New Mexico 2023 Retreat in Taos

Dates: January 19-25, 2023
Location: Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Taos, New Mexico

11/4/2022: This retreat is now full but it is not uncommon for one or two people to have to cancel at any time including at the last minute. If you’d like to be on the waiting list, please fill out the registration form on this page and Rebecca will let you know what place you are in line. As of today there isn’t anyone on the wait list!

There is a gallery of images at the end of the page if you want to see more of what it is like at this very special place. There are also links to past retreat information on THIS page of my website. I held a Taos retreat in 2019, 2020, and 2022.

Read through the whole page, but when you need to find something quickly, the links directly below will take you to that part of the page.

The Masterclass
Mabel Dodge Luhan House
Housing Choices
Meals
What to Bring
Pricing
How to get to Taos
Cancellation Terms
Covid Information
What to do Next (includes important dates)
Registration Form
Gallery of Taos Retreat Images

This retreat is designed to help you further your personal goals around tapestry weaving, design, and color use. We’ll have group meetings several days to discuss your questions along with common issues that arise when designing for tapestry. We’ll play with ideas around where to get ideas for design, how to simplify those ideas to make the weave-able in tapestry, and how best to realize your goals in this medium. I’ll bring images from tapestry weavers around the world working in various ways and talk about color and design concepts you might use in your own weaving.

In this retreat we will not all be doing the same exercises. Everyone will be working on what interests them and if you are not sure yet what interests you, I’ll help you find a direction. I will have some exercises in color and design to get you started if you feel stuck and over the course of the week you’ll find your footing and be ready to continue your work when you return home.

• 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?

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

I will have exercises in color and design available for anyone who just feels stuck with where to start. Sometimes a prompt of some kind can really get your ideas flowing when the instruction “come with ideas” makes you freeze. A prompt or exercise might take you a half a day to work through by which time your ideas are flowing again or you might spend the whole week working through a series of such prompts and find at the end you have a lovely bank of technique, color, and design examples to work from once you get home.

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.

Private consultation: In 2020 and 2022 we had time for private chats (just me and you) about whatever you wanted to talk about. Most of the participants brought questions or design ideas to knock around. Some of them wanted to talk about favorite tapestry artists or ask about potential avenues for further learning and practice. 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.

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.

A SCHEDULE OF SORTS…

Thursday, Jan 19

3 pm: Arrival and check-in
3-6pm: unload your weaving equipment at Juniper House and settle into your room
6:30 pm: Dinner in the main house with introductions and more information from Rebecca

Friday, Jan 20

Breakfast at whatever time MDL tells us (usually about 8 am)
9: Gather as a group in the yoga studio to plan out the week and get a little inspiration.
10-12: studio work
12:30-1:30: Lunch at MDL
1:30-5: Open studio or explore the surrounding area.
1-3: Consultation time with Rebecca (optional)
Dinner on your own

Saturday, Sunday, Monday general schedule:

Breakfast at whatever time MDL tells us (usually about 8 am)
9-12: studio work (we will probably have another group meeting on one or two of these days to talk about what we’re learning and any questions everyone wants to discuss together—those meetings are optional of course and I’ll let you know the day before what we’re talking about)
12:30-1:30: Lunch at MDL
1:30-5: Open studio or explore the surrounding area.
1:30-3:30: Consultation time with Rebecca (optional)
Dinner on your own

Tuesday, Jan 24

General schedule as above
6:30 pm: Dinner with the group

Wednesday, Jan 25

Our last breakfast together, meet for a final chat in Juniper house, finish packing up the studio, say goodbye, and head home until next year. Check out of your hotel room by 10:30 am.

Studio time discussions: I’ll pull together slides of tapestries and other resources to talk about based on your questions and thoughts during the retreat. These will likely happen at 9 am in the yoga studio, but I’ll let you know if that changes. I anticipate several of these during the week. Of course we’ll have lots of informal discussion as we work together.

The studio in Juniper House is always available to you. You’ll have a key to get in. Please make sure the door is locked if you’re the last one out.

MDL is a warm and inviting place. In January there will be a fire in the lounge (unless it is unusually warm!). If you choose a room with a fireplace, you can build a fire in your room if you wish. You can take a look at the rooms on the MDL website here: http://mabeldodgeluhan.com/. Pricing is based on housing in 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! (I’m not above using trekking poles when it is slippery!)

As you can see from the photos, we did get snow one year while there. Snow in northern New Mexico tends to fall, accumulate a little, and melt by noon. It is rare to get a snow event that impedes the roads significantly.

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. Please embrace this retreat as a time to get off your devices and into the experience of weaving in a beautiful setting. There is cell service and MDL House is within walking distance of downtown Taos.

Many rooms have two beds. Some are double/queen plus a twin, some are two twins.

Please note that the entrance to the Solarium is a ladder (see image in gallery below). MDL staff can help you bring a suitcase up there, but you can’t even classify it as stairs. For the adventurous, it is an amazing room (see images in the gallery). Tony’s room has the best bathroom in the whole place, the D.H. Lawrence bathroom, but it is not quite directly connected to the room (same stairway). It also has a huge porch. The rest of the rooms are a little more removed from the main house and are all very quiet and pretty standard in terms of bedroom/bathroom set-up.

Extending your stay: MDL holds all the rooms from bed and breakfast registrations until a month before our retreat (until December 19, 2022). 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. If you’d like to stay in the same room, make sure to tell them which room you’re assigned to. MDL phone: 575-751-9686

SPOUSES

You may bring a spouse with you if they are able to entertain themselves while you’re at the workshop. See additional rates under Pricing below. They are welcome at all meals.

The food at MDL is absolutely excellent. The chef is masterful and I think you’ll be pleased by everything on offer. They can accommodate most dietary issues, but it is important that you let me know in the registration form if you need dietary accommodations.

Breakfast and lunch: These meals are provided in the MDL dining room each day of our stay ending with breakfast on the last day. MDL will give us a time they’d like us to come for breakfast and it is helpful if you can try to come during that half hour. They will potentially be feeding a few other B&B guests and when the guests have eaten, the staff gets what is left. We will be the only people at lunch each day.

Dinner: We will have dinner together the first night to talk about what we’re going to do during our week together. We’ll have dinner together the last night to say farewell. The other four 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.

It has become a tradition to bring some wine to share during the first and last night dinners. If you are a wine drinker and would like to bring a bottle to share, please do. Please do not feel this contribution is in any way mandatory. I’ll pick up a few local bottles to contribute. I will also bring some non-alcoholic bubbly stuff for those of us (sadly this now includes me for the most part) who aren’t drinking wine.

For the workshop:

• 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 won’t be bringing yarn to this retreat, so bring what you need!

• 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.

• A few ideas about direction of your work for the week. If you’re inspired by particular images, please make sure you have those downloaded on your device or printed out. There is no wifi in the workshop room and there is not a printer at MDL.

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

• Task light: The light in the Juniper House studio is fair but not great. Light in the yoga studio is poor. 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 (30-60 degrees F)

• walking shoes if you’re exploring the town of Taos or going hiking on the gorge or along the Rio Grande. Snow gear if you’re going to the Taos Ski Valley.

• It sometimes snows in Taos in January and the surfaces at MDL are uneven and sometimes slippery. Bring good shoes for this environment. Taos, NM is a very casual place. Comfortable, practical clothes are fine even at the nicest restaurants.

• Note that snow in New Mexico in January does happen but it most often melts before noon and it is fairly rare to have enough snow to significantly impact the roads.

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. MDL is raising their rates in 2023, so you might double check the rates on the website when you call to extend your stay.

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. A shared room indicates a room shared with another workshop participant. Companion fee information is below.

Historic House Rates

Private room: $2500
Shared room: $2200 (with another workshop participant)

Juniper House Rates

Private room: $2300
Shared room: $2050 (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 $500 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 $2500 plus $500 = $3000. Companions are welcome at all meals and are free the rest of the time to enjoy Northern New Mexico.

Deposit: A $300 deposit is needed to hold your spot in the retreat. I’ll send you a PayPal invoice for this after you register. This deposit is refundable minus a $150 processing fee until December 12th and is non-refundable after that.

Final payment: I’ll send you a PayPal invoice for the final payment which is due December 12th. You are welcome to pay via check or credit card.
Rebecca Mezoff Tapestry Studio
PO Box 273131
Fort Collins, CO 80527

I will contact you if I don’t receive your full payment by 12/12/22. If I don’t hear from you by 12/14/22, your spot will go to the first person on the waiting list and none of your deposit is refundable.

New Mexico is a place without a lot of public transportation. You probably won’t find a bus to take you from the airport in Albuquerque (or Santa Fe) to Taos and there are no trains with the exception of the RailRunner between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Most people will rent a car. I have had students share a rental car and I’m happy to provide names of attendees once the retreat fills to anyone interested in sharing.

The other option is to take a shuttle. Click HERE for a PDF with potential shuttle services.

Keep in mind that there are four nights when there will not be dinner provided at the hotel. You’ll need to find food elsewhere in town. You can arrange to ride with other students or you can walk to nearby restaurants, but in January it will be dark and there aren’t a lot of streetlights so bring a flashlight and please walk with someone else. If you’re worried about this, please let Rebecca know and she’ll make sure you feel safe and fed! We are having dinner together at MDL the first night and after that you’ll have a better idea of where everything is located.

I will refund your payments until December 12, 2022 minus the $150 processing fee. 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 a $150 “I have to spend a lot of time filling your spot” fee.

I will make refund exceptions for COVID positivity on a case by case basis because no one wants you to come if you have it!

The most important thing to remember here beyond protecting each other from this virus is that no one wants their vacation ruined! We have to take care of each other in this regard. Though COVID is getting better, it is still a problem. To attend this retreat you MUST have gotten your initial COVID vaccine. There are no exceptions to this. I have an autoimmune disease and need to protect myself and others in the retreat as much as possible. If you are someone who does not get vaccines, I’d encourage you to take one of my excellent online classes instead.

We will have about 12 participants and spouses are welcome. Often we have 2-4 spouses attending which means our group at meals will likely be between 14 and 17 people.

COVID requirements at this time.

These are subject to change depending on MDL and the State of New Mexico’s requirements in January.

• All attendees, students and spouses, must provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19. I’d love it if you’d also get any boosters recommended by your medical team. I’d heavily stress getting the most recent booster with omicron protection in it. This variant is intensely transmissible.

• Mask requirements will be reviewed as we get closer. I most likely will be wearing a mask indoors except when eating though that depends on COVID numbers in January. It is likely that wearing a mask will be up to the individual, but I may ask everyone to wear them if the numbers are particularly high.

• Handwashing/sanitation: Please take care to wash hands whenever possible, especially if you go into town for meals, etc. Anyone can be a carrier and many vaccinated people do pass the virus to other vaccinated people. As we all know by now, this virus passes easily and vaccinated people are still getting sick.

• A negative COVID test within 72 hours of workshop start. If you are positive, please do not attend and I’ll work with you on a refund for this reason. PLEASE be careful in the weeks leading up to this retreat. Remember that even if you’re not worried about contracting COVID, no one wants their vacation ruined by being sick for weeks.

Please fill out the registration form below. I will send you a PayPal invoice for your $300 deposit within 12-24 hours. You can always email me if you haven’t heard at hello@rebeccamezoff.com.

IMPORTANT DATES
December 12, 2022: Payment in full due via credit card, PayPal, or check. Also the last day for a refund minus the $150 processing fee from your deposit.
December 14, 2022: If I don’t hear from you and don’t get full payment by this date I’ll release your spot to the first person on the waiting list and your deposit is non-refundable in full.
December 19, 2023: Last day to extend your stay at MDL if you want to make sure you’ll get the same room for the extra days. 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 19, 2023: Check-in after 3 pm, dinner provided at 6:30 pm
January 19-25, 2023: See you in Taos!

11/4/22: This retreat is now full but it is not uncommon for one or two people to have to cancel at any point before the retreat starts including sometimes at the last minute. If you’d like to be put on the waiting list, please fill out the form below and Rebecca will let you know what place you are in line. Right now there is no one on the waiting list and there is some chance you could get in.

Please fill out the form below. I will get the information in an email and will get back to you within about a day with information about your deposit and your housing choice. Please contact me at hello@rebeccamezoff.com with any questions. Check your email address carefully as I may not be able to get back to you if it is incorrect!

Thank you for registering!

Rebecca will get back to you as soon as she can but it may take up to 24 hours.

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