Last weekend I had an incredible time at Ox-Bow, where I did nothing but create in a joyful way. I had no expectations, no deadlines, and no guidelines. I just wanted to explore and draw freely. I decided to draw a Ginkgo tree, because I remembered the feeling of joy I felt when I stood under a bright yellow canopy and half moon shadows at my feet. I wanted to use the shape of the leaves to explore rhythm in the lines and the motion of drawing with your whole body.
I went with my friend and fellow printmaker Rebecca Rodriguez. We were both on the same page, since we're both mothers and cherish creative time alone. But we still found time to do a little antiquing and hiking.
The food was absolutely incredible! Rebecca mentioned it was like eating at the Moosewood restaurant every day, I agree, plus food tastes better when you're not the one cooking and cleaning up.
At Ox-Bow, each of us got a room, a studio space, and access to the printmaking studio. If the weather had been better, we might have gone kayaking. But the hike to the Crow's Nest was stunning. You hike through all kinds of really tall and really old trees, up, up, up, and suddenly you're there, and the view is magnificent.
Later, all the participants had the opportunity to share their work and ideas. This was very inspiring. Overall, it was an amazing weekend. I would like to extend a big thank you to Maggie Bandstra for organizing the event and for inviting me. And to the artists in the kitchen, of course.
The prints will be available for sale at my next studio Sale "Fly Trap" on November 17-19 at the DAAC.