Retreat Recap

On the final morning of our retreat, I have nothing but gratitude for this time away to focus. Amazingly, as hoped, we actually did not leave our Art Barn! After an initial grocery run, we hunkered down for four solid days and nights. Lessons learned:

1- Don't Overpack
It's tempting to pack every unfinished artwork and unused supplies to bring on your retreat. Just like with clothes, overpacking art supplies made transporting, searching, and repacking things unnecessarily burdensome. That being said, we found the first aid kit on site much needed, so if you're with kids be sure to bring bandages, antibiotic ointment, and anti-itch cream!

2- Plan Breaks
While my kids are very imaginative and for the most part play well together, in the afternoon they just couldn't stop themselves from climbing all over me. Without formal child care, after a morning of making art with Mommy, they still desperately wanted football and tag and hiking-to-search-for-frogs breaks with me. Admittedly, on my first few days I was resentful that my children didn't engage in those activities on their own, but towards the end I accepted that at this age they wanted to be with me.

3- Embrace Progress, Not Perfection ❤️ 
My goal of ten finished pieces and a completed idea for a children's book was not achieved. I can, however, proudly claim a full sketchbook of linocut prints from a stack of five multicolored images for a series I'm calling Scenes from South Africa, and a plan to print final pieces at home.  Fresh off a workshop at Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, I'm connecting with the physicality of carving and the press, and the hopeful anticipation of lifting your paper to see if the print turned out. I developed the regular routine of starting my days at a studio table outside on the patio, something I hope to replicate at home. While I might not have the same view, I found being in nature incredibly conducive to focusing on work.



I'm leaving this getaway with memories of barefoot and Band-Aid covered feet, singing along with the Soweto Gospel Choir and the Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack, an expanse of green over my studio table, and the encouragement that I've successfully designed and followed through with a family-friendly creative retreat once and can do so again in my future.

Keep Making Art!

-Lindsay

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