Back From My Annual Art Retreat

 

My annual Artist’s Retreat at Spider Lake is almost always in August.  This year it was the middle of the month and I worked on sketchbooks, some in the zone pieces and a series of what I think will become a series of 4 pieces.  I think this one is finished but not sure.  What do you think?  The others are still in proccess and I'll begin working on them once I'm unpacked,

“Why does being near water set our minds and bodies at ease? That’s a question Wallace J. Nichols asks in Blue Mind. He writes about the benefits of being in, on, under, or simply near water.  Enhanced creativity is one benefit that he mentions.  I know that works for me.

I’m paraphrasing something Nichols wrote as it applies to my life. -- It has been a series of encounters with various bodies of water. Time spent in, on, under or near water mixed with thinking of various ways of getting in, on or near water are vital to my well-being.  Good thing I live near Lake Michigan and can drive by it every day. 

That’s a long way of saying my annual art retreat at Spider Lake is always soothing to my soul.  It’s a time to make art and to be in, on and near water.  This is my view every morning as I sit at a bar made of old waterskies, drink my coffee, write in my journal and do a quick sketch to start my day.

 It’s a soothing way to start the day.