“We cannot doubt that we have been given the intellectual vision, the spiritual insight, and even the physical resources we need for carrying out the transition that is demanded of these times, a transition from the period when humans were a disruptive force on the planet Earth to the period when humans become Present to Earth in a manner that is mutually enhancing.”- Thomas Berry

What is a Sanctuary of Living Arts?

Sanctuary of Living Arts, or SOLA, is a learning environment located on a 200 acre nature preserve in the Western North Carolina mountains, just west of the bustling, culturally vibrant town of Asheville.  Surrounded by beautiful Pisgah National Forest, our campus includes acres of biodynamically tended orchards, fields, gardens, forests and animals. Our beautiful classroom structures and areas of activity function together much like an “educational ecology,” supporting meaningful study, presence and practices with Living Earth that are essential to the lives and wellbeing of our own and the greater community.

At SOLA, we recognize the natural world as the primary context for learning, where children, young adults and adults are integral participants in the ever-evolving creative processes of Earth and Cosmos. The essence of the learning journey at SOLA is the nurturance and preservation of authentic, human identity and freedom, through thinking, feeling and willing, or, put another way, through learning experiences that engage the “head, heart and hands” in equal measure.

We define “Living Arts” as enlivened pathways for learning that balance cognitive ways of knowing with embodied, intuitive, imaginal and relational ways of knowing. SOLA’s curriculum is inspired by the indications of Rudolf Steiner and many other educational luminaries. However, we are first and foremost inspired by a deep reverence for child development, and by living relationships with ourselves, others and the natural world around us.  We believe that education and learning are life-enriching, life-long endeavors that support the learner to thrive as a whole human being.

Our curriculum and faculty are agile enough to meet a diverse community of learners through a truly holistic understanding of each child’s unique physical, emotional, intellectual and neurological relationships with learning. SOLA’s approach develops thinking through thematically presented, inherently relevant academic studies; cultivates feeling through compassionate and contemplative participation in Earth’s living community; and engages will-forces through active learning and meaningful, practical work and service.  Through our reverence for the sanctity of childhood and child development, we are deeply child-centered. 

SOLA offers a unique secondary schooling experience for ages 12-18, which provides ‘heart-hands-head’ integrated learning that encourages students how to think, not what to think.  SOLA middle and high school students are invited into deep inquiry and understanding of themselves and the world around them through thematic studies, internships, expeditionary and international learning experiences, and a challenging, relevant, enlivened academic curriculum. Click here to learn more.

In addition to offering programs for SOLA students, Sanctuary of Living Arts provides Living Arts Discovery Days, seasonal workshops, ceramics, fine art, biodynamics and permaculture, animal or circus arts experiences and more to homeschooling families. SOLA also welcomes program hosting partnerships with other educational organizations who are aligned with the SOLA vision and mission. Click here to learn more.

What makes SOLA different?

SOLA provides learning experiences that nourish life through artfully presented, deeply meaningful learning experiences.  We strive to offer a truly holistic learning journey that allows each learner to discover the the truth of who they are and to confidently carry that essential truth with them into a complex, ever-changing world. Essential elements of our approach include, but are not limited to:

• Enlivened academics taught by passionate teachers with deep knowledge in specific or multiple fields of study, and an abiding love for teaching.

• A deep and expansive understanding of child development, as indicated by Rudolf Steiner, Thomas Berry, and other luminaries, that informs what we bring to learners, when we introduce new concepts, and how we meet each learner’s unique approach to learning.

• A recognition of the importance of embodied learning through the presentation of practical, fine, and performing arts; outdoor activities, games, movement, domestic and international learning adventures.

• A holistic presentation and experience of the sciences that honors the integral, sacred qualities of the living universe through reverence, observation, direct experience, practice, and phenomenological understanding.

• Deep and daily engagement with the animals that live on our campus and the forests, fields, and natural environment that sustains us and our learning

• Cultivation of reverence and relationship with Earth’s community of life- our fellow humans, animals, plants, water, soil, the mineral kingdom, and the visible and invisible threads of vitality within and around us.

• Internships and meaningful service learning opportunities

• Personal and interpersonal development supported through mentored individual and group contemplative activities

• A focus on relational learning and life skills that nourish physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing

How is sola organized?

SOLA is part of an emergent movement called Community Supported Education. The CSE approach was inspired by Community Supported Agriculture programs, where members pay a fee for services/farm products, while providing economic and participatory support to the the farm- purchasing, picking, planting,sorting, etc.   Working within the CSE framework,  SOLA and its programs provide the learning environment, and our member-families reciprocate by gifting their time, energy and resources to SOLA. Click here to learn more about micro-schooling, homeschooling, and co-operative learning in NC.

Our vision and mission

Our Vision
To create a sanctuary for learning in which we support learners of all ages and abilities to:
 ~cultivate a love for learning~
 ~collaborate with others~
~connect with one’s own inner guidance~
~commune with the natural world~
Our Mission
The illumination and refinement of each individual's innate gifts through enlivened education for the whole being.

“In reality there is a single integral community of the Earth that includes all its component members whether human or other than human. In this community every being has its own role to fulfill, its own dignity, its inner spontaneity. Every being has its own voice. Every being declares itself to the entire Universe. Every being enters into communion with other beings. This capacity for relatedness, for presence to other beings, for spontaneity in action, is a capacity possessed by every mode of being throughout the Universe.”- Thomas Berry