“The eye has to travel.”
It was the late Diana Vreeland, a noted fashion editor, who spoke these words, voicing her belief in the necessity of fueling creativity by experiencing new places and cultures.
The quote rings true for several Greenville artists, who get inspiration through travels to creative retreats, artistic workshops, and even wellness-focused weekends. Each their excursion is transformative, whether that comes from soaking in beautiful surroundings, exchanging ideas with fellow artists, or getting a break from routines.
“I find it hits a reset for me that I’m able to carry into the work I need to be doing every day. I get a lot of ideas for my art,” artist Michelle Berg Radford says of being a guest artist at an October retreat and of the overseas student trips she and her husband, Paul, lead each summer.
For painter and entrepreneur Marquin Campbell, travel is “an innate part of my creative process. It spurs ideas,” she says.
Since 2021, she’s led a ladies-only Spain Creative Retreat in Soria, a pastoral town two hours north of Madrid. She and her family lived there for 18 months during the pandemic while her husband, George, managed a business purchased by one of his law clients.
She learned Spanish with her children and created artwork in a former antiques store, part of a picturesque parcel with two apartments. Owned by a couple who the Campbells came to consider as their Spanish grandparents, the property is now the retreat accommodations.
For five days, the five participants experience the local culture, whether that’s eating three-hour lunches, taking a flower arranging class, visiting a monastery or shop, or spending built-in down time needlepointing, resting, or having meaningful conversations. “The community has a thriving food scene; there are some amazing stores. It was so good to us that I want to keep bringing people there,” Campbell says.
The experience “changed my life. I dream of going back every single day,” artist and textile designer Teresa Roche says of her two retreats with Campbell. They led to a fabrics and wallpapers collection, a painting series, and the confidence to take a solo trip to Barcelona.
“I was so energized by it all,” she says, adding that Campbell immerses each retreat’s artists, interior designers, and creatives “culturally into every aspect of Soria and the surrounding area. So, you’re allowed to relax enough to be able to think creatively.”
First creative retreats
Roche took her first retreats—they were “life-changing for different reasons,” she says—with Greenville artist Audrey Phillips. She’s led abstract painting workshops since 2014 in her native Florida and other locales. Many have repeat participants.
Preparing for them helps fuel Phillips creatively. “Every year, I’m creating a new curriculum, which means I’m having to dig deeper myself to provide them with new challenges,” she says. “And teaching some of the same people over again has built relationships. It’s like my community.”
Award-winning pastelist and oil painter Christine Swann also teaches workshops worldwide and believes they bring “an energy of working with other artists” that’s different than solo studio time. “Meeting a challenge together is so fun,” she adds.
Both Campbell and Radford find inspiration through other retreatants. “When I travel, I try to notice as much beauty as I can through art and landscapes, and I think we feed off each other because they’re going to notice things I might not,” Radford says.
The lasting bonds with past retreat participants propel Campbell to keep planning future trips, adding that she’ll release her 2027 retreat dates in June.
“It’s nice to be pulled out of the day-to-day routine,” she says, adding that she uses her retreat as a time to “think and be inspired,” rather than create artwork. “I think all of us need that, and it’s actually not a selfish thing to acknowledge. It makes me a better mom, wife, and friend.”
Find Out More
Marquin Campbell’s Spain Creative Retreat: visit marquindesigns.com or follow @marquincampbell
The Medici Way “de-Light Artist Retreat” led by Michelle Berg Radford: visit mediciway.com/arts-culture or follow @michelle.radford
Audrey Phillips’ workshops: audreyphillips.com or by follow @audreyphillipsart, as is
Christine Swann’s workshops: swannportraits.com/workshops/ or follow @christine_swann
Weekend Away
Sometimes just a weekend away is all that’s needed to reawaken creativity. Artist Shelley Cade got that chance through the holistic wellness-focused Belle Âme Retreats for women. The balance of “quiet time with intimate group sessions where we bonded over our lives gave me a new mindset on health and taking time to create more slowly and intentionally,” she says.
