New Mexico 2026 January tapestry retreat in Taos

Dates: January 15-21, 2026
Location: Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Taos, New Mexico

The Workshop

I often say that when learning about tapestry weaving, you have to learn to think like a tapestry weaver. Melding your knowledge about technique and your design skills is something that takes some trial and error. That means you have to practice! In this retreat I’ll ask you to bring your design ideas and any projects you are currently working on and we’ll work on figuring out how to realize your ideas in tapestry weaving. This may include simplifying, changing tools or materials, and most probably some sampling to try out your ideas.

We’ll have a few group sessions to talk about designing for tapestry and about any particular examples you’ve brought along that you’re willing to share with the group. This retreat involves a lot of self-directed work, so come ready to focus on your own ideas and find ways forward. You’ll go home with some sampling of ideas completed and maybe even a tapestry in the works.

In this retreat, I will ask you to think a bit about your tapestry goals before you arrive. Where might you be stuck, what ideas you want to explore, and how this time best help you when you go home. (And of course a goal could also be to enjoy relaxing in Taos and weaving with friends—it doesn’t have to be a big pile of aspirations!)

I’d like to meet as a group a couple times during the retreat to talk about what we’ve been working on and answer questions about particular problems. I am happy to share information based on your questions during the retreat and will have slides and books available so we can look at images of tapestries and discuss design or technique questions.

We’ll also have a session this year focused on finishing. Finishing and displaying tapestries is an important thing to think about before you even start weaving as it can have implications for how you do your headers and deal with tails as you weave. I’ll include some ideas about ways to finish in a slide show and with some tapestry examples I’ll bring. I’ll also encourage you all to bring examples of things you might want to talk about in terms of finishing, whether that is about how to manage tails and slits or other issues or about mounting or otherwise displaying things. If you have tapestries you want to discuss particularly, please bring them!

Here are some questions to help you think about what to bring:

• Do you have a favorite tapestry artist who weaves in a particular way you want to explore? Gather some images of their work or you can explore it at MDL using your internet-connected device (in the lounge—there is no wifi in the workshop room)

• Do you have a set of images that you want to interpret in tapestry but don’t have the design finalized or maybe even started?

• Do you have a collection of images from years of interest in something that you aren’t sure how to turn into weave-able tapestries?

• Perhaps you feel completely stuck about design and aren’t sure where to even start? (If this one is you, we’ll get you unstuck together through some fun exercises and discussions about what interests you.)

• Or maybe you’re deep into your own designs and confident there but want to bounce ideas about color or technique off Rebecca and other participants.

Bring your thoughts and some starting ideas no matter how unformed they are and by the end of the week, you’ll have a direction for your tapestry and maybe your work as a whole.

This retreat is all about fueling your personal ideas and practice around tapestry design and execution. It is a great place for people who feel a little (or a lot) stuck on designing for tapestry. There is no better place to knock around ideas, get some suggestions of how to find an idea and work with it, and then start executing it before the end of the retreat. It is also a great place for people who have a direction but want some time to work through ideas and perhaps get some feedback on direction.

For people who need a little more guidance or really want to work on technique, I’ll have some exercise ideas you can pursue during your time here. I would still encourage you to have some personal guidance for your time at the retreat. For example, do you want to learn more about making vertical curves or using a particular technique or weft bundling or color use? Think about what your goals are around what you want to learn and take some time to search out examples of tapestries or images you’d like to use to guide your learning.

Private consultation: There will be an opportunity for you to have a private consultation with me if you want one. This can be focused on a particular problem or just a time to talk about your creative work in general. I’ll have times available for anyone who wants to take advantage of this opportunity. And of course spending time talking about your weaving and design with fellow students is immensely valuable and you’re encouraged to do that all week as long as the other person/people are willing. These times are fairly short so please know that I’m available in the main workshop room to talk about these things further.

Prerequisite knowledge: This retreat is not for beginners. You must know how to warp a tapestry loom and weave basic shapes. If you’ve unsure, feel free to email me at hello@rebeccamezoff.com with questions. You don’t have to be cranking out your own original tapestries, you just have to know the basic mechanics of weaving tapestry and have a willingness to dive into design. For people who are ready to push themselves farther in their design skills, this is a unique opportunity to do so in a small group of other weavers.

Preliminary Schedule

Thursday, Jan 15

3 pm: Arrival and check-in
3-6 pm: unload your weaving equipment at Juniper House and settle into your room
6:30 pm: Welcome dinner in the main house

Friday, Jan 16

Breakfast 8-9 am
9:30-10:30: Gather as a group in the yoga studio to plan out the week and get a little inspiration.
10:30-12: studio work
12:30-1:30: Lunch at MDL
1:30-5: Open studio or explore the surrounding area
3-4:30 pm: Consultation times with Rebecca available
Dinner on your own

Saturday, Jan 17

Breakfast 8-9 am
9-12: studio work
12:30-1:30: Lunch at MDL
1:30-5: Open studio or explore the surrounding area.
2:30-4 pm: Consultation times with Rebecca available
Dinner on your own

Sunday, Jan 18

Schedule as above
6:30 pm: Dinner at MDL as a group

Monday, Jan 19

Breakfast 8-9 am
9-12: studio work
12:30-1:30: Lunch at MDL
2 pm: Group outing to Taos Wools. Rebecca will be unavailable this afternoon but you might find her at Taos Wools shortly after she gets a Taos Cow ice cream cone!
Dinner on your own

Tuesday, Jan 20

Breakfast 8-9 am
9-12: studio work
12:30-1:30: Lunch at MDL
1-4: Open studio or explore the surrounding area.
4:30 pm: Meet at Juniper House workshop to review what we did and take a group photo
6:30 pm: Dinner at MDL as a group

Wednesday, Jan 21

Our last breakfast together, finish packing up the studio, say goodbye, and head home until next year. Check out of your hotel room by 10:30 am.

Mabel Dodge Luhan House

MDL is a warm and inviting place. In January there will be a fire in the lounge. Fireplaces in the guest rooms are not currently in use, so plan on enjoying fires in the main lounge. You can get a look at the rooms on the website here: http://mabeldodgeluhan.com/. Housing is based on Historic House or Juniper House. Rooms in Juniper House are slightly less expensive. This is also where the workshop room is. All provided meals are in the Historic House. Remember that there may be snow and that the surfaces at MDL are uneven and can be precarious. Bring good winter shoes and anything else you need to feel secure walking on their old, rocky walkways.

Mabel Dodge Luhan House (MDL) is a retreat-style facility with no televisions, alarm clocks, or telephones. There is wifi only in the main lounge area. You will have a key to this area (for 24 hour access) which includes sitting areas, fireplaces, and internet access on your own device. There is cell service and MDL House is within walking distance of downtown Taos. I will say that the wifi is particularly bad and if you need a good connection for any reason, consider bringing a hotspot. There is decent cell coverage.

Many rooms have two beds. Some are double/queen plus a twin, some are two twins. You’re welcome to share a room with a friend. I will say that most of the rooms are very small so you should be good friends if you share one!

People often worry about snow in Taos in January. It is true that it might well snow and if we’re already there, we’ll enjoy the beauty of what will likely only be a dusting or at most an inch or two. It is highly unlikely that it will snow huge amounts and NMDOT is very good at keeping the road between Santa Fe and Taos clear. If you plan your travel to drive between Albuquerque or Santa Fe and Taos during the day, you will most likely not have any problems. If you’re coming from the north, feel free to ask Rebecca about the roads south from Colorado.

Housing Choices

Please let me know your first and second choices for rooms on the registration form. I will rotate the most popular rooms such as Mabel’s room and the Solarium among people who haven’t stayed there before. All rooms except Auntie’s Cottage are available.

Extending your stay: MDL holds all the rooms from bed and breakfast registrations until December 14th. If you’d like to extend your stay, you can arrange with MDL to do so. You’ll need to call them, tell them you’re part of my retreat, and you can reserve additional nights. Please reserve the room that you’ve been assigned instead of taking a room someone else is scheduled to be in so that they have to move before the retreat starts (or email me about this). You’ll need to tell MDL what room you’re assigned. They will release those rooms December 15th, so make those reservations before that date. MDL phone: 575-751-9686.

Companions

You may bring a spouse or companion with you if they are able to entertain themselves while you’re at the workshop. See additional rates under Pricing below. Their price includes sharing your room, all breakfasts and lunches, and three dinners. This is the rate MDL charges me for companions.

MEALS

Breakfast and lunch: These meals are provided in the MDL dining room each day of our stay ending with breakfast on the last day. Breakfast is from 8-9. They will potentially be feeding a few other B&B guests. We will be the only people at lunch each day.

Dinner: We will have dinner together the first night as we get acquainted and talk about what we’re going to do during our week together. We have another dinner at MDL on Sunday night and the last night to say farewell. The other three nights are open for you to explore the dining options in Taos. Check in with the group on the first day of class for some excellent suggestions and to find dining companions if you’d like them. Some people will be there without cars, so please invite them to come to dinner with you!

WHAT TO BRING

For the workshop:

• Example tapestries you might want to talk about in terms of finishing. This can be mounting displaying questions or technical “how to deal with cleaning things up” questions. It will be very helpful to have a variety of examples of unfinished or even finished works, so please do bring any you’d like to show or talk about.

• Looms: You must bring your own loom. It can be any loom you can get to Taos and that works for you.

• Tools: Please bring all your own weaving tools.

• Yarn: Please bring the warp and weft yarn you need for what you think you’ll work on. I will not be providing yarn.

• Design materials: If you love colored pencils or paint or tracing paper, please bring some. I will have some limited supplies because you don’t always know WHAT you’ll want or what new design technique might be the one for you. But please do bring the sorts of materials you like to play with while designing.

• Headphones for your music. People have vastly different taste in music and auditory tolerance.

• Task light: The light in the Juniper House studio is fair but not great. A task light is useful for most people. If you are driving please also bring an extension cord and if a few people have a power strip they can bring, we could use a few of those also.

For Taos:

• casual dress, clothing for winter in Taos (15-50 degrees)

• walking shoes if you’re exploring the town of Taos or going hiking

• It sometimes snows in Taos in January and you’ll remember that the surfaces at MDL are uneven and sometimes slippery. Bring good shoes for this environment. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using trekking poles or a cane for navigating these rocky sidewalks.

• a small flashlight or headlamp. MDL is quite dark at night even with their motion sensor lighting. In the winter, a flashlight is very useful for finding your room after dinner.

PRICING

Price is based on the housing you choose. There are four options. For details on the rooms, visit Mabel Dodge Luhan’s website here: http://mabeldodgeluhan.com/accommodations/rooms/. Please note that the housing rates on their website are not the ones for us as we have additional fees for the conference and food. Those are the rates if you are extending your stay. These rates are the same as they were last year.

Prices below are all inclusive for 6 nights, 7 days. This includes your housing, taxes, the included meals, the workshop fee, plus all handouts and workshop extras.

Historic House Rates

Private room: $2,550
Shared room: $2,250 (shared with another workshop participant)

Juniper House Rates

Private room: $2,350
Shared room: $2,100 (shared with another workshop participant)

Companions: You may bring a significant other to this retreat. Your room will be billed at the private room rate and a fee of $600 which covers the double occupancy and extra meals that MDL charges me. For example, if you want to stay in the Historic House, you’d register for a private room for you and your companion. The total amount paid would be the private room fee of $2,550 + $600 = $3,150. Companions are welcome at all meals and are free the rest of the time to enjoy Northern New Mexico.

Taos County Residents: MDL has a special rate commuter for residents of Taos County only. You must be a resident of Taos County and want to stay at home to take advantage of this. Please contact Rebecca at hello@rebeccamezoff.com for your rates. This rate includes all meals and teaching and excludes housing.

Payment: I’ll send a PayPal invoice for $300 shortly after you register. Full payment for the retreat will be due November 21st.

I will contact you if I don’t receive your full payment by 11/21/25. If I don’t hear from you by 11/24/25, your spot will go to the first person on the waiting list.

CANCELLATION TERMS

The $300 deposit is non-refundable. I will refund your remaining payment until December 8, 2025. After that date, nothing is refundable unless I can find someone to fill your spot in which case, I’ll send you a refund minus the $300 deposit.

What to do next: Registration

Please fill out the registration form below. Feel free to email me with any details or changes at any time.

IMPORTANT DATES

Nov 21, 2025: Remaining payment is due (minus the deposit)
Dec 8, 2025: Last day for a refund. After this point, I’ll give a refund IF I can fill your spot minus a processing fee of $300 (your deposit).
Dec 14, 2025: Last day to extend your stay at MDL. If you want to come early or stay later, you need to call MDL and make that accommodation. Just let them know you’re in my retreat and what room you’re in. 575-751-9686
January 15, 2026: Check-in after 3 pm, dinner with the group at 6:30 pm
January 15-21, 2026: See you in Taos!

Registration Form for 2026 January retreat

Thank you for registering! Rebecca will email you within 24 hours to confirm your spot in the retreat. She will also send you a PayPal invoice for the $300 deposit due upon receipt. The remainder of the payment will be due November 21, 2025.

I’m looking forward to another year with a great group of people. Feel free to email me at any time with questions. hello@rebeccamezoff.com

To see full photos in the gallery below, click on one, hover for captions, arrows to move through it.

I can’t wait to spend another week weaving with all of you. See you in Taos!