BEYOND ANXIOUS!

 

I've been hungering for Art Is again - it seems to haunt me more and more as we approach October.  The Art Is...You  artist's retreat is now in it's 7th year and I've been attending it for 5 years now, and each year more magical than the last. 

Created by Sallianne McClelland and Ellen Legare, Art Is was created to conceive a moment in time where artists, whether they be faculty or students, can come together to share in their passion for creativity to create, self nourish, replenish personal creative resources and to nurture not only individual souls but the souls of those around them. I cannot thank these two very special ladies enough for their warmth, time, devotion and vision. 

I cannot count the many useful and creative techniques I have learned from so many amazing teachers - each of whom has embodied what the true meaning of "teacher" is, and who have given so much of themselves openly, warmly patiently and with much caring.  I feel truly blessed to have had the good fortune to study with Keith LoBue, Michael DeMeng, ThomasMann, Laurie Mika, Richard Salley, Kecia Devaney and so many more. 

I've grown rich with making so many wonderful friends each year at Art Is.  It is a place where you may go alone and yet never be alone.  Here the creative energy sizzles and is palpable in both heart and mind as it energizes everyone there.  It's a week of creative nirvana, a place where warm souls meet, eat and share artistic ambrosia.

This year I will learn how to fabricate 3 rings and a locket from raw materials with Richard Salley, and I am more than excited and anxious to get started.  I will post photos when I return. In the meantime, I've contented myself with writing a poem about Art Is.  Enjoy!  And if you're interested in attending here's a link to the site .  I am hoping to see you there in October!!

 

Art is...Us *

We hunger for the shared camaraderie

and meeting of like minds, each in tune

and on the same ethereal wavelength.  

We are all of similar artsy loves, similar

artsy passions driven by a need to create

and express within our chosen media.

We are all family here;
 

we "get" each other and what we feel; understand

what we transfer onto canvas or assemblage or journal;

adore and savor all those special moments

we share in between classes.
 

We are one;
 

we are a collective of like minds, open hearts and warm souls

joyous to renew old friendships and anxious to make new ones. 

We grow larger each year; it's no surprise

that we all share a universal wish -

that this one week in October could be multiplied by fifty-two.
 

This is Art Is.
 

A place we all call home for a week each year; a grand reunion;

a gathering like no other; a place of family and art and love;

of nurturing, alchemy and magic.
 

*copyright 2013 by Eileen Grobeck