ART & AYAHUASCA
An exploration of creativity through painting, art, & beauty
with Zach Otte
April 27 - May 5, 2025
Featuring 5 ayahuasca ceremonies led by Maestro Alberto and the Casa’s medicine team, this unique retreat offers an opportunity to connect with yourself while exploring the relationship between creativity, natural beauty, and sacred ceremony.
Retreat Highlights
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5 ayahuasca ceremonies with Maestro Alberto
9 days/8 nights accommodation at Casa Del Maestro
Painting workshops, classes, & instruction with special guest Zach Otte
Facilitation by our experienced medicine team
Group discussions on how plant medicine works in the context of personal healing & creativity
Ample free time to work on creative projects
Intentional nature walks to inspire creativity, connection, & self-exploration
Body & movement sessions designed to help creative flow
Pre-ceremony guided meditations & post-ceremony integration sessions
Exploring creativity is a perfect complement to the medicine experience.
Together, they generate a synergistic effect, where one informs and enhances the other. On this retreat, get ready to dive into the healing process in a way that is engaging, exploratory, educational—and fun!
Workshop Focus
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The Art & Ayahuasca Retreat offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to delve into the creative process while journeying with plant medicine in a safe, traditional setting. Suitable for beginners & experienced artists, we will come together to make art, explore our inner worlds, & open ourselves to the beauty of nature, as the healing power of ayahuasca guides us.
Led by Zach Otte, painting workshops include a color study, “getting to know the paint", a class on composition & image transfer, as well as sunset studies. With both structured & free time to create, we will incorporate intentional group & solo time in nature to gain inspiration for the artistic process.
Working from your own photos or ones that we provide, participants will be encouraged to explore their art from a variety of perspectives—close-ups, panoramas, from an airplane, on foot, etc. Materials include gouache & watercolor, as well as a variety of markers on paper.
The workshop is designed to help us connect with the beauty that is available in every moment, & learn to harness creativity to open doors within ourselves. Through art & the medicine experience, we will create opportunities to connect more deeply with life itself and with one's purpose.
Meet Your Team
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MAESTRO ALBERTO TORRES DAVILA
Maestro Alberto is a well-known and widely respected curandero (healer) from the Ucayali region of Peru. He began his plant medicine path at the age of 8 under the guidance of his grandfather, who comes from a long line of plant medicine healers. Maestro Alberto has been working with Westerners for over 20 years. He is considered a master of four disciplines of plant medicines: Ayahuasca, Tree Medicines, Sanango, and Tobacco. Read more about Don Alberto.
MAESTRO ELISEO TORRES RODRIGUEZ
Eliseo is Maestro Alberto’s son and has been training under his father since he was 15. He is next in line to carry forward their family’s lineage. He has led plant dietas, supports his father in ceremonies, and has worked for nearly a decade at retreat centers as well as locally. His icaros carry a soothing, powerful essence. He is also the main ayahuasca cook at Casa Del Maestro. More about Eliseo here.
ZACH OTTE
Zach has been drinking plants with and friends with Don Alberto and his family since 2007. He’s worked as an International whitewater and fly fishing guide until 2019, and has been a full-time artist since then. As an artist, he is mostly self-taught and embodies what it means to follow one’s heart with passion and joy. He brings an extensive foundation of plant medicine experience, and his love for the medicine shines through his work.
MATTHEW TOUSSAINT
Matthew is originally from Upstate New York, where he studied Cultural Anthropology. He has been participating in plant medicine ceremonies with Don Alberto since 2008 and has worked professionally with ayahuasca since 2014. Currently working on his first piece of long fiction, Matthew is passionate about uniting the worlds of creative writing and plant medicine. More about Matt’s journey.
ANNA PETROVA
Anna grew up in a small town in northern Russia. She has a Bachelor's in social psychology. For more than 10 years, she has been passionate about practices of gaining self-knowledge, such as yoga, pranayama, meditation, nutrition, and other trainings and techniques that help support the path of self-development. She has been working with ayahuasca since 2012, and for the last several years has professionally supported others in their plant medicine journeys. Read Anna’s full bio here.
✎ RETREAT NOTES
The Art & Ayahuasca Retreat includes everything offered on our normal retreats
See our Retreats Overview page for more information
Some art materials will be provided; participants are welcome to bring their own
Workshop details will be sent to participants two weeks ahead of time
For additional information on the booking process, please see the booking notes section
Inquiries can be sent to: matt@casadelmaestromedicina.com