ART BUDDIES

 

                                (and what it is to be an artist)

                Judy Offord

This is a little exhibition in Porto San Giorgio, a coastal town on the Adriatic It is with my painter friends Claudia Renzi, Judy Offord and Duncan Campbell who have been exhibiting here and there around this part of Le Marche for the past couple of years. It is where we live, and although we show our work in a larger arena, nationally and internationally, this is a homage to where we live; as it is here that we are drawn to the beauty of the mountains and rivers and ravines; our continuing absorption into the rhythms and mysteries of nature.

             Claudia Renzi

Artists need buddies as much as they need solitude and the sounds of silence and we have learned to respect these positive needs and qualities amongst ourselves.

             Duncan Campbell

And it is this dynamic that I foster in my workshops up in the mountains of La Sibilla here in Le Marche, Italy: And it continues as a sort of lasting connectivity way beyond a workshop weekend with  webinars where we show each other our work on a regular basis and share also the things that are not so good in our lives. Creative people are emotional people and it is best that they don't pretend to be in control, but instead adhere readily to Nietzsche 's wonderful saying that 'One must have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing star'

                          Michael Eldridge

We are like mountain wolves who prefer to prowl around the edges of the forest of normality, rather then be drawn into its confines of stifling comfort and conformity

That is not to say we are not happy, by the way. It's just another kind of happiness, which changes like the vagaries of the wind

My next workshop at Cittadella, 'T'he Vibrations of Nature' is from September 26^th to 30^th

^{It explores the affinity between the five senses and the desire to create beyond ourselves.}

^{That sounds serious, but in reality it's a fun ride of sharing and laughing and lightening (for a while at least) the darkness that we know is often all too near}

^{This is what buddies are for, after all: to share and care.}

^Michael

Further information about my workshops in English and Italian, write to Michael Eldridge at micermice@gmail.com

tel, whats app +39 3283535358

In Italian,  contattare; Claudia, email claudiarenzistudio@gmail.com, whatsapp 351.5042828

Vibrazione della natura 2, San Altino

 Un  weekend di avventura nella foresta da San Altino di pittura e poesia.

Avevamo iniziato la giornata con una sessione di Ci Kung intorno alla piscina; questo per renderci consapevoli del nostro corpo, per ricordarci di respirare correttamente e aprire i nostri cinque sensi in vista della giornata che ci aspetta.

San Altino dista solo 15 minuti da Cittadella, il nostro rifugio nei Sibillini. E un piccolo paese, e nel centro c'è un bar e ristorante e lì finisce la strada.

Era ancora abbastanza presto, ma l'intero villaggio era stracolmo di macchine e scout (ragazzo/ragazza). Ma mentre camminavamo nella foresta divenne presto chiaro che, a parte qualche escursionista occasionale, eravamo soli e indisturbati

Un mix internazionale di italiani, tedeschi, sudafricani e britannici.

Quattro italiani erano nuovi nel gruppo e si integravano facilmente con gli altri partecipanti che avevano frequentato con me i workshop precedenti. Questa è stata la mia prima sessione in cui abbiamo parlato esclusivamente in italiano e ha funzionato bene. Sembrava proprio in questo locale molto italiano

E così è iniziata la giornata e ci siamo immessi in un sentiero tortuoso che ci ha portato sulle colline per salire per un'ora circa fino a raggiungere una radura dove siamo scesi carichi gli zaini e abbiamo chiacchierato un po' su come l'apertura sensoriale sia legata all'attività creativa

E dopo pranzo, torniamo a Cittadella dove abbiamo trascorso il resto della giornata dipingendo e stampando.

Immergersi nei ritmi della natura, non è solo entrare e assorbire la bellezza di foreste, fiumi e radure, ma è inalare la sua aria carica di sostanza vivificante. E qui, per aprire lentamente tutti i nostri sensi e iniziare il nostro viaggio nell'essenza stessa della creatività; prendere vita e scoprire che abbiamo la capacità di creare oltre noi stessi

Il nostro prossimo workshop Vibrazioni della Natura nei Monti Sibillini sarà dal 20 al 25 settembre, 2022

Further information in English, write to Michael Eldridge at micermice@gmail.com

tel, whats app +39 3283535358

In Italian,  contattare; Claudia, email claudiarenzistudio@gmail.com, whatsapp 351.5042828

San Altino

 

                                   The forest of San Altino

It was a weekend of forest adventure and of painting and poetry.

We'd started the day with a Ci Kung session around the pool ; this to make us aware of our bodies, to remember to breathe properly and open our five senses in preparation for the day ahead.

San Altino is only 15 minutes away from Cittadella; (our Sibillini refuge) it's a small village, and in the centre there is a bar and restaurant and just a few house and it is there the road ends.

It was still quite early but the entire village was jam packed with cars and (boy/girl) scouts. But as we walked into the forest it soon became clear that, except for the occasional hiker, we were alone and undisturbed

And so the day began and we joined a winding path with took us over the hills for getting on for an hour or so until we reached a clearing where we off loaded our rucksacks and chatted for a while about how sensorial openness is related to creative activity

An international mix of Italians, German, South African and British.

Four of the Italians were new to the group and easily blended in with the other participants who had attended previous workshops with me. This was my first session where we spoke solely in Italian and it worked out well. It seemed right in this very Italian venue

And after lunch, back to Cittadella where we spent the rest of the day painting and monoprinting.

To immerse oneself in the rythms of nature, is not only to enter and absorb the beauty of forests and rivers and glades, but it is inhale its air which is charged with life enhancing substance. And here, to slowly open all our senses and begin our voyage into the the very essence of creativity; to come alive and to find that we have the capacity to create beyond ourselves

Our next Vibrations of Nature workshop in the Sibillini moutains will be September 20 t0 25

Further information in English, write to Michael Eldridge at micermice@gmail.com

tel, whats app +39 3283535358

In Italian,  contattare; Claudia, email claudiarenzistudio@gmail.com, whatsapp 351.5042828

The Vibrations of Nature

 

Lu Vurghe

This short video is from a sensorial day at an ancient hot spring not far from Ascoli Piceno in the Marche region of Italy.It is situated just off La Salaria, the ancient salt road to Rome from the salt flats at what is now San Benedetto. It has been a hot mineral water spa for millennia and was once a favourite with Roman Legions who would stop over to clean up and rest when passing by.

It is a place where I take workshop participants. The bathing area is a sandy beach on the bend of the river Tronto...which flows into rapids below and then on to Ascoli, It is a very special place of visual beauty which simultaneously engages all of our five senses; The touch and smell of the hot mineral water which flows into the river, its taste on our lips and the sight of the drifting river weed, the subtle  difference between the warm soft water and the tingly cold  and the sound of the water flowing and bubbling.; the rushing sounds of the wind through the trees on the surrounding banks above us. We are like our animal friends at this time, and this full alertness is like an open space in our minds and it is here that our imaginings begin to stir and we feel this desire to create beyond ourselves, to make marks, images, sounds and shapes with river clay.

It is a sensorial day

An emptying of the mind

To clear a path for the opening of our rediscovered creativity

When we paint, write poetry and learn the benefits of Ci Kung and Tai Chi in our lives

At Cittadella, our mountain retreat in the Sibillini National Park of Le Marche, Italy

September workshop 'The vibrations of Nature' from 20th to 25th in both English and Italian.

Further information in English, write to Michael Eldridge at micermice@gmail.com

tel, whats app +39 3283535358

In Italian,  contattare; Claudia, email claudiarenzistudio@gmail.com, whatsapp 351.5042828