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The Living Studio Series 

For women artists and creatives who want to develop a contemplative creative practice that brings greater depth to their work.

Meaningful art begins long before you start creating. By cultivating a deeper relationship with observation, place, and your own process, you'll create work that is more personal, authentic, and alive.

course for women artists
course for content creators
women artists
women artists

Deepening Your Creative Practice

For many women artists and creators, there comes a point when what matters most is creating work that means something.

You begin to long for work that feels more honest. More personal. More alive. You find yourself asking deeper questions, not just how do I create this, but what am I really trying to say? What am I noticing? What deserves my attention? How do I create work that people genuinely trust and connect with?

The Living Studio is a four-month online contemplative journey for artists, writers, photographers, and content creators who want to deepen both their creative practice and the voice behind their work.

Together, we'll cultivate the habits that nourish meaningful work. You'll develop a contemplative creative practice through nature based observation, field journaling, sketching, reflective writing, creative experiments, and thoughtful conversation. Along the way, you'll begin to recognize the themes, questions, and stories that naturally emerge through your work.

Rather than focusing on technique, productivity, or creating more content, we'll explore how your way of seeing shapes everything you make. You'll discover that meaningful work begins with meaningful attention, and that the depth of your creative practice is reflected in the depth of what you create.

As your practice deepens, so will your creative voice. Whether you paint, write, photograph, design, or create online, you'll develop a voice that feels unmistakably your own, one that people trust because it grows from genuine observation, lived experience, and a deeper relationship with yourself and the world around you.

Throughout the course, you'll create a body of work that reflects not only your creative process but your evolving relationship with yourself, your creativity, and the landscape that inspires you.

This is a place for artists and creators who want to cultivate a more meaningful creative practice, develop a trusted and authentic voice, and create work that feels deeply rooted in who they are becoming.

Open to beginning and established artists and creators.

4 Month Online Studio

Month One — Learning to See

Slow observation.
Attention.
Beauty.
Field notes.
Sketchbook.
Looking beyond first impressions.

Month Two — Following the Thread

Themes.
Symbols.
What keeps returning.
Personal iconography.
Finding a new visual language.

Month Three — Going Deeper

Risk.
Experimentation.
Letting go of outcomes.
Creative courage.
Working beyond perfection.

Month Four — A Body of Work

Series.
Artist identity.
Creative rituals.
Living as an artist.
Building a sustainable practice.

art class for women

Dates

  • Starts September 2026 

  • North America​ - Evening Class

    • Wednesday, September 16, 2026

    • Wednesday, October 21, 2026

    • Wednesday, November 18, 2026

    • Wednesday, December 16, 2026

  • Times 

    • PST: Wednesdays, 5:00–7:00 pm

    • EST: Wednesdays, 8:00–10:00 pm

  • Australia & New Zealand - Morning/Afternoon Class

    • Thursday, September 17, 2026

    • Thursday, October 22, 2026

    • Thursday, November 19, 2026

    • Thursday, December 17, 2026

  • Times 

    • Australia: 10:00 am–12:00 pm

    • New Zealand: 12:00–2:00 pm

  • $340.00 CAD

  • Total Class Hours: 8

  • Seats: 8

Cost

Facilitator

Rachel Schmidt is an artist, award-winning documentary filmmaker, social worker, certified Psychosynthesis practitioner, and contemplative arts teacher. Her award-winning documentary Defensora has been featured by Amnesty International and is used in law schools, universities, and educational settings across Canada and the United States. For more than 30 years, she has explored the relationship between creativity, psychology, and the natural world, and has guided hundreds of women through contemplative practices that foster creativity, resilience, and meaningful change. She believes that an authentic creative voice emerges from cultivating the inner life as much as developing artistic skill.

From her forest studio in British Columbia, Canada, Rachel guides women in deepening both the way they see and the way they create. Through contemplative art, nature-based observation, reflective practice, and meaningful conversation, she helps women cultivate a creative practice rooted in presence, authenticity, and a deeper relationship with themselves, their work, and the living world.

Rachel Schmidt, contemplative arts teacher

Rachel Schmidt, BSW, PLC

Self Portrait, Ecological Kinship Series

Reviews

Kind words from women  

Rachel has created something truly unique. Rather than focusing on technique or offering quick fixes, she invites you into a creative practice of listening, to yourself, to nature, and to what is quietly calling you forward. Through The Living Studio, you'll learn to cultivate the habits of observation, reflection, and presence that give rise to meaningful work and an authentic creative voice. If you're longing to create with greater depth, clarity, and purpose, or simply seeking a place to slow down, breathe, and reconnect with your creativity, this is a beautiful gift to yourself.

Sarah, 52

Rachel is an exceptional facilitator...warm, compassionate, and deeply attuned to the people she works with. She creates a space where everyone feels safe, seen, and genuinely valued. This is the kind of thoughtful care and presence our world needs more of. If you're considering joining one of her women's series, don't hesitate, you won't regret it.

Mel, 47

What makes this course so special is the pace. There was no pressure to have the answers or to become someone new. Instead, Rachel gently helped us slow down, listen deeply, and notice what was already trying to emerge within us. The combination of nature, creativity, and reflection created profound shifts in my work that I never expected.
Rachel has a rare gift for listening beneath the words. She can gently reframe and distill what you're trying to express into something deeply heartfelt and meaningful, helping you feel truly heard, understood, and able to see your situation with fresh perspective. Her insights create the clarity needed for lasting, meaningful change.

Fiona, 63

Lola, 58

Visit Women's Gallery

Land & Body course

What happens when we slow down enough to listen to the land and our own bodies? This gallery showcases the creative artifacts and inner expressions from women who chose to step away from their daily roles to meet themselves at a more elemental level.

Through nature-based mindfulness and quiet, contemplative practice, they bypassed the busy analysis of everyday life and allowed a deeper intelligence to surface. What you will see on the next page are the tangible traces of their four-month journeys — artistic reflections of women learning to experience themselves not just as onlookers, but as a rooted part of the living world. Click below to explore their shared stories of land, self, and belonging.

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