Creativity Workshop in Crete, Greece: creative writing, art, memoir, storytelling, drama, journaling


CREATIVITY WORKSHOP Creative Writing, Drawing, Storytelling, Memoir

The workshop in Crete will take place near the harbor in the charming Old Town district of Hania, Crete's most picturesque city. We will meet 3 1/2 hours per day and the rest of the time is yours to explore this magical Greek town whose architecture has Venetian and Ottoman influences. There are beautiful, sandy beaches only a fifteen minute walk away. The fascinating Minoan Palace of Knossos, the mythical home of the Minotaur of the Labyrinth and matriarchal culture, is only 2 hours drive away.

Each day the Creativity Workshop in Crete will meet for 3 1/2 hours. We will explore ways to expand our creativity through a series of exercises including guided visualization technique, automatic drawing and writing, map making, memoir, and storytelling. Throughout the workshop, the exercises and talks by the instructors will focus on ways to:

Believe in your creativity
Stimulate your perceptive abilities
Find inspiration in the world around you
Discover and use images from the unconscious
Get over creative blocks and the fear of failure
Engage your curiosity
Recognize and use your creative instincts
Give yourself the time, permission, and nourishment to do creative work
Develop a daily practice to accomplish these goals
Work collaboratively
Use your memories to engage the imagination

(Order and kinds of exercises and instructors' talks may vary. Some exercises are done individually while others are collaborative.)

Day by Day in Crete

Sunday, June 26, 2011: Arrival. Free day
Time for you to settle in and relax.

Monday, June 27: First day of workshop
Introduction to the hows and whys of the Creativity Workshop. Exercises in relaxation technique and guided visualization. Visualization: writing and drawing using the myth of the hero’s journey as our framework. Automatic Drawing exercise: Finding our hidden imagery. Exercise in ‘show and tell’ as a means of honing our natural storytelling styles and retrieving childhood memories to spark ideas. Instructor talks about famous writers, scientists, artists and their sources of inspiration, and how we can use some of those same sources.

Tuesday, June 28:
Relaxation exercise followed by a visualization using map making. Map making as a way to find, chart, and tell fictional stories and true life experiences. Exercise in Automatic Writing. How automatic writing allows you to brainstorm and create in new and surprising ways. How we can use automatic writing to get over creative blocks and discover new ways of developing and editing work, while avoiding self-censorship. Why alternating between writing and drawing aids us in developing creative flexibility. The Interview: Listening and experiencing a life outside our own. How listening is as important as doing in creative work.

Wednesday, June 29:
Today's visualization exercise uses letter writing as a way to explore voice in writing. Miniature Theatre: an exercise in storytelling with found objects. Automatic Writing continues with Writing in Groups. How writing and/or drawing with others can stimulate our imaginations and expand our points of view. Topics of instructors' talks may include: the importance of play and the need to value the creative process over product. Enforced Cafe-Sitting: the art of relaxed observation. How to carve out time for creativity in a busy schedule. How to do on-going creative work in a short modules of time? How we can use luck and coincidence to jump start creative projects. Creative freedom requires discipline: Developing daily practice.

Thursday, June 30:
Today's visualization is The Myth of the Other: imagining ourselves living a parallel life. The imagination's magic phrase: What If. Autobiographical exercise: 'Trips to the Past:' Using a foreign environment to spark and sharpen memories of home.
Exercise exploring how to focus on the details of your environment using photography, writing and drawing. Importance of detail in making creative work come alive. Finding inspiration in the world around us. Topics of instructors talks may include: honoring our innate creativity and how to rekindle fearless imagination.

Friday, July 1:
Visualization exercise using maps and legends to tell our stories. Automatic drawing and writing exercises continue. How to be our own trickster and transform ourselves and our creative ventures. Exercise using postcards. Cafe exercise: Writing, drawing or photography to search for characters. Exercise in stimulating our perceptive abilities and discover and use images from the unconscious. Instructor talk: How to get over creative blocks and the fear of failure. Making our home and work environments inspiring for the imagination.

NOTE: There are no classes on the final 2 days of the workshop. These days are free for participants to put to active use the various techniques learned in the workshop and to explore the cultural, historical and natural riches of each location and its people. It is suggested you make your sightseeing plans during your stay and not before you come to allow for flexibility in your itinerary. Most excursions are available with very little time in advance.
Excursions are not included.

FREE DAY: Saturday, July 2 - Suggested visit:
Trip to Knossos, the mythical home of the Minotaur of the Labyrinth.

FREE DAY: Sunday, July 3 - Suggested visit:
Trip to Samarian Gorge (for those who enjoy trekking).
Or Trip to the interior of Crete and its mountain villages and monasteries.

Monday, July 4: Departure

BUDGET PRIVATE:
$1,975 (Includes tuition and 8 nights accommodation in a single room with private bathroom, continental breakfast and air conditioning at Hotel Porto del Colombo (3 ), or similar).

STANDARD PRIVATE:
$2,250 (Includes tuition and 8 nights accommodation in a single room with private bathroom, breakfast and air conditioning at Hotel Samaria (3 ), or similar). In the center of the city, this is also where our classes are to be held. It is a 15 minute walk from the old harbor and our other accommodations.

STANDARD PLUS PRIVATE:
$2,800 (Includes tuition and 8 nights accommodation in a single room with private bathroom, breakfast and air conditioning at Hotel Porto Veneziano (3 ), or similar). Hotel Porto Veneziano is a 20-minute walk to the classroom.

TUITION ONLY: Check this option and we will contact you with more information.

See the general differences between our types of accommodations

MAKE YOUR OWN HOUSING ARRANGEMENTS: If you want to make your own housing arrangements please check with us for details.

NOTES: 1)We cannot guarantee the quality, cooling level, or functioning of the hotels' air conditioning. Air conditioning in Europe is seldom up to American standards of cool. 2)European hotel rooms tend to be smaller than American ones.

Discounts:
$500 off for summer participants taking the workshop for the third or more times.
$300 off for repeating summer participants.
$150 off each participant for groups of 4 people or more registering together.
$100 off University of Iowa educators, students and staff.
$100 off each participant for groups of 3 people registering together.
$50 off each participant for groups of 2 people registering together.
For those participants sharing room an additional discount may be available depending on accommodations.

Special offers and discounts cannot be combined.

Spouses/companions who would like to travel with their partners but do not want to attend the workshop may share a room for a an additional small fee.
Vacancies are limited and accommodations will be assigned on a first come, first served basis. We encourage early registration in order to obtain the level of accommodations you seek.

To reserve your place: we require a non-refundable $50 deposit.
To secure your place after February 15: you need to pay a deposit of $450.
After April 1: full payment is required.

REGISTER NOW
By registering you agree with our Terms and Conditions.

Contact us
1 (831) 915-5209

Creativity Workshop
We can help you learn to be more creative.

Florence July 14 - 22, 2010
Carmel November 5 - 8, 2010
New York March 18 - 21, 2011
Crete June 26 - July 4, 2011
Barcelona July 5 - 13, 2011
Customized Workshops

Testimonials
"The Workshop participants-writers, advertising executives, teachers, artists, poets--were especially interesting companions in this enriching experience. The instructors were excellent guides to finding one's buried creativity. Being on a Greek island in a lovely ancient town meant there was inspiration at every turn."
Mary Cross, Ph.D., Dean, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Morris County, NJ

"It isn't often that a trip or a workshop meets all of one's expectations. But my sojourn to Crete to attend the Creativity Workshop did, and then some. I immediately responded to the relaxed yet structured workshop sessions, which lent themselves to connecting with other participants."
Hanna Fox, Writer, Teacher, Publisher, Red Hummingbird Press, Princeton, NJ
More testimonials

Click Here for our
Latest Special Offers

For tuition and accommodation
packages Click Here

While in Crete workshop
participants will stay at...
Click Here

For Educators
Many of the teachers and students taking our workshops receive financial help from their schools and can also get 3 university credits and CEUs.
Click Here for more information

For Business Professionals
People taking our workshops are often sent by their companies as part
of their professional development.
Click Here for more information

Become a fan

Follow us

Stumble us

Contact us
1 (831) 915-5209

CREATIVITY WORKSHOP Creative Writing, Drawing, Storytelling, Memoir

CREATIVITY
WORKSHOP

Creative Writing,
Drawing,
Storytelling,
Memoir