Welcome to Art Monastery Hawai’i!

Aloha!

We have big news: the Art Monastery has closed up shop in Vermont and relocated to Hawai’i.

Welcome to Art Monastery Hawai’i!

The Art Monastery is now in residence on a lush permaculture farm nestled in mountains overlooking the sea on the Big Island, Hawai’i. The Hawaiian Islands are the ancestral home of the Kanaka Maoli, indigenous land protectors whose culture and language are a vibrant presence and inspiration. 

We are beside ourselves with gratitude for the opportunity to make art, practice meditation, and respectfully care for this remarkable spot on the planet. 

 (Above: our zendo)

This quiet, rural region sings with deep natural beauty, cultural significance, and sacred sites. The experience of remarkably dark nighttime skies overflowing with stars, the sparkling ocean and slopes of Maui in the distance combined with the knowledge that this island is one of the youngest places on earth (a mere 1.5 million years old!) are deep reminders of our profound rootedness in a living earth.

The vitality here is awe-inspiring! When was the last time you tried a fruit you’ve never tasted before? This rich land provides papaya, passionfruit, guava, avocado, banana, plantain, orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit, dragonfruit, eggfruit, breadfruit, jackfruit, taro, rollinia, monstera deliciosa … and that’s just the beginning of the list.

 (Left to right: lotus, banana flower, passionfruit)

Aside from the abundant food forest, we live together with Jackson chameleons, geckos, two orange cats, and a chorus of contemplative frogs. The flowers here would have impressed Dr Seuss: countless varieties of flowering gingers, night-blooming Cereus and lotus-filled ponds. The air is sweet perfume — it literally smells like flowers all the time.

We could not have dreamed of a better location to live, to engage in spiritual practice, and to make art. We hope you’ll come to visit!

 (Above: female Jackson chameleon)

Thank you Art Monastery Vermont!

As we formally close Art Monastery Vermont, we are so grateful for our time there.

We’re grateful to all the beings who joined us to bask on the banks of the Connecticut River, to meditate on summer grass or winter snow beneath Grandmother Pear, to crash around the barn-turned-movement studio, to share personal check-in around the feast table on the porch, to sing and laugh near the fire circle — such vulnerable, dynamic, intimate magic!

The blessings of these years of awakening, community and creative inspiration will continue to reverberate and shimmer.

We bow deeply in gratitude to the land and give thanks for all the causes and conditions that manifested in such privileged refuge and natural delight. May all beings find such safe, beautiful space to grow their arts and hearts.

Finally, we express special gratitude to Marcella Calabi, steward of the Vermont property and longtime supporter of the Art Monastery. Marcella, your generosity opened so many doors (and windows and dormers) for us — literally! Thank you very much.

 (Above: this could be your art studio)

Come to visit! 

We hope you’ll make the journey to visit us in our new location! Stay tuned for more information on artist residencies and farm internships at Art Monastery Hawai’i. We look forward to welcoming you here.