An artist’s birth retreat on the Cape

On the beach at a therapeutic arts retreat on Cape Cod.

It’s so simple. We know it should be. Just surrender. Let go. Release all that does not serve you. Come into the absolute present. Embrace your truth. And create. Let it all just flow. That’s all there is to it.

Well. We might know this, but actualizing such wisdom in our lives is another thing, yes? Yet for one splendid week in July, I attended an artist’s retreat on Cape Cod where that process was so beautifully coached into being, I’m still in awe at the utter effortlessness of it all. Colleen Daly Perry was the expressive arts facilitator and creator of this retreat, or “midwife for the creative spirit,” as she likes to be known. The term is a rather accurate one, for the expressive arts therapy process does indeed urge a higher level of awareness to come forth using the medium of art, with the support of a “wise one” who urges us on.

The location was lovely: a rambling 1905 cottage built on stilts, nestled high in a wood on Shawme Hill near the town of Sandwich. Books both new and old were everywhere, with letters and photos from so many years ago tucked in here and there as if made only yesterday. That’s the timelessness that this land of the transcendentalists provides, and it fit well in this artist’s heart.

Each morning found us toting our supplies to a spot on the beach, not too far from the water’s edge. The week’s theme came from Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s book of wisdom, Gift From the Sea, and we all were given a copy. Colleen’s plan asked that we choose a life issue we wished to have released, and each day express some part of the process of that release and its transformation through the use of watercolors or clay.

The first shock came right off the bat after we had been asked to mold into clay what we felt about our release. After some thoughtful and reverent sharing on each other’s piece (and this was a priceless gift of the week), we were asked to walk into the water and toss it. The command evoked a good, hearty gasp.

I loved it. “Here’s how you let go!” Perry said, “here’s how you claim your freedom!” I made a bird, and for several seconds after I tossed it, it soared.

Bliss.

Each morning led to explorations of thoughts and feelings which were then put down in watercolor. But the beauty here was that there wasn’t really too much time to think, to analyze. That’s what affected me most: the freedom from analyses. When it was time to work the next morning, I just went at it, under that brilliant ocean sky. I’m analytical in my painting, and this process has had a phenomenal impact on the painting I’m presently working on. I’m still stunned by the shift.

We all were affected. One participant said she had been painting for years, but only now realized she had not once painted from her heart, and could now clearly see the difference.

The fruits of this experience will be on view at Daly-Perry’s studio/gallery, Isis Mary Sophia Enlivening & Therapeutic Arts, 72 Elm Street Suite 5, in East Aurora. The exhibit opens with an artist’s reception on Friday, August 29, 7-10pm, and continues through Saturday, August 31, 1-5pm. For information on next year’s retreat, please contact Daly-Perry at 652-0839.

—manya fabiniak