A Retreat or a Treat?

  #17 April 20, 2023

 A Retreat or a Treat?

 

I am back with MyThursdayThing after a gap of more than a year. Why did I disappear and what was I doing all this while is a story I will take up another day. Today I wish to share with all of you the story of an idea, the idea that was born when I was on a vacation in the hills some 5 years ago.

 

This was a backpacking vacation I had gifted myself after completing art installations at 3 metro stations in one year. Tired and burnt out I went to Naggar a small town in Himachal, for a homestay. It was cold and sub-zero temperatures and all we (other guests and me) did was be by the fire. I sketched and painted, some others played guitar and someone else just read a book. During one such round table by the fire, it struck me that it would be such a brilliant idea if a lot of people could do art and discover their potential in serene and beautiful places like these. The guests get a new and creative vacation, the homestay gets interesting guests and I get to meet and motivate and introduce these guests to the world of art. The sound of it was very exciting. The thought was further explored with friends when I got back to Delhi. After a lot of work, planning and discussion, in April 2019, I did my 1st Vacation Hues art retreat at a friend’s homestay in Garhwal called The Birdsong. Kiran is a wonderful host and the whole experience at her place propelled me to reach out to more homestay people and organize more retreats.

 

In the 1st year, I managed 6 retreats and then the pandemic happened but we resumed again in 2022. In all this time, around 50-plus people have participated at different locations. Numerous canvases changed their hues from stark white to a vibrant colour palate that reflected the personality of the painter. The retreat got hosted at 8 different homestays and a few of them were repeat offenders. The saga continues. This week I finished the 12th Vacation Hues. 3 of these back to back in April. It has been the most rewarding month. 9 people spread over 3 retreats churned out almost 100 works between themselves. They experimented with mediums, surfaces, techniques and compositions. 

However, this is not why I am writing this. This is not about me or the retreats. That is not the story at all. My part is limited to having an idea, finding a good homestay and facilitating a retreat. My part is also limited to encouraging the participants and treating them like I was treated by my mentors many years ago. The real heroes of this story are the participants… almost all of them took a leap of faith and signed up. My 1st ever participant is a central government officer and signed up because painting on a canvas was on her bucket list. She saw the information about the retreat on her friend’s page and that was enough for her to take a trip to the hills with her son. With this retreat, she had ticked one point from her bucket list. Another person is an artist and signed up because she was facing a severe creative block… She painted some delectable watercolours and also gifted some of her works to the homestay. Some had painted as a child and then never picked a brush and were thrilled to see their results, others had never painted before and were pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

Mother-son, Mother-daughter, Daughter-mother, Aunt-niece, the whole family, many combinations signed up. The most heartwarming was the story of a daughter who came with her mother for the retreat, 8 months after she had lost her father. She revealed that in so many decades, this was the first time that the two were out on a holiday alone. It made me go back to my family and I realized that barring the initial 5-6 years when my sisters were not born, I have never been out on a holiday or a trip with my mother alone. I realized that the art retreat was somehow bringing like-minded people together to do a different vacation. From younger lot (the youngest participant was 8 years old) to senior citizens (the oldest participant being 77 years old), from artists to CEOs, from homemakers to house makers (read architects) from people traveling from the UK to the locals joining in, we had the whole spectrum.  

Each participant had a story about why they joined; each had their style and language. Always amazing to see that the same place, the same instructions, and the same material inspires different expressions from different people. This just confirms my belief that all art comes from within and just needs a way to be expressed.

Vacation Hues, its participants, the prolific output, the memories created, the stories shared, the walks taken, and the connections made, all reiterate that art heals, art connects and art is for everyone. Being a self-taught artist, and having a few great mentors, I know the importance of the right push… being a mountain person, I know how the environment can inspire and being a people person I know how in the company of like-minded people we can excel…  

 

I wish all the people who connected with me through the last 12 retreats will continue their journey in art. I also wish all the people who haven’t joined yet will soon take the leap of faith and become part of the vacation hues family.  

 

As one of the participants rightly said it was more of a colourful treat than a retreat… I, therefore, wish this treat to many. 

  

© Shubhra 

 #17 April 20, 2023

#MyThursdayThing is published every other Thursday, on my blog https://shubhrathoughts.blogspot.com/ and shared on my social media handles.