From the moment I walked into the classroom, I could tell from the thoughtful way the environment was created, that I was in for something different. I was not dissapointed. Each student had their own space in which to work. We were given gifts to compliment our experience, as well as the use of many personal tools, provided by Elizabeth and Gabriella. The classroom had many windows allowing for natural light. The space felt fresh and inviting. Even though I have taken a class (many years ago) from Elizabeth, I learned many new techniques and useful information. She is a strong teacher, very well versed in her craft and style. This was my first in-person class with Gabriella. I've taken her class on Painting with Fire. She is a generous and enthusiastic instructor. I learned a completely new way to approach Encaustic monoprints. I came away from the class with 3 pieces that I enjoyed working on and like the outcomes. The Nest is a perfect place for a retreat such as this. The accomodatons were excellent and very well maintained. The grounds were beautiful and I enjoyed just walking around experiencing the beauty of the place. The food was excellent. I'm pretty picky when it comes to food, and I truly enjoyed the freshness and creativity of every dish served. The team in the kitchen was very accomodating to special requests. I enjoyed our field trip to Glacier National Park. I've been there before, but to see it through eyes looking for inspiration from the beauty of the rocks and waterfalls was a different experience. I also felt the the schedule was very manageable. I appreciated that Elizabeth kept us on track, but never felt overwhelmed by all that was planned. I've been on many retreats, including Mulranney, Ireland, but this retreat will stand out as my favorite. I'm seriously considering signing up for San Miguel.

Great brush! I was looking for a something that would give me bold brushy strokes and interesting residual marks. This brush delivered.

Elizabeth’s tools are the best! You can tell they are made with love. And they produce the most beautiful marks in my art. You cant go wrong with this one.

This tool makes the best marks. Love it!

Love these tools. They have become a favorite for me and definitely stimulate my ideas and creativity.

This hake brush is great. It’s soft, and wide enough to blend paint beautifully

These tools create incredible marks. So well made and much fun to experiment and help make images otherwise not possible. I absolutely love working with them

I can’t say enough great things about the parrot feather sumi-e brush I got from Elizabeth! I’m very new to sumi-e and have my good and bad attempts. But this brush seems to just make magic on its own, which is incredibly motivating and keeps me painting and learning! Quality / craftsmanship is beyond incredible and I’ll be treating myself to another very soon. Highest possible recommendation!

I have eight of Elizabeth’s brushes. They are all unique to hold in hand. They are, themselves, works of art. They inspire care, concern, and forceful spontaneity. I find the Dragon brush that I just purchased and used to be particularly engaging right off the mark.

I haven't had much of a chance to play with my new brush but when I tried a couple of things after getting it home, it shows me that there are so many possibilities for using it. I look forward to new discoveries.

I bought this brush for its aesthetic beauty--and display it as art in my studio. I have used it once and while I appreciate its possibilities for my cold wax work, the practicalities around using wax and oil paint presented some clean up challenges. The wax tended to glob on the bristles even after I soaked the brush--I used a mild soap for oil brush clean up--perhaps it requires full blown solvent. Also the bristles are packed very tightly together and in trying to get the wax out of the crevices, I bent some of the bristles. My only suggestion would be to maybe not pack the bristles so tightly, but that may cause other structural Issues. Anyway, I still love this object and am glad I bought it. Its beauty is motivation to use it to create. Keep up the beautiful work Elizabeth!

Bought this brush for my mom as a gift and she loved it. It’s perfect for the artwork she is doing.

Loved these tools! Well made and easy to use .

I purchased the small sumi brush with horse hair bristles and I love it. my other sumi briush that Elizabeth made for me is sable and very soft which I truly enjoy using. The new brush is more firm and makes definite and very strong marks. I treasure them both and enjoy having beautiful handmade brushes to use!

Such a cool brush! I love that I can move from a single line of color to many lines. Swirls and thick movements of acrylic paint and ink. Control but not. So glad I purchased it.