Holding Up the Blossom: A Summer Solstice Zazen Arts Immersion of Miraculous Expression
with Jody Hojin Kimmel, Katie Yosha Scott-Childress · Zen
Four-day silent zazen and arts immersion at the summer solstice, combining sitting practice with creative expression. Residential retreat exploring how artistic work integrates with meditation in monastic rhythm.
This retreat pairs zazen with hands-on creative practice—painting, writing, movement, or other artistic work—held within the container of silent sitting and monastery schedule. The four-day format around the summer solstice anchors the immersion to a turning point in the year's light and rhythm.
The structure appears to alternate between sitting periods and studio or artistic work time, rather than running a traditional all-day sesshin schedule. If you sit regularly and have artistic interests (whether or not you consider yourself skilled or serious about art), this offers a direct exploration of how creativity and zazen inform each other. The retreat is residential, so you'll live on-site for the duration with other participants, eating together and following monastery pace.
Because the signup page content is not fully accessible in the source data, specific details about the daily schedule, what artistic mediums are offered, lodging arrangements, or whether prior retreat experience is expected are not available here. Contact Zen Mountain Monastery directly for those details before registering.
Full details from Zen Mountain Monastery
A zazen and arts immersion retreat exploring how silence, stillness, and creative expression inform one another. Participants engage with various artistic mediums while supported by monastery life and the rhythm of the season, investigating how to meet creative obstacles with curiosity and reveal their authentic aliveness.
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