Five days in the desert, making something of your own.
A small creative retreat for women, led by abstract artist Dr. Clarissa Castillo-Ramsey. You land in Phoenix and somebody is already waiting on you. Everything after that is handled. No art experience needed.
“The fact that you’re even considering it should tell you that you should go.”Kristi, retreat guest
“No waiting, no rushing.”Carol, retreat guest
We spend most of our lives thinking, planning, producing and responding. Five days will not change that. It gets you far enough from it to pick up a brush, or a pen, and find out what has been waiting underneath.
This is not a sip and paint. Nobody copies the same picture, and nobody is grading what you make.
An internationally collected abstract artist, and the one guiding every session across the five days. Watercolor, ink, words and intuitive mark-making, built so anyone can begin.
“Wild does not have to mean loud. It can mean a little less edited. A little more curious. More willing to follow what wants to emerge than to worry about doing it right.”
Clarissa, on what Wild Canvas is for
“It was such a lovely afternoon filled with creativity, conversation, reflection and sisterhood. Deeply grateful to have been a part of it.”
Guest · Spring Reset Women’s Retreat, Pasadena, CA
“I was able to reset, relax. A wonderful weekend shared with women in an intimate and friendly setting.”
Guest · Spring Reset Women’s Retreat, Pasadena, CA
“It was a day where relaxation intertwined with profound self-reflection and hands-on vision boarding… Through this experience, I walked away empowered, feeling an intense fulfillment that sprouted from the seeds of inspiration sown during a truly transformative day.”
Sylvia Lopez, Toluca Lake, CA · Bloom Boldly Into Your Vision
With Clarissa. Watercolor, ink, words and intuitive mark-making, built so anyone can begin.
The point is the process of making, noticing and saying something you could not put into words. What you make comes home with you.
Part of the material. Color, texture and light from the landscape find their way onto the page.
Included and eaten together. Homemade, and nobody has to plan it.
Workshops co-led by Cydnie and Clarissa, still in the works. Registered guests hear about them first.
You sleep, eat and make here. The house is painted top to bottom by hand, which is either a coincidence or the reason we booked it.
Early rate through 30 November
$1,675 $1,800Early rate through 30 November 2026, then $1,800.
$500 today holds it. The balance is five monthly payments, starting the month after.
Inside, a billiards room painted wall to wall, a wooden sauna for two and a small gym. The evenings belong to the pool, the hot tub and a long table under the string lights.
$335 a daywith the room, every meal, every supply and both shuttles already in it.
Not included: your flight into Phoenix (usually $200 to $500, depending on where you fly from) and travel insurance.
Artist and guide · Painting Your Path™
Clarissa’s turning point came through spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that challenged her ability to speak just as she was building her creativity and coaching business. She turned it into a catalyst, and found art and wellness as tools for healing and self-expression.
She is an international best-selling author, an award-winning transformational coach and an internationally collected abstract artist. Her programs, including The Creative Care Summit, Painting Your Path to Self-Expression and The Art of Becoming, have helped more than 5,000 creatives and professionals get their art into the world. Through her podcast, Painting Your Path™, she helps women in midlife and beyond move past imposter syndrome, perfectionism and self-doubt, and back to their creativity.
Host · Forest Lake, Minnesota
I went on a retreat before I ever ran one, and came home with my head clear for the first time in a long stretch. I’m a wife and a mom, and a rare genetic mutation runs through my husband and both of my kids, so I know how fast a woman ends up last on her own list. These five days are for making something that is only yours. The longer version is on the About page.
Play Melissa’s video about the Costa Rica retreat
Five days, and everything you make comes home with you. $500 holds your room today, and the balance is five monthly payments starting the month after. Or pay in full.
The early rate holds through 30 November 2026. From 1 December the room is $1,800.
Shared room
$1,675
Your invoice, payment terms and contract come straight to your inbox.
Still sitting on something? Ask me, or email hello@cydniejocelyn.com. I would rather you booked knowing than booked hoping.
Not ready to decide? Join the Wild Canvas list. No payment, and nothing is held against you if you never book.
Join the list (opens a short form)None. Every session is built so anyone can begin. If you have never called yourself an artist, you are exactly who this is for.
No. Most women come on their own. That is the normal way to arrive at one of these.
Yes. Every room is shared by two, so coming as a pair is easy. You each book separately.
By 3 pm on 5 May, so the shuttles can be grouped. Book your flight into PHX with that in mind.
No. Every art supply you need is included and waiting for you. Bring yourself.
$500 holds your room, or you pay in full. Your invoice, payment terms and contract arrive by email, and from there Cydnie handles the details until you land in Phoenix.
It is in your contract, and you see it before you pay anything.