Friends and community members gathered at Shibagau Creek Forest Farmstead with brushes in hand, transforming our cherished caravan, appropriately named “Sunflower”, into a bright and joyful sunflower landscape. What began as Victoria’s long-held dream has now become a beautiful, living work of art, filled with colour, creativity, and the individual touches of everyone who joined us.
The day was full of painting, laughter, fresh air, and connection. Artists of all experience levels worked side by side, sharing ideas and leaving their mark on a special part of the farmstead.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed their time, energy, enthusiasm, and creative spirit. You helped bring the caravan to life and created memories that will remain woven into our community for years to come.
We can’t wait for you to see “Sunflower” in person!
A fully immersive, off-grid retreat in Ontario designed for women who give so much – and are ready to finally receive.
No Wifi. No Pressure. No Performance.
Just sacred rest, meaningful connection, and profound renewal.
You Carry A lot!
You Lead. You Nurture. You Achieve. But when was the last time you nurtured YOU? The constant hum of responsibility. The inbox. The Expectations. Even ambition can become exhausting.
The Nurturing You Retreat is your invitation to lay it all down – without guilt.
Two workshops with Peter Sramek are planned for 2026 that will cover experimental folded and sewn artist’s books, including a potential for drawing and collage to create contents for binding. Topics such as boxmaking, alternative sculptural structures are also possible depending on interest, so please get in touch to let us know what your interests are.: workshops@scff.ca. We could even do an extended series on handbinding digitally designed and printed books.
Dates for summer 2026 are July 11-12 and August 14-16. If you are interested in attending a workshop, please contact us and Register Early to help with planning.
Book workshops will take place at our Heron Point home location near Desert Lake, Hartington.
Workshop #1: Album explorations – July 11-12 This workshop will consider a variety of structures appropriate for inserting contents, be it photos, prints, drawings, collages, envelopes that hold items or more. For anyone wishing to bring together collected materials in an album format, this workshop will provide inspiration and binding techniques.
Workshop #2: Experimental Artist Books – August 14-16 Options for artist’s books will be presented and the group will focus on techniques pertinent to project ideas. Participants are encouraged to bring visual materials to work with or collect them onsite. Sewing and gluing can be simple and appropriate for those looking for binding experience, while more complex approaches can be selected by those looking to develop more advanced skills.
Develop your photography with guidance from Peter Sramek (sramek.ca), longtime OCAD University professor and founding member of Gallery 44 Centre of Photography in Toronto. Whatever your experience with photography, this workshop will meet you with appropriate content as you enjoy a weekend with a group of creative participants.
Photo workshop, September 2025.
This program is designed to support you in your photographic journey, whether primarily visual, conceptual or technical. Field work will explore the farmstead landscapes and the local area, while discussions will address approaches to making images, with focus on participant interests. Engage with the landscape, explore portraiture, create site interactions to photograph. Consider aspects of light, composition and moment. Share your images in creative evening sessions. If you bring an ongoing project, a portfolio discussion will provide feedback.
Preparing image files, Photo workshop, 2025.
Participants will work with digital cameras, but are free to also shoot film for later processing. Technical aspects can be covered if desired. Digital results will be reviewed onsite and those interested may experiment with historical cyanotype printing (blueprinting). Gear is not the focus and a basic camera or phone for making exposures is all that is required.
Self-portrait, Sardar Farrokhi, 2025.
If you are interested in attending a workshop, please register online or contact us at workshops@scff.ca. Participants will stay the weekend at SCFF or arrive for each day’s session.
Practicalities
Participants will arrive in Tamworth on Friday afternoon or evening and may stay an extra night on Sunday to make a long weekend should they desire.
Cost: $590 includes tuition, accommodation and meals; $390 for those who do not require accommodation.
A deposit of $100 will hold your place with full payment due 3 weeks prior to the workshop. A non-refundable fee of $100 will apply if you cancel less than 3 weeks prior.
Ride sharing can be coordinated where possible. Pick-up and drop-off in Napanee is also possible should one wish to take the bus or train from Toronto area or Montreal.
Natural Inventions – Staging in the landscape – Sept. 5-7
Walden, Taimaz Moslemian, 2025
Similar to last year’s land-based workshop, we invited photographers to engage with the land in staging site-specific assemblages using natural materials which were then photographed. Over the weekend we used cyanotype printing methods to turn digital images into tangible prints. The participants this year, who included experienced artists and photographers, presented their portfolios in our evening session adding to this engaging event.
Exposing cyanotypes, Peter Stranks, Sardar Farrokhi and Taimaz Moslemian, September 2025
If you are interested in attending a future workshop, please contact us atworkshops@scff.ca. Participants may arrive on Friday to stay the weekend at SCFF or arrive for each day’s session. Registration and accommodation arrangements will be posted.
Co-hosted at SCFF by Sine Andersen and VictoriaHirst.
A self-loving, self-image building and self-empowering transformational weekend retreat in nature. We spent time in the forest, enjoying the process of therapeutic relaxation focusing on sensory engagement to connect with nature. We meditated, walked and studied spiritual practices to help connect to our inner-selves.
Sine Andersen is a certified coach in life and business from Naestved, Denmark. She is a spiritual leader and a meditation guide connecting people to their soul and inner wisdom. As a solopreneur for the past 3 years, Sine offers individual coaching and has hosted beautiful retreats in Italy and Zanzibar. She loves working with and through her heart & soul and helping people to grow into and become-in who they truly are. https://www.instagram.com/sine_a_andersen/
Our 2025 experimental bookbinding workshop involved making fold books on long strips of Japanese washi paper, utilizing cyanotype (sun prints or blue prints) solution which is exposed to sunlight. Collaging images and photographs copied onto transparencies provided the contents.
The resulting long accordion strip was bound using the drum leaf glued method of binding (no sewing) and hard covers were pasted onto the accordion section.
The boxmaking weekend was a great success with beautiful results by each participant. We enjoyed ourselves, worked diligently and went through the steps of constructing, covering and assembling double-tray clamshell boxes covered in colourful Japanese papers.
If this workshop intrigues you, get in touch to let us know to schedule a repeat event.
