Slow down. Breathe. Create
Mindful art retreats, designed to help you relax and reconnect with yourself and your creative source. Take a break and discover the power of art.
Sumi-e: Japanese Ink Painting & Wellbeing Retreat
12-16 May 2026
Registrations closed
Surrounded by gardens, mountains and open sky, this May retreat invites you into a quieter way of seeing and creating. Five days of fun studio sessions, relaxing in our oasis, gentle movement in the Spanish sun and delicious, chef-prepared meals.
At the heart of the week is Sumi-e: Japanese ink painting invented by Japanese Zen monks. Working with brush and ink, you’ll experience how doing less can say more, and how mindfulness is tied to your creativity. During our daily painting sessions, you will be introduced to the traditional techniques and themes, from botanicals and landscapes to the iconic Enso (Zen) circle, encouraging intuitive and expressive creativity with exciting materials and tools.
This retreat is for people who want to let go of thinking and start doing, who want to reconnect with a quieter, more spacious way of creating and being. No experience needed, just curiosity, openness and a willingness to relax.
A mindful, creative escape for busy lives.
Registrations are open until February 10!
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This is your time to return. To your senses, your creativity, your calm. Nothing to prove, nowhere to rush. Just space to breathe, to create, to remember what feels real.
Who are we?
Hello! We, Marina Derijke and Moyra Poot, form the creative and organisational heart of Terra Nova Retreats. We know how noisy and demanding these times can be. Through more than 25 years of experience hosting creative workshops and retreats, we know how creativity and slow living lead to balance. We’ve designed these retreats especially to share that with you, and to help you find your own flow again.
Marina Derijke – Art Instructor
Marina Derijke is an artist and art instructor, experienced in painting, ceramics, and sculpture in stone, bronze, clay, and wax. She is trained at institutions in the Netherlands, including the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Hermitage, and Vrije Academie. At our retreats, Marina invites participants into a state of playful curiosity, showing that creativity is less about perfection and more about presence.
There is no doubt that her sessions will help you to slow down, reconnect with your senses, and experience art as a form of self-care and gentle renewal, whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced artist.
Moyra Poot – Event Manager
Moyra Poot is our main Host, a creative entrepreneur and event manager with over five years of experience in arts, culture, marketing, and creative direction.
She is passionate about designing meaningful and soft experiences that bring people closer to themselves. Moyra believes in the restorative power of art and nature, and at our retreats she ensures that everything flows effortlessly, creating the space and calm needed for a true pause from the noise.
Secret Garden: Painting & Wellbeing Retreat
21-25 April 2026
Registrations closed
Five relaxed days of painting, nature and pure calm.
Reconnect with creativity and balance at Secret Garden, an exclusive five-day art and nature retreat at El Botánico de Sagra. Re-awaken your senses at our oasis, through painting, mindful movement, nature and nourishing meals with local foods and products.
Whether you seek to recharge, relax or create, Secret Garden offers space. To slow down, explore, and return home refreshed and inspired.
It’s time for a break.
Let silence, sunlight and creativity reset your flow. Step into calm.
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