Authors Are Artists Too

Elly Wagner's clay work during Celebrate Yourself!

I just got back from a wonderful weekend filled with powerful women. I was reminded how pleasant it is to be surrounded by women who are unafraid of asking questions and eager to explore both inner and outer worlds.

The youngest was eighteen while the oldest was ninety-something. Although there were fewer than forty women there, the place rang with creative energy. Women wrote stories, painted, drummed, expressed the feminine form in clay, and explored their inner selves through various mediums. There was a labyrinth in the middle of nature, and a sauna in which to relax among like minded women. Perhaps most importantly, new people were welcomed with open arms, and old friends reconnected at the yearly event.

The gathering was Celebrate Yourself! and was held at the Koinonia Retreat Center in a truly beautiful part of Minnesota. I was hired to teach two sessions on writing, but found myself wishing I had at least one of those sections free so I could attend one of the exciting classes occurring throughout the building. Tapping into your inner artist is such a vastly rewarding experience.

Writers - yes it's important to work everyday, and agreed, it's also important to join and participate in writer's groups. But when was the last time you let your painter's voice speak, or your inner drummer bang long and loud? I believe that we need to step out of our writing selves once in a while, in favor of remembering those first days of creativity, when we hadn't found our preferred voice.

If you are a woman artist or creative soul living in or around Minnesota, and you're interested in the Celebrate Yourself! artist's retreat for 2015, drop me a line and I'll forward it on to the planners of the event. If you do, you'll most likely meet me there next year, as a participant!