Art and Faith Creative's Vermont Retreat

You may remember how that, last year, I was invited by my friend Laura McCollough to teach art in Bellagio, Italy.

Believe it or not, I was equally as excited to be asked to teach again, only this year, the destination was “Autumn In New England” (which also happens to be the name of the CD that has been my family’s favorite for over 20 years)…Vermont, in the fall.

But first, meet Laura

Laura has a heart to connect women with the heart of Jesus with their practice of art. She holds creative retreats for artists all over the world, and this woman knows how to pick a venue. And it is also my hope and prayer that she feels like she also knows how to pick her artist-teachers. ::smile::

Next, get a look at where we all stayed…the Woodstock Inn, in Woodstock, Vermont:

When the Preacher and I left our home in Knoxville, TN week before last, it was summertime. It was high 80’s and low to mid 90’s and had been for weeks and weeks. But this is what we arrived to. A bona-fide, official New England autumn. We were giddy as school children. I wanted to sniff pink erasers and carry a back pack.

Oh, wait. I did carry a back pack. Never mind.

Laura gathered 17 or 18 artists from all over the country, and we made art, drew closer to Jesus, made new friends, and frolicked on a covered bridge named…

…wait for it….

….you won’t even believe it….

“Middle Bridge” in Woodstock, VT - photography by Tim Atchley

“Middle Bridge”.

I know, right? Here I am, a woman “in the middle”, with a decades-long established ministry and word of challenge and encouragement to women “in the middle”, and God woos and pursues me to Vermont, and meets me on Middle Bridge. I got the proverbial charismatic goose bumps - which is no surprise, since I am, after all, a chaser of the “wild goose.” I will go so far as to say we all need to be. (And praise Jesus for my church!)

The Preacher and I had a moment on that bridge…a God-moment.

The whole week went by like a dream, and the feedback I’ve gotten has been so encouraging to my heart. Laura brought her portion of Christ as well, teaching women about Travel Journaling, collage, and the importance of recording their own thoughts as well as the things they feel God is saying to them - which is another of her real strengths, and an area where she and I are on the exact same page. Oh, write it all down! Thank you, Laura.

I poured my heart out on what it really means when Scriptures say, “A word in due season - how wonderful it is!” (Proverbs 15:23) The Spirit of God truly took control of my mouth and my heart. I felt a real zeal and an unction and an ease in bringing my part (both in word and in art) that I had not felt before. There were lots of tears, and I aggressively shared the “platform” with all the attendees, going around the room to hear their heart as to where they are, presently, creatively - and where they feel they want to go.

That felt like holy ground.

There is so much I could say about this time in Vermont, about these women, about the creative intersection between art and faith and “Art and Faith Creative Retreats”. How about some eye candy, to give you a small idea? They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

We rode an old fashioned train through the Vermont countryside, at peak leaf season!

The conductor himself told us “Please keep your extremities inside the car at all times.” The Preachers sat back down, waited about a minute, and hoarsely whispered to me, “Is he gone yet?” When I nodded a wide-eyed affirmative, this is what he did next. Clearly, this man is a rebel.

dinner at Simon Pearce Glassblowers. We were so lavished here!

our dinner in Woodstock Inn’s legendary Red Barn. Over-the-dang-top!!

That picture, just above? It’s why I spend weeks and months preparing. It’s why I pray and make art and angst and pray and make art and write and think and write and pray and make art. These women, and more - many more - like them. They have my heart. I know where they are at on the inside, I know what they are feeling, I know what “the middle” feels like. I know they need someone who has been there, who can be something like a “covered bridge” for them - a safe place, a sheltered place, to help them navigate across the chill, sometimes treacherous, fast water of midlife. I don’t want them to go it alone. Mostly, I want to point them to our friend Jesus. Anyone who will allow me to bring who I am to the table, that is what I want to do: be a witness to who they are becoming, “in the middle”.

I am so grateful to Laura for this dream come true, and for trusting me on so many levels. And I can hardly believe what I am about to say:

The Preacher and I look forward to bringing our portion of Christ, and seeing you next year in Bellagio, Italy - for a destination marriage retreat! (sorry, this retreat sold out in DAYS)

Ya know…just us girls…casually having our minds blown by how much God loves his daughters!

The Art of the Middle (...and Laura McCollough's Art and Faith Creative Retreats...}

This is how Italy greeted me. I literally stepped off the plane, dragging my carry-on, headed to the airport Sheraton hotel, and walked right across this stepping stone:

Given the fact that I didn’t pick up a paintbrush until I was middle age - well past my mid-forties, and I am only now almost 52 - it can seem like a kind of miracle that I traveled to Bellagio, Italy to teach art last week! Consider this quote: “The great victory, which appears so simple today, was the result of a series of small victories that went unnoticed.”

As late as 2011, I discovered art as a means of processing life, of quieting the static in my mind, of clawing out of a dark place. So I made bad art, every day, for a long time. I posted heartfelt blog posts for a very long time - posts that were read by about 12 people.

More recently, I have had to let go of relationships, because there is a path set before me - on many levels - that I must pursue, for the sake of others who will come after me. There is a path of conviction, of living in authentic community, and a path of certainty of what “life in the middle” is to look like. There is an artistic path, a path of family (and even financial) restoration, and a path of very personal growth that has to be walked one step at a time, and it does consist of a series of small victories that not only go largely unnoticed: when they are noticed, they are often diminished by those who call themselves friends and should be genuinely celebrating them.

I can’t begin to tell you of the people (who I thought were friends) who made off-hand remarks about the fact that I posted much of my life, art, and thoughts to social media. “Whatever Sheila is up to, I am sure we will see it on Instagram…” {insert an eyeroll}

…not realizing that to share myself in that way was a very vulnerable and courageous thing for me to do; not realizing that there is no other way to build a creative business.

I share all that by way of the “front door”, as my opening remarks, hoping that you will understand (if you don’t already) that to invest in your true, authentic gifts is important…but it isn’t easy. It can be a hard and sometimes lonely road. You need a creative community.

If you are at all struggling with the idea of 1. discovering what your real gifts are (as opposed to the way you wish you were gifted) or 2. giving your gifts the time and weight of attention and investment that they are worthy of, regardless of what others think, or 3. struggling to find your art AND FAITH creative tribe…

…may I encourage you to attend one of Laura McCollough’s Art and Faith Creative Retreats?

Meet my friend Laura. (She isn’t that much taller than me. We were standing on the most beautiful cobblestone steps you’ve ever seen!)

At one of Laura’s “Art and Faith Creative Retreats”, it isn’t really about the art - though you’ll make art. It is more about the beautiful alchemy of stirring your own time, attention, investment, and intention together with beautiful scenery. It’s about taking that mixture, and adding in a dash of jet lag, and folding in the courage it took to even GET to where you are going. Then, it’s about throwing in scoops of new friendships and last of all, some paint. Then, you sit back and see what explodes!

(Laura, speaking during one morning’s devotional)

(That warm feeling you get, when you see that someone has anticipated your arrival…)

Women who attend one of Laura’s creative retreats are lavished beyond all measure.

We were treated to meals by Italy’s top chef. We were treated to live music, the best gelatto, the best gardens, the most amazing vistas, invigorating walks, and relaxing boat rides on exquisite Lake Como.

We saw Bellagio through the eyes of some of its people - we met some of Laura’s friends who live there. If there is a better way to really experience a place like Bellagio, I can’t imagine what it would be. There’s truly no one better than Laura McCollough to introduce you to Lake Como.

Best of all, I got to experience it with my best friend, my boyfriend, and my pastor all rolled into one:

(oh, hey…it’s just us…you know. We are so hurt and mad.)

(that time at the Villa Carlotta, when we became a classic oil painting…)

If you only have the time and resources for one “once-in-a-lifetime” - I would be remiss not to ask you to at least consider Laura’s “Art and Faith Creative Retreats”. (click the link to be taken to her FAQ page)

I will never forget last week. Coming home to my people was pure joy. But coming home to ordinary life was hard, you guys. Never have I ever been so lavished with beauty and joy and friendship.

(this beautiful art studio made me weep…I will still cry over this spot, at the drop of a hat. The spirit of this room will haunt my heart forever - and I promise, that is not drama or overstatement. Something about standing here changed me.)

The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord! I have had to let people go this year. But look what the Lord has done! Can you see me back there, waving at you in pure wonder and surprise?

The Lord does not take away, but what He does not give, more and better! And He will not take away, but what He will take what is left behind, and deepen it and sweeten it!

I taught an altered tin class, focusing on having fun with composition and atmospheric perspective. Another day, I taught a plein air class, breaking down some of the surrounding scenery into a do-able, manageable “art vocabulary”. Then, we all went for a walk, and when we arrived at our destination, we painted in our art journals:

(my beautiful plein air class!)

Find and follow Laura McCollough on her blog, akissonthechic.com and on her IG @creativeretreats And by all means…please go to one of her retreats or workshops! But you have to follow her blog and/or IG feed to know what is on the horizon for you!

And, for the hundredth time, a huge thank you to my sweetest friend Jeanne Oliver for making the connection between Laura’s heart and mine. (And for continuing to show me what is possible when I keep shaking off limitation, when I keep on going in spite of my critics, and risk everything to pursue the gift and call of God on my life…even when the stakes are real. I love you, friend!)

I am told I will be teaching art again in this space. Can you even believe that?! And in other spaces, in other places! Maybe I will see you there, and we can encourage one another in this all-important middle place!

“Bella mezza eta!” - a toast, to our “beautiful middle age”!