One thing I have is a certain determination, and when I was approached by a lovely woman who lives in Almeria earlier in the year about my art retreats, and whether I would be holding one after the lockdown, I envisaged that somehow I would make it happen. And happen it did. I didn’t push it, but it just worked out beautifully that two more local women heard about it and wanted to join us, and combined with a 5 km walk along an acequia to friend and writer Chris Stewart and his wife Ana’s beautiful farm and a delicious lunch prepared by Chris and a tour of the farm by Ana, we had a wonderful creative explorative week. We painted every day, and barely stopped for lunch and I was so happy that people got so much out of it. It is a truth that painting heals, and there has been so much to process and assimilate this year, we all needed it like food. Exploring Jungian Archetypes through my self-devised method and process was deeply revealing.
Outside my window, every night sometimes until two am, the old ladies sit and crochet and talk together in the street. It’s as though they are weaving and talking the world to rights. What a beautiful way to live. Inside we painted and talked and it was similar. The conversation flowed with the paint as we painted our worlds into healing and cohesion.
In spite of it being mid September, the weather has been exceptionally hot sometimes and I have struggled with the heat in Spain this year. Mask- wearing is obligatory in public spaces and I have adapted to that okay. The church bell in Orgiva is a constant clang as bells here are made from iron, not bronze. We made a special pilgrimage to the Salto de Paula waterfall and the Era del Trance in Ferreirola and the wonderful gazeosa spring waters.
