Flow
Flow - by Janet Tanguay
I’ve decided that why artists are so cool and why I love working with them so much is that they are so flexible. Artists truly ‘go with the flow’ and that is often when their artistic works become so incredible. Runners call this ‘being in the zone’. Here a couple of experiences I’ve had with artists recently that just made my day.
Art n Soul recently had an artist retreat on Galway Lake. We’d done other retreats on Cape Cod and in Maine. However, what made this one different was that we woke up and the weather was pouring down rain. Other folks may have turned back, cancelled, or cried, but these artists knew that part of being a true artist is just to be present. Artists show up. The canvas might be blank, the caps might be too tight on the paints, or the brushes might be stiff, but true artists just show up until inspiration comes. So, these artists showed up.
I started the day by reading an excerpt from an article by Mark Henson of Sparkspace.com called “Rain Doesn’t Kill You”, which set the tone for the day. The rain was peaceful and refreshing that day and the artists made it part of their experience. One artist, a photographer, took some great shots of raindrops on various items and some cool shots of puddles with shadows in them. One artist created a tarp around her and sat there all morning. The sounds of the rain became part of the experience. Also going on was Nia, meditation, shiatsu massage, writing, art dialogue, a fabulous lunch and more.
The feedback we received that day sounded like this “every cell in my body screamed ‘This is perfect. This is just perfect’.”
Next up, we planned Art Studio Tours in Saratoga during track season. Artists prepared their studios for groups to come in and take the tour. They organized and had presentations ready, food was laid out and they were ready to host. Many had never done this type of thing before but they jumped in feet first knowing that they were exposing their art to new audiences and potential buyers. The guests LOVED the artists. The behind the scenes private tour was a huge hit. At lunch, an artist in residence took time at Chez Sophie to explain his art and join us for dessert. The galleries we visited provided champagne and wine receptions. Again, we were in a flow.
Art n Soul artists have jumped on board as we’ve developed ways to put art into corporate spaces, as we’ve paired art with musical interpretation of art, as we’ve combined art with dance. There is so much more to come at Art n Soul and all along, artists are in that flow. Hats off to those artists and to continuing to go with the flow.
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