About My First Experience of Hosting a Vacancy With an Artist : a Creative Retreat That Touched My Heart
Mark-Making, art books, felting, stitching, transfer, painting, Intuition & Artistic Freedom in my Paris Studio
I’m so excited to finally share this with you!
I just hosted my very first VAWAA – Vacation With An Artist, a one-to-one creative residency in my studio on the outskirts of Paris. And let me tell you: it was rich, moving, joyful, and deeply inspiring. I loved every moment of it and hope to welcome many more creatives in the future!
Lisa came all the way from Arizona, curious and open to exploring mixed media and fiber art techniques while traveling through Paris. She had no felting experience, but she brought something even more important: a willingness to dive in with curiosity and playfulness.
Warming Up with Mark-Making
We started with mark-making on paper — a warm-up I often use to help loosen the mind and reconnect with the senses. Paper is fast and forgiving, a perfect material for letting go and experimenting. Through this intuitive process, we explored composition, layering, and the power of spontaneity.
From this free exploration, we created small artist books, and used one page of the books as the basis for Lisa’s first paper-wool felt experiment. She experimented with felting, stitching, coloring, and surface transformation. One of her pieces even became a felted bracelet!
She left with a bundle of beautiful creations — but more importantly, with a new sense of creative confidence.
More Than a Workshop — A Journey Back to Ourselves
This experience reminded me of why I do what I do. I no longer teach felting as a craft bound by steps and rules. Instead, I guide people through a process of intuitive, expressive art-making.
It’s not about perfection. It’s about:
Letting go.
Layering boldly.
Trusting not only the materials but, most importantly, yourself.
Art-making is meditative, insightful, and life-changing.
Because in art, just like in life, every step we take opens up a new path. Every mark, every decision, leads to transformation. And that’s the magic! Not in controlling the outcome, but in letting the process reveal what’s next.
Planting Seeds of Transformation
Watching Lisa embrace that process was beautiful. I saw her begin to trust herself more with each experiment. Her journey is just beginning, but I know I helped plant a small seed — this belief that what she chooses is valid, powerful, and worth expressing.
She’s in a big personal transition, and I hope this retreat gave her not only some grounding but also a way to approach her next steps with clarity, strength, and a sense of creative agency.
Life is movement, and movement brings transformation. Transformation is art.
Art is life.
Come Create With Me
If this kind of creative holiday speaks to you — if you’re feeling the pull to reconnect with your voice, your hands, your curiosity — I invite you to explore VAWAA or simply reach out to me directly.
Let’s make space for your own intuitive art journey.
Let’s discover what happens when you give yourself permission to explore, play, and create — not just art, but the life you want to live.
With love and gratitude,
Ariane
Huge thanks to Lisa and VAWAA for making this beautiful experience light up my studio and my heart.