What happens when you bring three art therapist friends together at the cottage on a warm and beautiful weekend? Contemplative outdoor art of course!  A few weekends ago I was lucky enough to be at a cottage with my 2 dear friends and colleagues who are also art therapists.  We had thankfully planned this getaway months in advance (lest our schedules fill up with other stuff) and were excited for the creative time together away from our busy work schedule.  It was grounding to be out in nature, to slow the pace and not worry about other things, to be truly present with friends having evening discussions without internet or television interference. Although we planned very loosely exactly what art we would be doing, it all turned out intuitively “perfectly”. We each, without consulting the others, made a choice about what materials to bring to the cottage for sharing with one another to create.  Whatever we felt like making was fine, and of course there was the option not to create anything as well-no pressures.  We arrived on the Friday evening, enjoyed the sunset and the Georgian Bay waters and settled in for a relaxing evening with plans to wake “whenever” the next morning and share art making.

Saturday turned out to be gorgeous and we set up supplies outside on the deck facing  the water and clear blue sky. Three of my most favourite things seamlessly coming together in perfect harmony; nature, art and community.  Though there was a gentle breeze which sometimes had us chasing paper, we managed to stay outside for the majority of the day creating.  I began with intuitively “warming up” by grabbing material that called to me in that moment and doing some mark making.  Then we switched gears and began playing with the jelly print making slabs I had brought making prints using inspirations from the nature surrounding us and spontaneous marks or designs on the rolled out paint, curious to see what would be revealed on paper (one of my favorite things to do).

Later we used these prints as background for our wisdom cards, inspiring our collage choices to make some reflective intuition cards like what I’ve done as one of the Creative Self-Care for Helping professionals workshops.  In the evening after dinner, we spent time wondering about the images that presented themselves and quietly reflecting in our journals about personal meaning and inner wisdom.

Sunday was just as relaxing, brunch, reading in the sunshine, and a hike through the trails along the beach. We had quiet moments of mindfulness by the water, contemplative projection of our imagination on things we came across in nature, such as these rocks which looked like faces or turtles depending the angle you were looking from.

Can you see the turtle face in the black rock?

Whimsical surprises also presented themselves to us such as this flower crown we came across on the path we were on.  I thought maybe it was from a fairy, as there were woods.

At one point back at the cottage I became so engrossed in the sounds of the birds, the sights of their wonder watching yellow finches flit to a fro, and a humming-bird who kept perching on a metal post then zooming away.  What was interesting to me was how theses elements of nature had showed up in some wisdom cards I had made the day before.  The interconnection between our inside and outside world never ceases to amaze me.  Oh the subtle ways in which we are influenced and inspired by our environment.

Reflecting back now I see that permission played  a big role in my ability to create so freely and for a long period. Often the only other time I consistently do that is when I am preparing for a workshop and or am continuing work on something started as an example in a workshop.  Why is it that permission does not come easily to let go, create and not worry about other things? I believe we get too caught up in expectations from others about what is acceptable to do with free time. Checklists have to be checked after all.  Sadly art making does not make it to the top of the list for most even though there are so many benefits for our emotional well-being such as allowing us to express, to connect with who we are, and to contemplate mindfully our place in the world.

This weekend art retreat was a much-needed break which held space for me to connect with others and within through creativity.  It reinforced the notion I have held dear for years now, that creating in community with others has such a positive impact on our wellbeing.