Kneeling to Drink from the Well
A Silent Retreat

Are you in need of refreshment and renewal?  Take this opportunity to pause and spend some time in quiet reflection and rest, gently guided by an experienced director. In solitude you are invited to see yourself as you are, in this moment.  You may catch glimpses of how you have wanted to be seen; a renewed sense of your unique way of gazing, lovingly, on the world. This is a day to reset your compass, to catch glimpses of the North Star leading toward a new horizon.

You will receive a copy of John’s beautiful book of photography and reflection to be the spiritual companion and guide for this day of stepping back. In this unstructured silent retreat, the morning and afternoon sessions will offer quiet time for solitude and reflection.  You may choose to spend time reflecting on the photographs and guidebook, sitting, walking, and journaling as best suits your needs. The director will be available for guidance and conversation as needed.  At the end of the morning and afternoon all will gather for quiet conversation about what each is experiencing. At mid-day John will offer meditative ways to have lunch together, silently, being attentive to the fragrances, textures, and tastes of our food.  (Full day retreatants only.)  At the end of lunch, we’ll hear the chant of the Great Bell, written by Thich Nat Hanh. (Full day retreatants and afternoon retreatants only.)

John Holliger comes alive walking the Lake Erie shore, slogging through wetlands, learning the habitats of forests in Ohio, the stories the rocks are telling, watching the movement from starry nights to the first light of day.  A graduate of Oberlin College and Yale Divinity School, John is an Episcopal priest who served parishes in Connecticut and Ohio.  Laying down that work at 58, John is a self-taught nature photographer with an animated curiosity for how potters, painters, poets and classic photographers approach their art—always on the creative edge, taking risks, asking “What’s next?”
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​Seasonally Changing Exhibits:

John's exclusive gallery is
the Sunbear Studio
22 West Main Street
Westerville, Ohio 43081
Phone: 614-259-3688

Quiet Days and Workshops - Descriptions

Thematic Fine Art Photographic Exhibits

1.  One on One Mentoring

2. Day trips for 1-3 photographers in Ohio 

3. Old Growth Trees:  Mystics and Poets of the Forest.

4.  While You Were Sleeping, Dreamy Landscape

5. The Four Seasons, metaphors for our lives

6.  Water's Race to the Sea
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7.  Extreme Macro Photography of Seeds 
 

​Additional themes can be created in consultation with the photographer.
These may be booked by emailing John Holliger