A seasonal circle to awaken your creative spark in community, rooted in the earth and the turning of the year
Facilitated by Burd & Jonah Fertig-Burd
You have a creative dream, or a quiet longing to explore.
You want to begin, but something is holding you back.
You are looking for a place that feels safe, playful, and welcoming.
Creative Emergence Journey: From Solstice to Equinox is a three-month circle that helps you move from hesitation into joyful expression. Over four in-person gatherings, weekly online creative time, and a supportive community, you will start or deepen a creative practice, whether in art, music, movement, writing, performance, or a project of your own. No creative experience is needed. Everyone is welcome. By the Spring Equinox, you will have a creative practice you return to, work to share, and a circle of people who support your process.
Creative Emergence Journey is a seasonal, rhythmic experiment in beginning again, weaving together depth and play, structure and flow, stillness and movement. Like seeds resting in winter soil, our ideas need darkness, patience, and warmth before they are ready to grow.
Rooted in the Land and the Season
Life-Enhancing Retreats
We will gather in the Celebration Yurt at Celebration Tree Farm Wellbeing Center, a working farm and forest sanctuary. The turning of the year will guide you to create alongside the land that holds us. Throughout the circle, we will:
- Share food together as a practice of gratitude and sacred nourishment
- Mark the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox with ritual, and notice the season turning in between
- Build a shared altar from the items we each bring
- Create with natural materials, such as the gathered items in our group mandala
- Offer what we are ready to release to the soil, and name what we are growing
What Happens When We Gather
An in-person gathering could begin with play or movement, moving into a circle and a shared meal, art-making, and writing. We often close with a simple ritual. Nothing has to be finished, no one has to perform, and sharing is always an invitation.
Each in-person session is different and shaped by the group’s intentions. Gatherings may include:
- Meditation and journaling
- Group art projects and creative experiments, such as collage, mandalas, and playful making
- Play, movement, and dance
- Reiki grounding practices, a gentle practice of rest and centering
- Circle conversations and group sharing
- Earth-based ritual connected to the turning seasons
- A shared potluck and a practice of sacred nourishment
Supports Along the Way
- Weekly drop-in creative time on Zoom: Check in, create art alongside others, and share what you are making.
- Accountability buddies for loving encouragement and follow-through between gatherings
- A group chat on Telegram to share inspiration, videos, and encouragement
- Weekly journal prompts and readings drawn from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, The Creative Act by Rick Rubin, The Mission of Art by Alex Grey, and more
- A culminating celebration and group art show on the Spring Equinox, where we share our work, honor our journeys, and witness each other’s bloom
Optional Add-ons
- Field trips to local museums, galleries or peformances
- One-on-one coaching or Reiki sessions with Burd or Jonah, for an additional fee
Your Guides
Burd and Jonah are facilitators, artists, and community weavers who bring warmth, play, and care to everything they host. They:
- Encourage you to turn vision into heart-centered reality
- Help people feel safe, welcomed, and truly seen
- Fill spaces with creativity, play, and joy
- Hold grounded, visionary containers
- Guide rituals and group processes that invite deep connection
- Support you moving out of your head and into your body
- Nourish the circle with shared meals
This Journey Is for You If You Are
Holding a creative idea you have not yet started
Wanting to build a practice alongside others
Ready to reconnect with your playful self
Working on a project and longing for community
Seeking a welcoming, safe space for self-expression
LOOKING TO MAKE NEW CREATIVE FRIENDS
READY TO MOVE FROM ISOLATION TO INSPIRATION
Dates & Details
Opening Solstice Ceremony
Sunday, December 20, 3 to 6pm
Welcome the longest night with a three-hour ritual of intention-setting, shared food, movement, and creative activation.
Monthly Sessions (12 to 3pm, with optional open studio time from 3-5pm)
- Saturday, January 23
- Saturday, February 27
Spring Equinox Celebration and Group Art Show
- Saturday, March 20, 12 to 3pm
We ask that people be able to make at least 3 of the 4 in-person sessions
Pre-Solstice Zoom Orientation Session: A time to get oriented to our journey together and be prepared for our first Solstice Ceremony. This will be recorded too if you can’t make it. Tuesday December 15, 6:30-7:30
Weekly Zoom Creative Time: Day & Time to be Decided. Please make as many of these as you can.
Location: Celebration Yurt at Celebration Tree Farm Wellbeing Center, Durham, Maine, plus Zoom
Investment: $125 to $500 sliding scale. Choose the amount that fits your means. Contributions toward the higher end help make the circle accessible to others. We also welcome trades, so if the cost is a barrier, please reach out.
Location: Celebration Yurt at Celebration Tree Farm Wellbeing Center, Durham, ME & Zoom
Reach out to Burd and Jonah at celebrationtreefarm@gmail.com with any questions or if you want to see if this is a fit for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to attend all sessions?
We would love to have everyone there for all in-person sessions, but we understand that prior commitments or other conflicts may prevent you from attending. So we would still love for you to join us even if you need to miss a session or two. If you miss a session, we will work with you to get you caught up and your small group can also support you covering the material in the in-person session.
Do I need to join the weekly online creative time?
This time is optional and you can attend as you are able to to.
What is purpose of the Supportive Accountability Small Groups?
These groups of 3 will be in communication with each other through out the 3 months and support each other in your creative journey. We will help hold each other accountable to our creative goals, intentions, and practices in a loving and supportive way.
When is the weekly online creative time?
We will check in with the group and find a time that works for most people.
Do I need to have prior experience?
No, everyone is welcome and accepted.
I am already creating art, why should I attend?
This is a space to create in community. We want to grow connections as creators and this will provide a welcoming, grounding, and supportive space over the winter to create together.