Autumn ~ the honest season

This is my brother Jeff and his beautiful puppy Jessie.  They died within weeks of each other earlier this year after a heroic fight for life and light and love.  They were both artists in their own incredible ways and the world is a much more beautiful place because of them.  I was inspired to create this retreat while living and caring for Jeff and so I want to dedicate this year's event to him in thanksgiving for every precious day we shared together.

Autumn was my only choice for this retreat . . . a time of renewal, rebirth, harvest and hearth.  "Fall is heartbreakingly beautiful.  Each crisp, clear morning brings opportunities to fall in love with the world anew.  Fall is also the honest season.  It does not pretend that life blooms forever.  This season reminds me that life and death are intrinsically intertwined . . . that cold and rain are just as crucial in sustaining balance as sun and warmth.  Fall reminds me to see the fact of impermanence not as a fear-inducing harbinger of death, but rather as a useful tool in crafting a meaningful, beautiful life." (Amy Frohnmayer

As artists, we are fully involved in capturing and recreating the meaning and beauty that we discover in our lives.  All too often, however, we are so isolated in our creative process that gatherings of like minded individuals become crucial to sustaining our artistic balance.  The Autumn Artist Retreat offers artists the opportunity to participate in creative fellowship and growth in a supportive and inspirational environment that allows them to achieve that balance.  It is my deepest hope that this retreat can be the tool that allows each artist to mirror their one precious and beautiful life through art.

"To live in this world you must be able to do three things:
to love what is mortal:
to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it:
and, when the time comes,
to let it go,
to let it
​ go."
~ from "In Blackwater Woods" by Mary Oliver