Summary

This Soul Painting Retreat week at Donndorf Monastery is more than just a creative break—it is a consciously chosen space where you can detach yourself from everyday life and reconnect with your own creative power. In the special atmosphere of the former Cistercian convent, you will immerse yourself deeply in your painting – supported by a small, mindful group and personally accompanied by Clara Morgenthau. Clara has been leading Soul Painting Live Retreats in Germany and abroad since 2016. The program for this week has been developed and refined over many years and has proven its depth. More than 500 people have already taken part in her retreats and workshops. Many report that they have not only grown artistically, but have also become clearer, braver, and freer inside. Just last year, one participant said that Soul Painting had brought about a noticeable and lasting positive change in her life.

Clara's work has been featured twice in the Mindstyle magazine "Happinez" at the suggestion of the Retreat Urlaub team. The editorial team even chose one of her paintings for an anniversary issue. In 2022, her book "Soul Painting" was published by emf-Verlag in Munich – another expression of her well-founded artistic and methodological work.

Soul painting does not mean following a fixed pattern or working through techniques. It is a living process in which you discover yourself in color – playfully, exploratively, experimentally, and at the same time clearly guided. Through finely tuned impulses, rituals, relaxation exercises, and individual guidance, a space is created in which images that truly feel like you can grow.

Optional morning meditations and gentle yoga sessions frame the day, allowing body, mind, and creative energy to come into harmony. This retreat is for you if you feel that there is more waiting inside you—more expression, more depth, more vibrant color.

This space will open again in May 2026 – and it is the first retreat of its kind this year. The number of participants is deliberately limited to ensure genuine support, personal attention, and a protected atmosphere. Special offer until March 31, 2026: €797. After that, the regular price of €847 applies.

If you feel that this May could be your moment, please send a non-binding booking request now via Retreat Vacation by clicking on the "BOOK" button. You will then receive all the detailed information by email – calmly, transparently, and without obligation.

Sometimes a new phase doesn't begin with a big step. But with a clear inner yes. And that's exactly where this yes can begin.

The retreat at a glance

The most important facts in a nutshell:

Categories: Monastery Retreats, Consciousness, soul, senses & spirit, Painting, Detox Retreats, Creative Retreats
Date: 2026-05-22 - 2026-05-29
Language(s): German
Level: Advanced, Beginner, Expert
Group Size: 12
Place: Kloster Donndorf, Germany
Accommodation: not included
Catering: No meals
Types of food: Vegetarian
Services: Painting with your soul (optional meditation and yoga every day), live exercises to awaken intuition/creativity, creative activities (painting, monoprinting, collage, hand lettering, sketching exercises, art journaling)

Materials such as paints, standard decorative paper, and sketch paper, shared use of brushes, stencils, and stamps. You are welcome to bring your own materials, but this is not required. More detailed information on what you may bring will be provided after you submit your booking request.

Yoga and meditation

Accommodation

The accommodation at Donndorf Monastery is deliberately simple, clear, and soothing—and that is precisely where its power lies. The lovingly renovated rooms combine monastic tranquility with modern comfort, creating a protected retreat where you can truly find yourself after intense creative processes.

The thick historic walls carry a special silence within them. Many participants report that this atmosphere alone slows them down and softens them. Between old stone arches, green courtyards, and sweeping views of the landscape, a feeling of security and expansiveness arises. You live directly on the grounds—no commuting, no "back to everyday life." Everything is close together: studio, dining room, garden, your room. This keeps the creative process alive and allows it to unfold organically over the course of the days. Meals are freshly prepared and help you to find physical balance as well. Time for walking, reading, writing, or simply being is planned in, as are communal moments in an inspiring group.

This retreat is a conscious decision for quality, depth, and space. The number of rooms is limited—those who register early not only secure their creative space but also their preferred room category.

Catering

During this retreat week, you will be well looked after – so that your energy flows into your creative process rather than into organizing. The meals at Donndorf Monastery are freshly prepared with care. They are balanced, wholesome, and help you to get through intensive days of painting with inner clarity and physical stability. Mealtimes together are more than just breaks. They are moments of exchange, laughter, and pause. Here, impressions can sink in, insights linger, and new impulses arise. The meals are deliberately designed to nourish without weighing you down – so that you feel alert, present, and inspired. Special dietary requirements can be accommodated upon registration. Note:
The costs for accommodation and full board are paid separately directly to Donndorf Monastery. You will receive all details on prices and options after your non-binding booking request (after clicking on "BOOK"). This creates a clear structure for you: you invest in your creative support – and enjoy lovingly organized all-round care on site.

sequence

This retreat week follows a deliberately designed rhythm of creative immersion, shared experiences, and personal retreat times. You will be clearly guided—while remaining free to work at your own pace. The days begin with an optional silent morning meditation or gentle yoga session. This creates an alert, centered start to the day. We then immerse ourselves in longer studio sessions, during which you are guided step by step through your own artistic process with targeted impulses, demonstrations, and individual support. Soul painting here means experimenting, layering, discarding, rediscovering, and allowing yourself to be surprised. There are clear artistic suggestions—and at the same time, enough space for your own theme, your images, and your development.

Between the creative sessions, there is time for walks in nature, conversations in the courtyard, silence, or retreat. In the evening, we round off the day with a joint reflection or meditation, if desired, so that what we have experienced can settle and be integrated. You don't need any previous knowledge—just the willingness to get involved. Everything else will emerge in the process.

The group is deliberately kept small to allow for genuine guidance, individual support, and a trusting atmosphere. This is exactly what makes this week so intense – and exactly why places are limited.

If your soul is telling you that now is the right moment for you, then please submit a non-binding booking request (by clicking on "BOOK"). This week can be a turning point – artistically and personally.

Arrival

Travel to the retreat is not included in the price and must be arranged independently. However, Donndorf Monastery is easily accessible by car or train.

You can easily drive right up to the monastery grounds; parking is available on site. If you prefer to travel by train, you can use the nearest train stations and continue your journey by taxi or carpool.

After registering, you will receive a detailed information email with all relevant travel options, addresses, recommendations, and—if desired—the opportunity to connect with other participants for carpooling. This way, the retreat often begins on the way there.

Consciously choosing your own travel arrangements allows you maximum flexibility in your time planning—whether you want to arrive early, explore the region, or customize your departure. We clarify all organizational details transparently in advance so that you can focus on what's important even before you arrive: your creative week in May 2026.

Kloster 6, 06571 Kloster Donndorf, Thüringen, Germany