Mother's Creative Retreat
Matrescence supported by Earth
Hand-built clay. Sculpting with Earth. Jewellery Making. Yoga. Qi Gong. Breathwork. Somatic Movement. Sound & Voice Therapy. Foraging Walk.
10-13 Sept 2026 PRAKTYKA in North Devon
Our Retreat for Mothers is an invitation to join a community of women, together drawing wisdom from nature. Created by friends – Ania & Karolina, who both unexpectedly became mothers at the same time and supported each other along the process of physical, psychological and emotional changes.
We want to share with you the creative tools, connecting us to the natural cycles of growth, introspection and flourishing of Earth. Through gentle yoga, sound therapy, hand-built clay pottery, nature-inspired jewellery making, as well as Earth sculpting, we will be shedding layers and celebrating creative growth.
We invite all mothers to join us, regardless of the stage of motherhood they are in — new mothers, mothers of older children, and grandmothers alike. This retreat is a space to gather, create, and be supported within a shared experience of motherhood.
About the retreat
Set in the peaceful rural surroundings of Praktyka, on the wild North Devon coast, this workshop is carefully curated to allow for a 4 day process of growth in nature. The schedule of creative workshops will take you on an introspective journey, while connecting with each other, sharing experiences and most of all flourishing with our communal maternal inner wisdom.
The accommodation at Praktyka is beautifully designed — a geodesic dome, a rustic barn, or a minimalist cabin, all set within the wild gardens and meadows of North Devon. In addition to the scheduled activities, there will be time to enjoy this special setting, relax outdoors, immerse yourself in a sauna and a cold-water plunge.
Schedule Overview
Thursday
12:00 — Arrival & unpack
13:00–14:00 — Lunch
14:30–16:00 — Opening Circle: Breath, Movement & Intention,
16:00–16:30 — Matrescence supported by Earth – process introduction
16:30–18:00 — Write, sketch and relax (Sauna & Cold Plunge available)
18:00–19:00 — Dinner
19:30–21:00 — Fire, drumming, singing, dancing, integration
Friday
07:30–08:30 — Yoga & Qi Gong
08:45–09:45 — Breakfast
10:00–14:00 — Foraging walk to the coast with a picnic Lunch
14:30–17:30 — Hand-built Clay workshop
18:00–19:00 — Dinner
19:30 — 21:00 – Breathwork & Sound bath
Saturday
07:30–08:30 — Yoga & Qi Gong
08:45–09:45 — Breakfast
10:00–13:30 — Sculpting with Earth workshop
13:30–14:30 — Lunch
15:00–16:30 — Yoga Nidra & Sound Bath
16:30- 18:00 – Relax, reflect (Sauna & Cold Plunge available)
18:00–19:00 — Dinner
19:00 – 21:00 — Fire & closing circle
Sunday
07:30–08:30 — Yoga & Qi Gong
08:45–09:45 — Breakfast
10:00–13:00— Jewellery-making workshop
13:00–14:00 — Lunch together & goodbyes
14:00 — Check out
We aim to follow the schedule, but it may be adapted as needed.
Workshops & Facilitators
Creative Earth Workshops with Ania Chorzepa
We begin by exploring the unique coastal landscape surrounding Praktyka and reconnecting with Mother Earth. Guided by this place and our intuition, we will gather local clay, natural pigments, and wild plants, which will become collaborators in the creations emerging through our hands.
Using hand-built clay pottery methods, we will give form to the many phases of matrescence, the unfolding journey of becoming and being a mother, and gently witness how this threshold has transformed us. In the quiet language of clay, creation becomes a vessel for emotional processing. As we sculpt, pinch, and carve layers of clay, make imprints with foraged plants, and paint with natural pigments, we move inward and toward one another, listening deeply and learning from our shared maternal stories. Each participant will create two clay pottery pieces during the workshop, which can be taken home.
In the next workshop session, we will work collectively to create a large earth sculpture using ancient mud-building techniques. Working with earth and straw invites full bodily immersion. From mixing these materials with our feet in a shared dance ritual to shaping them with our hands, we will explore different states of earth and how they mirror our own maternal cycles. The skills learned will be transferable across scales, from future applications in home and garden settings to sculptural artworks.
About Ania (Earth Architect & Craftswoman):
Ania Chorzepa is an earth architect and craftswoman with a deep focus on natural materials, particularly earth and fibres. Originally from Poland, she began her architectural career in England, where she studied and worked. Driven by a strong desire to align her practice with ecological values, she later relocated to Austria to further study and specialise in natural building.
Her practice has grown through hands-on architectural work and building alongside experienced clay craftspeople, as well as through regular participation in natural building and craft workshops. Working with local and consciously foraged materials is central to her approach, explored across different scales, from building and sculpting with excavated earth and natural pigments to making pottery with wild clay and weaving with foraged fibres.
Passionate about sharing this knowledge, Ania has been teaching across Europe and Asia, inviting others into processes of listening to materials and place. Now based in Germany and balancing her work with motherhood, her practice remains in constant dialogue with her surroundings, moving between design, construction, material research, and education for both adults and children. She believes that understanding the materials that surround us is essential to living with greater care, consciousness, and health. Ania is a founder of Kompost Hub, a studio devoted to learning from and connecting more deeply with natural materials.
Yoga, Breath, Voice & Sound with Karolina Kozera
Each morning begins with a yoga practice created especially for mothers, offering a soft landing into the body and a pause from daily demands. Through a nourishing blend of Hatha Flow, Qi Gong and somatic movement, we support rest, grounding and renewal for the overstimulated nervous system. Guided by breath and mindful motion, you’ll explore releasing tension, moving at your own pace, and reconnecting with inner spaciousness, balance and vitality.
As your hands later meet the clay and earth in the creative workshops, this morning practice will have already opened the body and heart to receive — preparing you to shape, feel, and express with greater presence.
Afternoons and evenings unfold as spaces for rest, integration, and shared connection through sound, voice, and ritual. Through Yoga Nidra and sound journeys with gongs, bowls, chimes, and other instruments, we support deep relaxation, nervous system regulation, and a deepening sense of inner listening.
As we gather around the fire, we explore the voice through gentle chanting, humming, singing, drumming, and movement—inviting presence, play, and embodied expression. When many people sound together with intention, harmonics overlap and amplify. Individual experience gently weaves into collective rhythm, and sound becomes an offering—not only for ourselves, but for one another, and for the Earth.
The Earth is a resonant body. It is not passive; it listens and responds. Like a living field with its own pulse and heartbeat, it meets coherent sound with coherence of its own. In this way, our shared vibration nurtures emotional balance, deepens a sense of belonging within sisterhood and motherhood, and reconnects us to the greater body we are part of.
About Karolina (Yoga Teacher & Sound Therapist):
Karolina is a yoga teacher and sound practitioner dedicated to holistic wellbeing through movement, breath, and vibration. Her background in socio-cultural animation and work within arts and community development in Poland shaped a long-standing interest in collective experiences and the power of shared spaces.
After relocating to England, Karolina deepened her yoga practice within the Indian community in Leicester, where pranayama became central to her personal and teaching path. She later trained in India at Yoga Vidya Gurukul School, grounding her work in traditional hatha yoga, yoga therapy, and yoga nidra. Further studies in women’s wellness, mystical vinyasa, yin yoga, and Daoist-inspired practices expanded her integrative and embodied approach.
Sound has been a parallel thread throughout Karolina’s life, evolving from early musical training into professional sound therapy, gong work, and voice practices, including mantra, vocal toning, and vocal release to support relaxation, presence, and self-awareness. With a decade of teaching yoga and many more years exploring sound, becoming a mother in her forties transformed her connection to the restorative and nurturing aspects of these practices, and revealed even more how essential they are for maintaining balance, presence, self-care, and emotional release. She now shares this experience to support mothers of all stages in reconnecting with their bodies, navigating life’s changes, and discovering these tools for wellbeing.
Jewellery-making with Ania Wawrzkowicz
On the last day of our retreat you will experience the ancient art of lost wax carving, a practice that has been used for thousands of years to create jewellery.
You will carve rings using specialist wax and hand tools, letting your creativity develop as you explore texture and form. The process is relaxing and you will find yourself in a meditative state of creative flow. This sculptural, tactile method turns simple wax into beautiful, organic shapes and treasured pieces of jewellery, which will be cast in silver and sent to you after the retreat.
About Ania (Artist, Jeweller and Co-founder of Praktyka):
Ania’s jewellery comes from her observations of the natural world, from the largest expanses down to the smallest particle. Her work is sculptural, given depth by subtle characteristics such as detailed surface textures, intricate shapes or uneven sculptural qualities. Trained in fine art, her practice is informed by contemporary art as well as the surrounding landscape. Drawing inspiration from the North Devon rocks formations and geological topographies, Ania’s hand crafted pieces interpret and reimagine the effortless beauty of nature’s structures, forms and curves, rendering them into tangible, wearable objects.
Ania is drawn to the meditative process of jewellery making. Work emerges from a contemplative space and making each piece is a process of discovery, with each shape influencing the next. This also brings a sense of balance and sophistication to Ania’s work; the delicacy of the forms and the attention to detail.
Ania uses traditional carving and casting techniques in combination with in place casting of precious stones. Each piece is one of a kind and has the unique tactile quality of a handmade object.
She has studied at the London College of Communication, the University of the Arts London as well as Camberwell College of Art.
Accommodation & Prices:
We will be a small group of mothers.
All guests will be staying at Praktyka across their three spaces the barn, the dome and the cabin.
The Dome
£665 per person – 4 spaces available (Early Bird price until the 12th of April)
The giant dome provides warmth and luxurious accommodation all year round. The panoramic views are best enjoyed from the sofa with the fire crackling in the wood burner.
Each piece of furniture has been hand picked by Ania, a range of natural materials, pre-loved pieces and design classics.
The wooden pagoda next to the dome provides all the key facilities you need. The roof provides shelter for an outside dining area, inside is a fully equipped kitchen with a shower cubicle tucked behind.
This spectacular geodesic dome has a panoramic view stretching out over the hills to Exmoor. It comes with a wood burner and electric heating if needed. The dome will be set up ‘dorm style’ with four single beds.
The Barn
£695 per person – 4 spaces available (Early Bird price until the 12th of April)
The barn sits in a peaceful corner of the gardens next to spectacular beech tree. The doors of the barn open onto a large open plan kitchen and living room. Comfy sofa’s and armchairs are perfect for curling up with a book in front of the fire. The hammock chair tends to be a favourite spot.
The kitchen is fully equipped for comfort with oven, dishwasher, fridge and induction hob. The bathroom has a large walk in shower, toilet and sink. The barn has underfloor heating and Danish wood burner to keep you warm and cosy all year round.
The barn is a beautifully considered holiday cottage with two twin bedrooms, bathroom and a large open plan living room.
Each bedroom will be setup with two single beds.
The Cabin
£925 solo or £715 two friends sharing (Early Bird price until the 12th of April)
The cabin is an invitation to tune into the rituals of daily life, cooking, sleeping, bathing, showering are all connected to the outdoors.
A simple square room split by a diagonal curtain with bedroom on one side, living room on the other. The curtain is pulled across to create seclusion for the bedroom. The fully equipped kitchenette contains everything you need for a mini break retreat.
The cabin sits in a secret garden, tucked away behind a thick Devon hedge next to a crumbling stone barn.
Our cabin was designed by award winning architects Rural Office to inspire calm and creativity. It has one large kingsize bed.
Please browse the pages on Praktyka’s website for more pictures and information and don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions. Click the button below.
What will the food be like?
A delicious, organic, plant-based vegetarian menu, rich in flavour and nourishment.
Meals will include vibrant, nutrient-dense salads, roasted seasonal root vegetables, warming miso soups, and freshly baked treats — thoughtfully prepared to support energy, grounding, and enjoyment throughout the retreat.
We are going to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
What’s Included:
- 3 nights accommodation at Praktyka, set in the wild gardens and meadows of North Devon
All nourishing plant-based meals, snacks, teas and coffee throughout the retreat
Daily morning yoga, blending Hatha Flow, Qi Gong and somatic movement
Guided breath, voice and sound practices, including sound baths, Yoga Nidra and fire gatherings
Creative earth workshops, including hand-built clay pottery, sculpting with earth with clay and straw
Jewellery-making workshop using the ancient lost-wax carving technique (silver piece cast and sent to you after the retreat)
Walk foraging journey to the North Devon coast, including a packed lunch
All art and workshop materials provided
Free time to enjoy the sauna and cold-water plunge
Space for rest, reflection, connection and shared experience.
*please note sauna and cold plunge has to be booked separately
What to Bring:
A yoga mat
Comfortable clothing for yoga and movement practices
Sketchbook for writing and drawing, pencils, pens etc
Warm, cozy layers for relaxation, sound journeys, and evening fire gatherings
Clothes you don’t mind getting dirty for clay and earth workshops
Comfortable walking shoes suitable for coastal paths
Weather-appropriate clothing (layers, waterproofs, sun protection)
Swimwear and a towel for sauna, cold plunge, and sea dips
A small rucksack for the coastal walk
Personal medication or essentials
Optional: a drum, shaker, or small musical instrument you enjoy and would like to share during the fire circle.
Everything else — including art materials, meals, and shared equipment — is provided.
Location & Transport
Praktyka is located in a remote part of the world that is simplest to reach by car.
You are responsible for arranging your own travel to and from Praktyka.
We are a 20-minute walk from Buckland Brewer, which has a pub, a small shop, and an irregular bus service.
Train: catch a train to Exeter St Davids and then a bus to Great Torrington. We can then collect you from there for the short drive. It’s a 15-minute drive to our nearest beaches at Bucks Mills, Peppercombe, or Westward Ho!.
Booking information
To reserve your spot and for any enquires email us here motherscreativeretreat@gmail.com
We will send you a booking form along with our terms and conditions and cancellation policy.
A £300 non-refundable deposit is required to confirm your place (it is only refundable if we cancel the retreat).
Following a deposit payment, we can arrange a payment plan for the remaining balance.
We can’t wait to gather together and create with you!
Ania and Karolina
Photo credits:
Images used on this page courtesy of Praktyka Project; Ania Wawrzkowicz; Mariusz Przeslica, Ayesha Jones.