Calligraphy & Watercolor Rainforest Retreat with Malka Klein

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Check in: Sunday, December 10, 2023

Check out: Friday, December 15, 2023

Join calligrapher and watercolor artist Malka Klein for a week of calligraphy and painting in Costa Rica. Malka will perform live demonstrations in letter arts and watercolor and offer one-on-one tuition throughout the retreat. Students of all skill levels – from beginners to those with lots of experience – are welcome!

We will be learning how to express the experience around you with beautiful letterforms and painting, using inspiration from the surrounding rainforest teeming with life, the Pacific Ocean views, and scenery of local Costa Rica. We will focus on what Malka is most known for: elegant, flowing Modern calligraphy letters and elegant florals, while also painting en Plein Air for some beautiful landscape paintings using the scenery and surrounding areas as inspiration. We will also be learning how to combine our calligraphy and paintings to form finished artwork to proudly photograph & display. Malka is also an experienced designer and will go over how to go from concept, to sketch, layout and final composition of your work so you can create beautiful high-end hand-crafted pieces that deserve to be shared with the world!

In addition to live demos, Q&A and personal time with Malka, students will be gifted a visual journaling zine — an exclusive, printed souvenir thoughtfully written and illustrated by Malka. The zine includes tips on calligraphy, drawing, mindful practices, and the importance of chronicling your thoughts and emotions. It also includes blank pages for each student to draw and write.

Daily instruction includes:

Visual & Mindful Intro to Mediums of Modern pointed pen calligraphy & watercolor
Typography & Color theory Best Practices
Pairing Visuals with Powerful Words through Calligraphy & Painting
Pencil Calligraphy Meditation
Pointed Pen Calligraphy & Watercolor fundamentals
Plein Air painting of the Costa Rican rainforest and Pacific ocean landscape
Styling, Taking quality images of your work using your smartphone, & Package design
Artwork Composition and layout
Poolside Q&A Chats

Every step of the process will be covered and there will be lots of individual assistance and guidance.

In addition to creating alongside Malka every day, you’ll also have plenty of time to relax, enjoy the stunning Costa Rican landscapes and share your experiences with fellow creatives over an exquisite tropical smoothie.

Amount per person: $2,750 (shared villa)

What’s included:
– Round trip ground transportation from/to San Jose Costa Rica International airport (SJO). Plan your flight to arrive by 2pm or earlier on arrival day and depart by 1pm or later on departure day.
Flight to/from San Jose Airport (SJO) not included

– Luxury Ocean-View Villa, double occupancy
Complimentary high-speed wifi, private infinity pool, private ocean view patio with lounge area, outdoor rainfall shower, oversized soaking tub, indoor rainfall shower. Each guest will have their own queen or king sized bed within the 1,000 sf villa

– Daily gourmet breakfast and dinner
Alcohol and special drinks (sodas) not included. Exceptional vegan, vegetarian, and traditional cuisine available

– Once daily group transportation to/from the local beach and town

– Garden to table cooking demonstration with light lunch

– Daily painting & calligraphy workshops

– All art materials

Optional:
Private villa: +$1,250

A week of Art and Rainforest Immersion

SUNDAY

Check in & Explore Grounds

Get Acquainted

Dinner

MONDAY

Introduction to our Materials, Mediums & Mindfulness in Art

Pencil Calligraphy Meditation

Plein Air Sketching & Journaling in the Rainforest

TUESDAY

Calligraphy Fundamentals

Typography Concepts

Pairing Illustration & Letterform Seamlessly

WEDNESDAY

Painting Rainforest Flora

Calligraphy Warm Ups

THURSDAY

Painting Rainforest Wildlife

Calligraphy Letter Formation & Composition

Final Calligraphy Piece Creation

Final touches to Art Piece (voluntary)

Talk on Styling, Photographing and Packaging work for impact

Talk on the Modern Artist’s Life & Manifestation

Final Q & A (Ask me anything)

Friday

Breakfast & Wrap up

Head for Airport

More Information

To reserve your place, contact reservations@vistacelestial.com

ABOUT YOUR RETREAT LEADER, MALKA KLEIN

Malka Klein is a modern calligrapher, watercolor painter, illustrator, designer and art educator from Israel who’s work celebrates meditative and mindful means of communication in our fast-paced digital world. Malka works celebrates traditional, authentic methods and tools like ink, quills, wax seals, textured papers & watercolors, highlighting the value of quality craftsmanship.

Malka runs large scale art workshops for Fortune 500 companies like Facebook, creates online courses independently and for Skillshare, designs calligraphic pieces for Luxury brands such as Dior & Montblanc, and is well known for her intricate couture, hand-crafted wedding stationery and traditional Jewish wedding vows.

Malka has taught workshops on English & Hebrew calligraphy, Watercolor Calligraphy, Coffee and Tea Ink painting, Watercolor Floral Illustration and and Hand-made Stationery Design. She also created curated calligraphy kits and a Hebrew Calligraphy Guide.

When Malka was living abroad for her husband’s MBA program and home with two small kids, she hit rock bottom and realized she needed art to become central to her life for her well-being, as it was when she was a child. She had always loved art and calligraphy, worked in first class art museums and even became a graphic designer, but never considered art a viable career path so she didn’t make time for it. Until 2018, when, with no clear path or art education, Malka decided to picked up a calligraphy pen and never put it down again. Little did she know that just a few years later she would become a sought-after designer running a fine art studio working with high-end clients from around the world, seeking out her particular skills and elegant sense of style.

A multi-faceted creative entrepreneur, Malka has introduced thousands of people to the wonders of calligraphy and watercolor painting. She assists them in overcoming internal creative barriers so they can find their inner artistic voice. Her online courses, frontal workshops, retreats, calligraphy kits and guidebooks have made these precious crafts more accessible and approachable for countless eager creatives coming from all sorts of backgrounds.

What’s Malka’s goal in life? To encourage everyone in our fast-paced modern world to slow down, get in touch with themselves and communicate authentically with others through the joy of calligraphic expression and color.

Visit Malka Klein’s website and follow her on Instagram @malkaklein