceland on a fjord and surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery. All rooms are private, with shared bathroom facilities (10 bathrooms!), a sauna and hot tub on the premises. 

Workshop Fee: $2500 (double occupancy), $3500 (single occupancy). Save $300 if you register before January 15, 2023.

The prices include transportation to/from Akureyri airport and to any excursions, lodging Saturday, September 16th through Friday night Sept. 22 (check out Saturday a.m. Sept. 23). Basic materials needed for the workshop will be provided, along with an option additional materials list. The price does not cover transportation to/from Iceland, all other meals eaten out, opt-in excursion/entrance fees, and any incidentals. 

We will have one rental van for excursions, however students may opt to rent their own cars. Those traveling with companions are encouraged to rent a car. 

The workshop is limited in size:  10 participants (double occupancy) or fewer if single occupancy.

Register Early to reserve your place. 

 A 25% non-refundable registration fee, the balance due by June 1, 2023.