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A sanctuary for girls in a fast moving world.

Welcome to Ancient Arts Girls Group.

 

A weekly drop off program for teen and preteen homeschoolers in southern New Hampshire, rooted in the grounding practice of working with our hands.

 

In this fast-paced, hyper-digital world, Ancient Arts Girls Group offers a soft landing—a weekly pause from the rush of life. In candlelit circles, we learn nature-based ancestral handcrafts, attune to the rhythms of the earth, and build friendships that feel like family—helping girls reconnect with their inner wisdom, each other, and the natural world. 

 

Ancient Arts Girls Group is primarily designed for girls ages 11–14 — a tender, pivotal window where so many are in need of grounding, belonging, and a slower, more connected rhythm.​ That said, I know each child moves through these seasons differently. If you have a daughter who is a little younger or older and you feel this space would nourish her, please reach out. If enough interest gathers, I’m happy to open additional circles for other age groups.​

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​As I prepare the next chapter of Ancient Arts Girls Group, I’m gathering families who feel called to this kind of gentle, grounded, creative space for their daughters. If you're one of them I would love to hear from you! Your expression of interest helps me shape the next circle — including age groups, dates, and gathering rhythm — so that it truly meets the needs of our community.

Our Mission
Candle in Glass Jar

Our Mission

In today's world, women have access to circles, retreats, and soul work—but teen and preteen girls are often left out of that sacred experience. Ancient Arts Girls Group exists to offer what so many of us wish we'd had — a sanctuary of calm in a noisy world, during the years when it matters most.

 

Here, through the wisdom of ancestral handwork and the rhythms of nature, girls learn to slow down, listen inward, and create with intention. This embodied practice helps them grow into grounded, confident, and self-aware young women — resourced from within.

Core Pillars

The program is built on three simple threads designed to nurture presence, creativity, and connection.

A lit candle, highlight the pillar of low-stimulation for our program.

Low-Stimulation

We circle in candlelight, with soft music, warm tea, and no screens. A cozy setting that invites presence and calm.

A golden field of hay and flowers, highlighting that this is a nature-based program.

Nature Connection

Girls attune to seasonal, lunar, and inner cycles through projects inspired by the natural world.

Woven straw baskets, highlighting our ancient handwork projects.

Ancient Handcrafts

These tactile arts are grounding, confidence-building, and inherently spiritual.

A portrait of Chrisoula, the founder of Ancient Arts Girls Group, smiling.

About Me

I'm Chrisoula — mother, maker, and founder of Ancient Arts Girls Group and Muddy Buddies NH.

 

I believe that handwork is more than craft — it’s ritual. Creating with our hands slows us down, brings us into our bodies, and connects us to something timeless: the rhythm of the earth, the memory of our ancestors, and the deep knowing that lives within each of us.

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Before motherhood, I studied hospitality at Cornell University and worked as an innkeeper, with dreams of creating spaces where people could gather, rest, and reconnect with what matters. Today, that dream takes shape through the circles and communities I nurture — spaces that remind us all to slow down, create with intention, and be truly present.

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As a mother of a young daughter, this work carries an even deeper meaning for me. I’m building the kind of space I hope will be there for her one day — a place of calm in a noisy world, a space to create with her hands, and a circle where she can grow into herself — rooted, confident, and whole.

About Me

The Rhythm of the Year

Project Highlights

Ancient Arts Girls Group flows with the natural rhythm of the year, offering a new 12-week circle each season — Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Each circle explores creative projects and themes that mirror the energy of the season, inviting girls to grow in harmony with the cycles of nature.

Families enroll one season at a time, with returning girls given first priority for future seasons.
While each season is complete on its own, girls are invited to continue as the year unfolds. This allows friendships to deepen, skills to expand, and the circle’s rhythm to become something steady and nourishing — a place they can return to again and again.

Seasonal Project Highlights

Just a few of the many interesting projects we'll be working on.

Winter: Going Inward

Hand-dipped beeswax taper candles, wool arts, herbal wellness blends, foraged simmer pots, solstice spiral.

Hand dipped beeswax candles drying on rack against wooden background, closeup_edited.jpg

Summer:

Expression & Light

Natural dyeing, ceramic beadwork, Mullein torches, flower crowns.

wreath of meadow flowers on old wooden rustic background. floral crown, traditional symbol

Spring: Awakening

Seed starting, basket weaving, hand-made journals, watercolor painting.

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Fall:

Rooting & Reflection

Rug braiding, leatherwork, wood carving, lantern making.

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A portrait of Chrisoula, the founder of Ancient Arts Girls Group, smiling, wrapped in a colorful shawl.
Contact Me

 

Have a question or want to learn more?

Feel free to reach out by phone/text or email.

978-987-1868 | cmduros@gmail.com

Contact

© 2025 by Chrisoula Markush. Powered and secured by Wix 

 

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