Quiet mornings. Ink-stained pages. Somatic grounding. Toltec wisdom and teachings. Light-seeking afternoons. Museums, cafés, poetic wandering. New photographic work created. A retreat for artists who want to be inspired by the romance of Paris and all things French Culture, and experience real creative depth, not tourism.

This is a sober retreat (no alcohol or mood-altering substances).

ITINERARY
*This is a loose itinerary based on the group, the weather, and my own intuitive knowing that I might feel in the moment. This schedule is not rigid and is subject to change.

DAY 1 :: Monday, June 8th

• 6pm Welcome Gathering & Dinner at Le Fumoir, one of my favorite restaurants. Across the street from the Louvre

• Optional: Saunter over to the Eiffel Tower to watch the lights come on.

DAY 2 :: Tuesday, June 9th

• Early Morning Gathering with croissants and espresso

• Grounding (Breath work, somatic practices to get present and release stress) + Writing Prompt

• The days intuitive teaching session

• Lunch on your own

• (optional)Meet at the Blue Front door of Camille Claudel’s Apartment 19 Quai de Bourbon, 75004 for a photo walk (slow saunter) with Catherine.

• Special stop at Melodies Graphiques, Catherine’s favorite paper, pen, ink store in the world.

• Sip tea or coffee and have a pastry across the street at Le Peloton Cafe.

• Dinner on your own

DAY 3 :: Wednesday, June 10th

• Early Morning Gathering with croissants and espresso, grounding + writing prompt

• The days intuitive teaching session

• Feedback on photography from yesterday.

• Lunch on your own. Afternoon Open

• (optional) Meet at Maison Sauvage Cafe for tea + photo walk (saunter) with Catherine with stops at favorite galleries in the area that I’ve curated for you. Lesson on taking your photos from good to great.

• Dinner on your own.

DAY 4 :: Thursday, June 11th

• Early Morning Gathering with croissants and espresso, grounding, writing prompt, intuitive teaching.

• Feedback on photography from yesterday.

• Lunch on your own. Afternoon is Open

• (optional) Meet at Jardins de Luxembourg for a photo walk (slow saunter) with Catherine.

• Dinner on your own.

Day 5 :: Friday, June 12th

• Early Morning Gathering with croissants and espresso, grounding, writing prompt, intuitive teaching

• Feedback on photography from yesterday.

• Lunch on your own.

• Afternoon is free

• Sunset River Cruise on the Seine

Day 6 :: Saturday, June 13th

• Early Morning Gathering with croissants and espresso, grounding + writing prompt, intuitive teaching session

• Feedback on photography from yesterday.

• Lunch on your own.

• Afternoon is free/ (optional)30 minute Capturing Breath on Film Photo Sessions with Catherine

• Dinner on your own.

Day 7 :: Sunday, June 14th

• Early Morning Gathering with croissants and espresso, grounding and writing prompt.

• Review final images

• Farewell Brunch on the rooftop of the Pompidou
  
  

Included

• 2 - Zoom sessions for pre-retreat planning and prep.

• 7-day creative immersion with Catherine

• Morning writing, somatic practice, Toltec tools & creative prompts, intuitive teachings.

• Optional Photo Walks with Catherine with impromptu photography lessons

• Feedback and support on your work

• Welcome dinner (June 8th)

• Farewell brunch (June 14th)

• Group entry fees Support,

• Local transportation when with Catherine

• Sunset cruise on the Seine

Not included
Travel, lodging, daily meals-except for the welcome dinner and farewell brunch, personal purchases, transportation outside of group activities, travel insurance

Accommodations:
Accommodations are up to you. They aren’t included with this retreat so you can decide how much money you want to spend, what part of Paris you want to experience and whether you want to stay in a hotel or an airbnb. You can come with your family and stay with them, or bring a friend who wants to enjoy Paris while you are with us during the day. You can also buddy up with other participants of the retreat and find a place together. Unless otherwise noted, we gather in the mornings at my apartment in the 1st arrondissment. This location may change - so you can pick any part of the city. I can help. There are many hotels and airbnb’s near by.

International Travel:
Make sure you have an updated passport. Please check so you are not turned away. I will go over everything you need to know about how to fly internationally so you're prepared with every single thing you could possibly imagine. I've traveled internationally alone since 2015 and have learned lessons from every single journey. I'll be sharing with you everything I know so you feel at ease about how to pack, what to bring, what to expect, how to plan etc.

Only 10 spots available

Catherine Just is a visual artist, photographer and writer living in Los Angeles. With 38 years of sobriety from a meth addiction, and a personal apprenticeship with Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements, her creative path is rooted in healing and transformation.

Her work has been published on the cover of National Geographic Magazine, in O Magazine, Inside Art Talk Magazine out of Milan and has been exhibited internationally including Rencontres d'Arles, Photo London, The Milan Photo Fair, and in Paris, NYC, Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles. Catherine received her BFA in photography, film and video from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Her fine art explores the unseen emotional terrain inside love, loss, and what lives in-between them. She uses large format film cameras, Polaroid, hand stitching, long exposures, Polaroid and alternative photography techniques to create visually what the heart hears.

Catherine offers Capturing Breath on Film photo sessions - intimate portrait experiences that she hosts in cities around the world, inviting women to slow down, reconnect with themselves, and be seen in their fullest expression.

Catherine been traveling to Paris for 10+ years and considers it her home away from home. She leads Photography retreats there, offers Capturing Breath Sessions, and makes and shows her fine art there.
She teaches online courses, Self Portraiture as Medicine and The Deepening and mentors creatives worldwide.

Catherine is a proud mama to her teenage son Max, who has Down syndrome, and together they co-create projects that challenge ableism and expand visibility and inclusion.