Brave ART Retreat
with contemplative painter Bronwen Mayer Henry
Occurred on Thursday, June 3, 2021
So many people hold themselves back from stepping into a creative life. So many of us hesitate to give ourselves permission to play with, experiment with, and strengthen our own creative hearts. Creativity takes courage, needs community, and — if we tend it well — can blossom into expressions of compassion.
Participants joined us for a day-long retreat full of stories, meditations, creative practices and supportive conversations, facilitated by contemplative painter Bronwen Mayer Henry.
“My most consistent personal practice is showing up in the studio each day to spend time going inward, being curious, and watching what unfolds. Though I delight in what appears on the canvas, it is what arises in my heart that captivates me and has me returning each day.”
— Bronwen Mayer Henry
This retreat — along with stories, meditations, and practices — drew on the beauty and intrigue of the natural word as our source of inspiration and subject matter. We will acknowledge heartache while reaching towards freedom, curiosity, and compassion. We will focus on strengthening the creative process and on returning to joy.
If you were feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders, if you were looking for practices to help counter burnout, if you were in need of community, self-compassion, and inspiration to guide you through challenging times — this was the perfect retreat!
“I am grateful to be working with The BTS Center where creativity, care for the natural world, and spirituality are the central focus. These are core to my creative practice and it is energizing to step into a partnership with so much synergy. During the pandemic, I have missed spending time teaching and being with others around restorative creative practices and I appreciate the innovative commitment the BTS center has to making retreats happen in virtual spaces with deep community connection.”
— Bronwen Mayer Henry
Bronwen Mayer Henry is a self-taught contemporary painter specializing in trees and flowers on large-scale canvases with acrylic paints. Her work is filled with movement, light, color, and a sense of freedom.
It was an unexpected path through Thyroid Cancer that led Bronwen to commit time to painting. This beginning continues to be reflected in her large scale work and playful approach to color. Her art is an expression of prayer, meditation, hope and joy. She describes herself as “a person facing her fears with a brush, and choosing joy over perfection.” She leads workshops and retreats helping others to break through creative barriers. She has a new book exploring how this cancer treatment lit up her creative practice, “Radioactive Painting” published by Shanti Arts LLC.
Her work has been on display at Abington Art Center, Pendle Hill Retreat, Local Shops, and private collections in California, Colorado, Georgia, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Washington State, Canada and South Africa.
She lives outside Philadelphia, PA with her husband, two children, and King Charles Cavalier Spaniel.