The Language of Painting:
Crafting Your Creative Recipe Book
DRAFT
Encaustic Adventures in the Alps
Co-taught by Lisa Cirenza & Isabelle Gaborit
Hello Creative Beings!
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Every master chef knows a fundamental truth: You cannot cook a chicken without the chicken.
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Too often in painting, we get seduced by the surface—the beautiful colors, the spontaneous marks, the dazzling textures—and we forget the foundation. We try to season a dish that isn't actually there. A painting is not merely an accumulation of techniques; it is an accumulation of intentional choices. Every line, every layer of wax, and even every omission must answer a single, vital question: Why is it here?
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In this immersive retreat, your journal will become your personal Creative Recipe Book. Together, we will move beyond simply copying the landscape, learning instead how to document and master the balance between core structure and expressive flavor.
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The Ingredients: Two Elements, One Coherent Dish
To create a painting that truly communicates, we must marry the underlying architecture with the surface language. You will learn to navigate this balance through two distinct, intersecting lenses:
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The Scaffolding & Stratigraphy (with Lisa): Look at the world through the eyes of a geologist. We will explore the hidden force lines of the landscape, the power of big shapes, and the structural "bones" of a composition. Learn how to build deep, layered histories through addition and erosion—without ever losing the core scaffolding that holds the piece together.
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The Mark & The Texture (with Isabelle): Once the foundation is secure, how do we speak on the surface? Dive deep into the intuitive vocabulary of mark-making. Discover how texture can become a language of memory, atmosphere, and emotion, acting as the perfect seasoning that enhances the structural dish rather than competing for attention.
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What You Will Write (and Paint) in Your Recipe Book:
Throughout the retreat, your visual and written journal will become a living manual for your artistic voice. You will learn to mix your own "recipes" for:
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The "Why" Test: Filtering out the marks that don't serve your core emotional intention.
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Structural Scaffolding: How to pin down the "chicken" before you ever reach for the spice rack.
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The Geology of Wax: Mastering the physical layers of encaustic to reveal hidden histories through scraping and eroding.
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Harmonious Editing: Knowing when a painting is perfectly cooked—and when to stop adding ingredients.
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13-18 September, 2027
Place: La Clusaz, France
Our Base: Espace Créa-Tea-Vité
Located under an hour from Geneva airport, our home base is a converted restaurant, now studio/gallery/teaching space, in a stunning alpine village. It feels a world away from the ordinary—the perfect place to study the raw architecture of the landscape.
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Intimate Group: Strictly limited to 8 participants. Secure your seat in the studio today!
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Your Creative Coaches:
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Lisa Cirenza--Artist, Speaker, Mentor
As your fearless leader on this journey, my mission is to spark joy and unleash courageous creativity in every setting.
I’ve had the privilege of leading workshops for Apple, Adobe, Barclays, and Stanford University, as well as for artists, entrepreneurs, and innovators around the world, even the wee little ones. I'm a "Painting with Fire" instructor, and have also guided treks in the mountains.
I’ve worked with refugees, homeless mothers, and other at-risk communities — guiding both complete beginners and seasoned artists.
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My works have been exhibited at Miami Basel, Venice Biennale, Kyoto Museum, Asian Biennale, le Grand Palais (Paris), London, Tokyo, NYC, and Silicon Valley. They are collected by institutions and collectors on 4 continents.
Wherever we begin, my role is to help participants transform challenges into opportunities, embrace curiosity, and unlock their full creative potential.
Isabelle Gaborit--Artist, Instructor, Mentor
Isabelle is a contemporary artist whose work explores the intersection of ancient technique and lived landscape.
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Working primarily in encaustic—a process using molten pigmented beeswax manipulated by blowtorch, she creates tactile, layered surfaces shaped by heat and immediacy.
Based in the Auvergne region of central France, her practice is informed by its distinctive volcanic terrain, deep valleys, caves, and river systems.
Her work is process-driven and arises from an ongoing engagement with the physical environment and its underlying geological forces.
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Originally from La Rochelle, France, Isabelle studied sculpture, drawing, and painting at l’École des Beaux-Arts in Poitiers, France before completing a BA (Hons) in Fine Arts in Ireland in 2006. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including France, Northern Ireland, the USA, Germany, and China.
With over two decades of teaching experience, Isabelle has led workshops and retreats across Ireland and internationally, including the International Encaustic Conference in Massachusetts, Mulranny Arts in Ireland, and kunstfreiraum in Switzerland. She is a core instructor with R&F Handmade Paints, contributes to the online program Painting with Fire, and serves on the board of the International Encaustic Artists (IEA).
Agenda
Five days of creative thinking and activities, designed to inspire not only your painting, but everything you create—whether you photograph, cook, write, dance, code, build, or simply reflect. My wish is that you leave refreshed, recharged, and ready to bring new joy, and authenticity to all your endeavors.
Day 1
Arrival Connection & Play
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16:00 Arrive at the retreat, unpack, explore the beautiful grounds, and take a deep breath as you transition into creative mode.
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French apéro and nibbles--We’ll map out the adventure ahead and establish the most important ground rule for the week: prioritizing joy, curiosity, and the sheer importance of having fun.
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Our first official dinner together—a savoury celebration to kick off the week, fuel our bodies, and toast to the creative journey ahead.
Tonight, we practice the fine art of suspending our preconceived beliefs—especially those rigid ideas of what art "should" look like or what we think we're capable of. Leave the inner critic at the door; this week is all about high curiosity, low pressure, and pure fun!
Day 2
The Chicken​​
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Breakfast at your Residences- Fresh croissants and other goodies from the local boulangerie
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Morning Workshop on the Big shapes, composition, and your why
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1 hour hike to refuge for lunch, and afternoon painting session overlooking the Mont Blanc range
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Using our high-altitude mountain plateau as a vantage point, we’ll put the morning's workshop into practice. We will train our eyes to spot the massive shapes of the landscape, using our Recipe Books to collect textures, marks, lines, and creative "spices" from the nature around us.
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Dinner tonight is free time — explore local restaurants at your leisure.
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Today is all about the big picture. It’s incredibly easy to get lost in the woods because you're hyper-focused on a single tree. Remember: you can't season and cook a chicken if you don't have the chicken in the pan first! We are building the grand, structural foundation of our art today—the intricate details will come later.
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Day 3
The Sauce & Spices
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Breakfast at your Residences
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Application of yesterday's recipes to direct B&W encaustic painting on paper
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Buffet Lunch
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Tools and more tools! Lisa will lead a session on her favorite digital tools, and Isabelle will lead one on alternative tools that will give you no more excuses not to create
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Sunset over Lac D'Annecy Group Dinner Excursion watching the paragliders fly by
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Today, we explore the internal lenses we use to decipher our visuals, specifically how we translate color and detail. While we are mastering our palettes and learning how not to muddy the sauce, we must remember the ultimate rule: don't over-spice the chicken. It is incredibly easy to get so obsessed with the excitement of the sauce and the spices that you lose the chicken entirely. Color and texture should elevate your strong foundation, not bury it!
Day 4
Annecy, Venice of the Alps-Urban, Medieval shapes and textures​
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Breakfast at your Residences
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Today, we step into local history. We travel to the breathtaking city of Annecy. Here we will continue to fill our recipe books with shapes, textures, lines, and energies that inspire us. Assignment: ​Collect ten images that tell one emotional story. Not ten beautiful images.One story.
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​Group Lunch
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Pleine aire painting sessions, one on the water, one in the city--your choice. Or, wander the city freely and meet us back at the bus.​​
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Return to La clusaz to explore more local restaurants at your leisure.
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As we paint in seeped in history, we ask ourselves: What are the things, the moments, and the visuals that make you feel truly alive? What frightens you? What makes you laugh?
Art isn't about playing it safe or painting a perfect postcard. Today is about the vital importance of risk-taking, breaking away from expectation, and deeply listening to what your heart wants to say on the canvas.
Day 5
Putting it All Together
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Breakfast at your Residences
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Dive back into your "Recipe Books"—the journals you've filled with marks, notes, textures, and watercolor pages this week. We will use these rich archives as the blueprint to create a larger-scale encaustic piece. This session is dedicated to expanding your unique creative voice and celebrating your personal expression.
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Buffet Lunch
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Optional Open/Structured Studio at Créa-Tea-Vité to finish your work, or,
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Optional Free Time
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Group gathering to share our work and what we learned
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Group Farewell Dinner
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Throughout our final day, we’ll explore the power of our creative differences—learning to trust what we truly see, think, and feel. Most importantly, we’ll discuss how to maintain this creative momentum back in reality, and how to actually use those 20 sketches and 836 camera-roll photos amassing on your phone!
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Is This Retreat Right for
Me?
Anytime, Anywhere
This experience is a perfect fit if you are:
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An artist of any level: Whether you are a total beginner or an experienced painter looking to deeply fuse your love of nature with your passion for art.
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Open and curious: Ready to show up, laugh, and gently push past your personal creative boundaries in a supportive environment.
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Alpine-ready: You have a genuine love for walking and are physically comfortable at mountain altitudes (above 1,000 meters).
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What you’ll take home: You will leave the French Alps refreshed, recharged, and armed with your very own Creative Recipe Book—ready to infuse newfound structure, expressive texture, and delight into all your future encaustic and artistic endeavors.
Let’s make sure our creative dynamics align. Click below to book a brief, casual chat with me to talk about your practice and see if this 8-person cohort is your next big creative leap.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Catherine
...a chance to reconnect with my inner artist. Lisa sees the potential in every participant and brings it out.
Helen
Working with Lisa I realised art isn't about perfection — it it about discovery. She is encouraging, insightful, funny, and endlessly patient.
Henri
Both relaxing and energizing at the same time. I left feeling inspired, refreshed, and brimming with ideas.
Airport Transfers Included
+33749095492
All Text & Images Copyright 2025
Lisa Cirenza
74290 Talloires, France
siret 888 534 534 00019
