For three days this October, a small circle of women gathers on a mountain to paint, play, rest, and come home to themselves.
With a blend of gentle creative expression, soulful connection, nourishing food, and deep rest, this weekend is an invitation to return to your body, your spirit, your voice. There is time to create and time to simply be — long, unhurried painting, space to play, and quiet hours for reflection with nothing asked of you.
Whether you've circled with me many times or this is your very first painting session, you are welcome exactly as you are. No experience is needed — only willingness. You have spent so much of your life being the one who holds, the one who tends. Here, you get to lay that down for a while, and let yourself be held instead.
An hour above the desert floor, the air changes. Ponderosa pines press against the windows, a stone fireplace throws real heat, and the quiet up here has its own texture. This is a full residential retreat — you sleep, eat, paint, and rest all within the same warm walls, held from arrival to close.
One flat price covers all of it — your bed, every meal, every session. Nothing else to arrange once you arrive.
A bed in the cabin for the full residential weekend, Thursday through Saturday.
Nourishing food, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, cooked fresh with care. Dietary needs accommodated — just tell us when you register.
Long, unhurried creative circles. No experience needed — only willingness to begin.
A gentle group session of somatic movement and sacred sound to soften back into your body.
A walk into the trees, open hours to play, and dedicated stillness with nothing asked of you.
We open and close our time together with intention, honoring one another and the beauty of the natural world around us.
A closing circle where we hang everything made and witness one another's work together.
A small, thoughtfully chosen gift to carry the mountain home with you.
Seats are strictly limited to eight women to keep the circle intimate and whole. Everything — lodging, meals, and three days of facilitation — is included in a single flat price.
Reserve with confidence — full refund available through September 15, 2026.
Desiree is an artist, facilitator, and founder of Sacred Circle Institute, with an MA in Transpersonal Psychology and years spent creating circles where women reconnect with their own creative spark. Her work draws on expressive arts, deep rest, and reverence for the natural world. Creating beautiful, nourishing spaces is her joy — so on this mountain, every detail is lovingly tended for you, and all you have to do is arrive and enjoy.
This is more than a retreat. It's a weekend of permission — to slow down, to be held, to remember the fire that's actually yours. You don't have to earn rest. You only have to say yes.
Everything for the residential weekend: your bed in the cabin for two nights, all meals and snacks, guided painting sessions with all materials, a somatic movement and sound healing session, opening and closing circles, time to rest and play, and a curated keepsake to take home. Once you're up the mountain, nothing else is needed.
None at all. Some of the women joining have circled with me many times; for others, this will be their very first painting session — and both are exactly right. The point is what moves through you, not what ends up on the canvas. You just have to be willing to begin.
Meals are nourishing and made fresh on-site, with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options at every table. If you have allergies or specific dietary needs, tell us when you register and we'll make sure you're well fed.
The cabin is about an hour up the mountain from Tucson. Desiree helps everyone coordinate the drive — car-shares from town and pickups for anyone flying in — so no one has to make the climb alone.
You can reserve with confidence: cancel by September 15, 2026 for a full refund. After September 15, because the cabin and circle are held for a small, fixed number of women, seats can no longer be refunded. Full details are shared at registration.
The women who end up on this mountain are the ones who stopped waiting for the perfect season and chose themselves in an imperfect one.
Hold my place