About Us

Artist & Writer

Holly Len Downing

Your local host, and guide for plein air outings, studio needs, art journaling workshops and more, Holly (she/her) lives in l'Albi after a career in artmaking, editing, journalism, and project management in the United States. Before moving back to Spain, Holly was teaching art theory and creative journaling at Calvin University. She is a certified journaling coach and the author of two books, "Practicing Beauty" and "The Golden Virtue of Wasting Time."

Holly lived in Barcelona for about three years in the early 2000s. Now back in Spain, she is fluent in Spanish and working on being able to speak (and not just understand) Catalan.

Follow along with Holly's work on

Personal Instagram: @handwritten_studio

The Creative Notebook: @thecreativenotebook

Retreat Leader & Co-Owner

Dee Rolffs

Dee (Deanna) Rolffs (they/them) is co-owner of Cal Castell with Holly, and leads guided retreats focusing on finding rest and peacefulness of being in Spain towards healing and liberation. Their work is as a strategist, facilitator, coach, systems thinker, and consultant with anti-oppression and liberatory frameworks. They work with executive leaders within the intersections of organizational theory, leadership development, and social justice.

Dee spent a semester in Sevilla in University, and has dreamed of spending more time on Spain soil ever since.

Find more about their work and upcoming retreats guided by Dee on

l3catalystgroup.com

Instagram: L3CatalystGroup

the family home in spain

friends Dee and Holly somehow convinced their families to find a home in Spain to purchase together as a regular retreat for themselves. But when they saw Cal Castell, their dreams expanded in ways neither of them had imagined--and l'Artesania was born.

pictured : Dee Rolffs and Kevin Elzinga, Holly Len Downing, and their children