I Created the Retreats I Was Looking For

By Diane Wood

As that old tagline from the Hair Club for Men commercial goes: “I’m not only the Hair Club president, I’m also a client.” In the same sense, I’m not just the founder of House of Athena Creative Retreats–I’m also the customer I had in mind when I created it. Before I ever dreamed of becoming an art retreat host, I was the one signing up for them.

Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to participate in several international all-inclusive luxury art retreats.  They were transformative experiences–beautiful destinations, inspiring and fun instructors, thoughtfully planned itineraries, amazingly delicious food, receptive and supportive communities of artists, and perhaps most importantly, the chance to step away from everyday responsibilities and immerse myself completely in creativity.

As an artist, I discovered that something remarkable happens when you leave behind the distractions of daily life and devote your attention to creating, learning, and connecting with other creative people.  The experience wasn’t just about making art–it was about slowing down, finding inspiration, and returning home renewed with a bunch of new art-loving friends in my pocket.

At the same time over these past few years of traveling internationally, I was also searching for similar experiences closer to home.  To my surprise, they were difficult to find.  Certainly, there were tons of workshops, conferences, and even vacation packages–but I struggled to find the same combination of luxury accommodations, artistic enrichment, meaningful community, and immersive creative experiences that I had enjoyed abroad. The more I searched, the more I realized there was a gap.  I kept thinking: someone should make this happen; someone needs to build this!  

Eventually, I realized that I was the someone to build it and to make it happen! That realization became the emerging idea and inspiration for House of Athena Creative Retreats, and I began creating the experiences I wished existed in the United States: all-inclusive, worry-free retreats that I would book myself with fabulous, rock-star artists in breath-taking places I would excitedly vacation at anyway.  They say if you can’t find what you’re looking for, create it.  So, I did. House of Athena Creative Retreats is built on a simple promise: every retreat is planned as if I were packing my own suitcase to attend, because the best host never forgets what it’s like to be the guest.