Natalya Khorover
Plastic Play Date: A Stitching Retreat
Sunday, May 16, 2027, 5:30 pm: Meet & Greet
May 17- 21, 2027
$1,395
Give yourself a week to play with fabric, plastic, thread, and more. In this five-day retreat, we’ll dig into your supply stash and turn the week into one long, unhurried playdate. You’ll move into a meditative rhythm by hand-stitching with like-minded souls and rediscover your love of play.
Natalya, your instructor, will set up various still-life scenes and guide you in making plastic collages of them. You will learn to build them with hand-stitched details, one layer at a time.
You can bring soft, single-use plastic packaging from home, such as shopping bags, wrappers, and the like, or dip into the stash at the Estelle Center. Natalya will provide needles and thread for stitching, and five days’ worth of tips, tricks, and her favorite stitches for making the most of plastic.
You’ll learn to make collages from plastic waste, gain all her knowledge about this free art supply, and embroider with skill and assurance. Natalya will guide, troubleshoot, and cheer you on throughout the entire week.
By the end of the retreat, you’ll have new skills, a body of work, and friends who understand exactly why a week of stitching trash into treasure is the highlight of your year.
Skill Level: All levels welcome.
Learning Objectives
Plastic Play Date: A Stitching Retreat offers a comprehensive learning experience focused on repurposing single-use plastic packages into layered collages. You will learn to:
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Participants will learn to construct a collage using single-use plastic as their primary medium, understanding how to select, prepare, and arrange materials to create visually compelling compositions.
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Attendees will develop proficiency in hand-stitching techniques specifically adapted for single-use plastics, gaining confidence and control over their needlework to build layered textile art.
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Participants will be able to interpret still life compositions, translating three-dimensional forms and textures into two-dimensional stitched artworks.
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By the end of the retreat, participants will possess a comprehensive understanding of the properties and potential of single-use plastics as a no cost and versatile art material.
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Participants will create a defined collection of stitched artworks, showcasing their newly acquired skills and unique artistic vision developed over the course of the retreat.
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Attendees will build meaningful connections with like-minded individuals, fostering a supportive community centered around the shared passion for textile art and sustainable creative practices.
What's Included In The Retreat
Meet and greet with hors d'oeuvres on Sunday, May 16th at 5:30 pm
Five days of instruction--Monday through Friday
Five lunches
Skill Level
All skill levels are welcome.
Retreat Schedule
The daily schedule is subject to change based on many retreat factors.
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Meet & Greet
We kick off our retreat with hors d'oeuvres and an informal gathering to meet the instructor and your fellow participants.
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Monday, 9 am to 4 pm
We start slow. Settle into the studio, meet your fellow stitchers, and get your hands into the plastic stash for the first time. I'll walk you through sourcing and prepping single-use plastic — what to save, how to clean it, how to see the beauty hiding inside a chip bag. We'll set up our first still life and begin composing our first collage bases.
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Tuesday, 9 am to 4 pm
Today is about layering. We'll dive deeper into composition — color, texture, translucency — and I'll show you how to build a collage that has real depth, not just a flat arrangement. You'll finish the day with a fully composed base, glued and ready to stitch.
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Wednesday, 9 am to 4 pm
Now we pick up the needle. I'll teach you my favorite hand embroidery stitches and the best practices for working them into plastic specifically — tension, spacing, and how to avoid tearing. We'll practice on scraps first, then start stitching into our collages. If you feel adventurous today will be the day to play with plastic and the sewing machine.
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Thursday, 9 am to 4 pm
We bring it all together. Final stitches, final details, and a little polish to call your piece complete. We'll close the week with a shared circle — tea, cookies, and a show-and-tell of everyone's finished artwork before we say our goodbyes.
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Friday, 9 am to 4 pm
Finalizing the quilt top, refining color and form relationships. Demonstrations cover quilting design and finishing. Closes with a group sharing of each participant’s Improvisational Garden.
Natalya Khorover
For 20 years, Natalya Khorover has reclaimed materials in her art, inspired by her thrifty upbringing. She creates site-specific installations from plastic waste like Arcadia Lost, Hothouse and Speaking Of Birds. A Pratt BFA graduate, she transitioned from fashion and film to studio art.
Her work has appeared in Quilt National and multiple publications. A 2023 Teaching Artist in Residence at Hudson River Museum, she teaches regularly, has founded REPURPOSER COLLECTIVE, and hosts SALVAGE podcast. Member of Project Vortex, and ecoartspace.
Visit her websites:
Supply List for Natalya Khorover
Soft single-use plastic packaging such as:
Shopping bags
Wrapping from paper towels and toilet paper
Cheese sticks packages
Cleaned potato chip bags
Bread bags
Rinsed frozen food packaging
Newspaper bags
Mailer bags
Any other lightly cleaned colorful soft and pliable fabric-like plastic
Embroidery thread
Plastic bubble mailers for base
Glue sticks
Sharp craft scissors
Needles
Thread
Thimbles (if wanted)
Important Information Read Before Registering
Cancellation Policy
If the Estelle Center cancels a retreat, you will receive a full refund of all payments made.
The $500 deposit is non-refundable.
If you cancel your reservation and the Estelle Center is able to fill your space with another participant, your $500 deposit will be refunded minus a $100 cancellation fee.
If you cancel within 45 days of the retreat's Meet & Greet date, no refunds will be issued unless the Estelle Center is able to fill your spot. In that case, any refund will be subject to the $100 cancellation fee.
We have limited guest accommodations. If you cancel your room reservation at any time, you will be refunded your payment minus a $150 cancellation fee.
Payments
A deposit of $500 is required to register. The balance of $895 is due by March 17, 2027, 60 days before the start of the retreat.
After March 17, 2027, the full retreat cost of $1,395 is required to register.
Meals & Lodging
The Plastic Play Date: A Stitching Retreat includes meet and greet with appetizers, five lunches, and five days of instruction. Other meals and lodging are not included in the registration fee.
Guest rooms at Estelle's Upstairs are available for retreat participants. There are single, double, and triple occupancy rooms that share a large bathroom down the hall. To book a guest room, scroll down to the payment section below.
Click here to learn more about our guest rooms.
Click here to find other accommodations in La Veta.
What To Expect Next
Please add sunshine@estellecreativearts.com to your safe senders list to make sure you receive our emails.
Service Animal Policy
To preserve a calm and welcoming space for creativity and connection, we ask that guests do not bring pets or emotional support animals.
Service dogs, trained to assist and supported by law, are always welcome. Thank you for helping us hold this space with care. If you have questions or specific needs, we invite you to reach out ahead of your visit.
Click here to learn more about the The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Service Animal Policy.
