The Creativity Workshop

Using the Tools of Creative Writing, Memoir, Art, Photography, Storytelling and Mindfulness


The Creativity Workshop in Provence

The Creativity Workshop in Provence

The Creativity Workshop in Provence is not scheduled this year.
Please see our Calendar for our current schedule.

The Creativity Workshop in Provence will help you become more creative in your personal and professional life. We use many techniques in creative writing memoir, art, photography, storytelling, mapmaking, mindfulness and guided visualization to help you explore your inner creativity.

ProvenceAix-en-Provence La Rotonde

What Will You Learn?

The Creativity Workshop is an experiential course of doing and experimenting. Our exercises and instructors’ talks focus on helping you learn practical techniques to stimulate your imagination and innovative thinking.

  • Explore the process of creativity, rather than simply focusing on the product.
  • Discover how to find inspiration in the world around you.
  • Get over creative blocks and the fear of failure.
  • Work with many different mediums to develop your creativity in your chosen field.
  • Use your memories to trigger your imagination.
  • Engage your curiosity every day and make it work for you.
  • Establish a 15 minute a day creativity practice to accomplish your goals after the Workshop ends.
ProvenceLavender Field

Why Provence?

The Creativity Workshop in Provence takes place in the town of Arles, made famous by the painters van Gogh and Gauguin. Provence is known for its natural beauty, as well as its fascinating history and culture, offering a wealth of inspiration on many different levels.

  • The charming town of Arles (where the Workshop is held) features ancient Roman architecture, winding streets, brightly colored houses, picturesque cafes, and sumptuous outdoor food markets, all of which will awaken your senses and your imagination.
  • While various exercises in The Creativity Workshop will help you better appreciate your surroundings in Provence, the sights, sounds, and scents of this remarkable region will fuel your creative work in class.
    Providing a bonus cultural attraction, the famous month-long Theatre Festival of Avignon, only 20 minutes from Arles, will be hosting hundreds of theatre performances from around the world while our Workshop is taking place.
  • The International Photography Festival / Les Rencontres d’Arles will also be going on during our time in Arles and is located within walking distance of the Workshop site.
ProvenceArles Square

Daily Schedule

Some exercises are done individually while others are collaborative. Here is a day by day schedule:

Day 1:

Introduction to the hows and whys of The Creativity Workshop.

Relaxation: Relaxation techniques to help your imagination flow.

Guided Visualization: Calling forth the vocabulary of your imagination using the myth of the hero’s journey as a framework.

Automatic Drawing: Finding our hidden imagery.

Show and Tell: Retrieving and sharing childhood memories to spark new ideas. This exercise will sharpen your storytelling skills.

Instructors’ talk:

How some famous writers, scientists, and artists found their inspiration, and how you can use some of their methods to find yours.

  • The importance of play in creative work.
  • Valuing creative process over product.
Day 2:

Relaxation.

Mapmaking: Mapmaking as a way to find, chart, and communicate your creative process and projects.

Automatic Writing: How automatic writing (also known as “free writing”) can help you create in new and surprising ways. How you can use automatic writing to outrun your inner judge, get over creative blocks, and discover new ways of developing and editing written work. How alternating between writing and drawing can help you develop creative flexibility and mental dexterity.

The Interview: Listening to and experiencing a life outside your own. How listening is as important as doing in creative work.

Miniature Worlds: Storytelling with found objects.

Writing in Cafes: an exercise that will continue to take place over the next 2 days.

Instructors’ talks may include:

  • How to do ongoing creative work in short modules of time.
  • How to use luck and coincidence to jump-start creative projects.
Day 3:

The Myth of the Other: Imagining yourself living a parallel life. What would you do that you aren’t doing now?

Writing in Groups: How writing and/or drawing with others can stimulate your imagination and expand your point of view.

The Sand Mandala: Making an Illuminated Manuscript.

  • Final Group Exercise.

Instructors’ talks may include:

  • The Gift of the Amateur.
  • Creativity is a Muscle: Use it or Lose it.
  • Making your home and work environments inspiring.
  • How to stay creative after The Creativity Workshop ends.
Nicki Hambleton
Artist and Art Teacher, Lincoln Community School, Accra, Ghana
“A wonderful way to develop your creativity with like-minded people. The atmosphere is relaxed and respectful. You can join in to your hearts conten...
Barbara Roberts
Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Columbia University School of Business, New York, NY
“The Creativity Workshop is far above any creative seminar I’ve taken in its inspiration, positive spirit, and techniques. It is important for any...
Kelly Hevel
Pfizer Project Manager, currently Ex-pat Business Consultant, Istanbul, Turkey
“This was my fourth time taking The Creativity Workshop, and every time it has been different and special. These workshops have helped me transform ...