Join Us for The 5th Annual Self Esteem Through Art
Seaside Art Retreat for Women
People come back to this retreat year after year because we do a few things exceptionally well: we welcome people in as family, we meet people where they are, we inspire even the most self-doubting creatives, we know how to have fun, and we help people create the most beautiful artwork in an idyllic, seaside setting.
This is a safe, judgement-free container where both you and your creativity will feel lovingly held and nurtured. Read on to learn more.
Rent a room with us and this could be your vantage point for the entire weekend!
New and Notable for 2026
NEW: ON CAMPUS HOUSING at a significant cost savings. Limited rooms are available for those who are seeking clean, affordable, convenient lodging. You can choose a single or a double room. Rooms are air conditioned with shared, dormitory-style bathrooms. Lodging is $150 per person per night (or $75 per person per night if you share a double with a friend). Message Jenn ASAP if you are interested. *Housing fee will be paid separately and a housing contract will need to be signed.
NOTABLE: REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for Jenn’s optional Thursday evening welcome event, which is all about the magic of Texture Hunting! You can learn more about this workshop by clicking on the link below.
*We’ll gather from 5:30-8 p.m.
* Fee includes full class kit, detailed instruction, and some light snacks.
Sign up and secure your spot today!
A Message from Jenn Pipe, Retreat Facilitator and Founder of Self Esteem Through Art
I’ve been to retreats and workshops where you basically stay in your chair for hours (or days). You learn something and then you leave. A cool project. But no connections. No community. No accessibility to the facilitator(s). No true nurturance of your creativity.
This is NOT that kind of event! It’s dynamic. Meaningful. INSPIRED! A weekend where you not only learn from others, but you also learn a lot about yourself.
Each year, my co-facilitators and I harness up our unique gifts and talents and work diligently and lovingly to make this a weekend to remember. Your artistic prowess matters not, so don’t get hung up on it. Everyone is welcome here because I bring a “you can borrow my confidence until you have enough of your own” kind of vibe to the party! By the end of the weekend, beginners will feel like experts and experts will feel grateful that there’s always something new to learn.
We hope you’ll join us for this, our 5th annual weekend. We have lots of magical things on tap for you, some of which we share below and some of which we will keep a surprise.
With gratitude, love, and excitement,
Jenn
This Year's Guides and Teachers
Jenn Pipe
A lifelong learner who sees magic in the mundane and aims to infuse the world with as much beauty and love as she possibly can.
Jenn believes that being an artist is truthfully one of the best things she is! There is no substrate she won’t transform and no technique she won’t try! She’s a multi-faceted, complex, ever-emerging work in progress with a big mouth and an even bigger heart. Her art practice is her safe space—a place where she can peel back the layers and express herself truthfully and authentically. When she’s unable to articulate her thoughts, art helps her find her voice. When the world seems devoid of color, joy, and peace, she turns to her art journal to help make sense of it all. Regardless of what life throws at her, creativity is her friend, confidante, and steadfast companion. One of Jenn’s greatest gifts is her ability to help others see (and gain confidence in) their own artistic potential.
Jenn is endlessly inspired by Colleen Attara, Lyn Belisle, and Kasia Avery.
Michaela Butterworth
No one does color and layers quite like Michaela! She’s a gel printing and assemblage master extraordinaire!
Michaela believes that the lifestyle of an artist is a journey of evolution. Each of us is comprised of many unique aspects and layers. During her journey of self-discovery and digging deep, she came to realize the importance of introspection, reflection, and intentional, mindful growth in her art practice and in life. Her approach has become one of exploration, play, and conscious curation towards our own true north. With her beautifully compiled color palettes and artistic whimsy, Michaela will help you harness your joy, follow your flow, and use your artistic expression to achieve true creative freedom.
Michaela traverses the globe for her artistic inspiration and finds it in Elfi Cella (Swiss/French), Dana Kinter (Australia), and Eric Robitaille (Montreal).
Kimberly McClure
A multi-disciplinary artist currently working with collage, assemblage and textile.
With an art vibe that’s often beachy and botanical, Kimberly appreciates all things textured, unexpected, rustic, and even discarded. Her work typically has organic sensibility and harmonious and subtle color combinations. Mixed media is the perfect playground for this avid collector, to incorporate beach combing finds, dried flowers, seed pods or rusty metal bits that seem to cross her path on a regular basis. A retired preschool teacher, Kimberly is well-versed in the fine arts of dabble, play, and ‘wild abandon’. A self-taught artist, Kimberly works intuitively, finding un-ending inspiration in materials, colors, textures and the creative process as it unfolds.
Some of the artists who inspire her are: Jane Chipp, Rita Summers, Stephanie Lee.
What We’re Looking Forward To This Year:
This weekend is going to be dynamic. Fluid. Full of freedom and choice. Magic and wonder. Collaboration and creation. We’ll start by engaging in some immersive, hands-on learning with each instructor. Lots of new techniques and substrates! You’ll be mainlining our energy, our enthusiasm, and our knowledge. Then the focus shifts to practice and play (emphasis on PLAY)! For the remainder of the weekend, you’ll get to decide if you want to focus on one project/technique/concept or try your hand at everything our thoughtfully curated art buffet has to offer. Think summer camp. Think kindergarten. Think soulful, scientific exploration. Think curiosity and letting yourself be guided by your senses. A choose-your-own-adventure book, but make it art! Best part: we’ll be beside you the whole time in case you need a helping hand, a creative nudge, or another heart supporting your vision.
Layered Narratives
In this stash-busting mixed-media journey with Michaela Butterworth, you’ll step into a space of creative alchemy where your stash of unused fragments is transformed into meaningful artwork. Bring your stashed images, fabrics, found objects, threads, and notions to honor your personal journey through texture, color, and thread. This class is the perfect stash buster!
Kimberly McClure invites you to honor, re-work, and re-imagine myriad fabric and textiles. You’ll play with a variety of techniques like surface manipulation, stamping, stenciling, and small bundle dying to add texture, color, and three-dimensional form to your work.
Jenn Pipe is going to rock your world and have you creating beauty and whimsy in the most unexpected ways! She’ll introduce you to the power of “what if” and “why not” with her take on how to combine the unlikeliest of materials and substrates with gorgeous, almost effortless results. After sitting through her session, you’ll forever view your art practice through a lens of magic and possibility!
Join Us in Newport, Rhode Island This Summer!
Come alone. Or bring your friends. Stay for the weekend. Or make a week of it. NEW THIS YEAR: ON CAMPUS HOUSING (starting at just $75 per person per night)! Message Jenn directly if interested. There are very limited spots available!
Joy
Seeing old friends and making new ones. Bellying up to the art-buffet to get your fill. Making something with your own two hands. These are recipes for joy.
Inspiration
The ocean air. A 125 acre playground. Three talented teachers who have lots of magic in store. Playing with new materials and substrates. These are things that inspire.
Inner Peace
Stepping away from the routine. Shutting the world off for a while. Reconnecting with YOU— emotionally, mentally, and artistically. These are the ingredients for inner peace.
Balance
Learn a little. Play a little. Collaborate a little. Go off on your own for a little. Spend some time inside. Spend some time outside. Engage ALL of your senses. Make the choices that will help you regain your equilibrium.
Together We Will
- Come together with open minds and open hearts
- Make one (or many) new friends
- Leave our negative self-talk at home
- Be ready to fill our Idea Banks to the brim
- Minimize distractions and be present, mindful, and engaged
- Allow nature to speak to us in its native tongue
- Let the supplies from the Art Buffet be our muse
- Replace the “I cant’s” with a resounding “you bet your ass I can!”
- There are no blue ribbons at the finish line, only full hearts, so we’ll take our time
- Soak up as much of the goodness as humanly possible because it will buoy us through the difficult times that will undoubtedly be waiting for us on the other side of the weekend…
*Click the above video for a lovely recap of the 2025 retreat.
We couldn’t capture it all, but what we did capture was magic personified!
Tentative Weekend Schedule
Schedule and Workshop Descriptions
Are you curious about what you’ll be learning? Here’s a teaser with some of the ways you’ll be inspired by our tutorials…
Michaela:
In this soul-stirring workshop with Michaela, you’ll explore the beauty of reimagining and repurposing your stash of collected, unused items and incorporating them into new artworks. Found objects will be turned into tactile assemblages, layering them with the rich textures of gel plate prints used as background collage.
You’ll learn how to use stencils to “stitch your story” with delicate hand-embroidery that binds your narrative together. Seasoned artists and curious beginners alike will love learning how to create fresh, new multi-dimensional artworks.
Kimberly:
In Kimberly’s workshop, you’ll have an opportunity to experiment, express, and evolve as an artist. Fabric will be her substrate of choice and her use of mediums will be varied. She’ll undoubtedly wow you with endless possibilities for creating unique textiles of your very own!
Your custom, artistic fabric designs might turn into stand alone art that can be framed. Or perhaps they’ll become cherished, tactile elements that you ultimately incorporate into mixed media projects like wall hangings, sculpture, jewelry, textile journals, scrolls, or altered articles of clothing.
Jenn:
Jenn’s style often involves layers, curated clusters, and the stardust from her soul: her work begs you to come closer. If you do, you’ll notice the hidden elements and messages nestles within and the way her heart effortlessly appears in her creations. In her workshop, you’re going to be inspired by her unending adoration for all things unexpected and unconventional! She’s going to walk you through some of the processes and techniques she uses for creating the signature layers and clusters that have become foundational in her work!
You’ll learn how to turn images into transparencies, how to create space and stillness by combining images, words, fabric, and thread, and the mystique one cultivates when altering items from their original state. Her workshop will whisper, “things aren’t always what they seem, nor should they be” while she teaches you to make mixed-media art with untroubled abandon.
Self Esteem Through Art
If you’ve gotten to this point and you still are hoping to get some questions answered before you register for the 2026 Art Retreat By the Sea, then you should definitely contact Jenn directly! Submit your message and she will get back to you as soon as possible.
Questions About 2026 Retreat
* The retreat location is 372 Purgatory Road, Middletown RI 02842.
* Using this address is helpful when searching for local lodging (or you could just save yourself the hassle—and tons of money—and stay on site in our air-conditioned, newly renovated dorm rooms).
MORE INFO:
CONTACT:
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