A R T I S T S  G A T H E R E D
 I N  M A R Y  A N D  G A R Y' 'S
H O M E  F O R
T H E   I D  R E T R E A T:
F R O N T  R O W:  I L S E,
S H E I L A,  J A N E T,
M A R Y A N N E;
B A C K  R O W: J A Y N E,
M A R G I E  A N D  M A R Y.

" T O  A C C O M P L I S H
G R E A T  T H I N G S,  W E
M U S T  N O T  O N L Y  A C T,
B U T  A L S O  D R E A M,
N O T  O N L Y  P L A N,
B U T  A L S O
B E L I E V E."
Anatole France

February brought warmer temperatures and noticeably more light. It was a relief to feel the first hint of spring-to-come in the air.

I found a relief of a different sort as well. The artwork and journals for Inside the Dress were to be completed in early February. For most of us the final few weeks were intensely busy with finishing details. Everyone said it was a relief to be done.

Seven of the nine artists met in my home for a weekend retreat. It was an opportunity to pause and reflect on what we have accomplished. The weekend was full of laughter as we discussed our individual processes and presented our work.

We experienced another relief as we had a chance to talk about what the process of Inside the Dress was like for each of us. Although we had been in monthly e-mail contact, this meeting was only the second time we had met as a group.

We began the retreat by attending the opening of an exhibition of work by Ilse Anysas-Salkauskas and two of her friends. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the range of Ilse's work in leather and cloth.

Our Friday meeting started with a flurry of activity as people arrived with their artwork in hand. We had a quick look before beginning our meeting.

As each woman presented her sketchbook/journal we marveled at the diversity of style and approach. The stories we told about doing the exercise quickly or delaying until the very end helped us to appreciate each other more fully.

The themes of the work began to emerge as we looked at the books. Ilse focused on family stories. Jayne Willoughby Scott addressed the chaos of her busy life. Mary Anne Kilgannon looked at finding balance. Margie Davidson confronted clutter. Janet Armstrong confessed that her external calmness belies an internal tumult. Sheila Niles told the stories of her amazing life.

Writer Shirley Serviss and photographer Mario Pietromala joined us. They are assisting with the production of the exhibition catalogue. We quickly enfolded them into our circle. Shirley asked insightful questions while Mario moved in and out taking pictures of our work and of us.

On Saturday we had a closer look at each person's work. I posed a series of questions to guide the presentations:

How did you do the exercises?
What was the evolution of your three-dimensional work?
How did you approach Journaling?
How have you changed?
How do you see your work changing as a result of this project?

We spent the day hearing in detail about each person's experience. Everyone reported being changed by the experience in one way or another. We all believe that our work will change as well. Our work is as diverse as we are. Yet, we share many things. At the end of the day I felt closer to these wonderful women who shared themselves so openly.

As we parted on Sunday I had a sense of satisfaction and relief. I paused briefly to appreciate all that we have accomplished and then I began the next task - preparing the catalogue.



[In our next update early April, I will be giving you a 'sneak preview' of some of my 'exercise' pieces.]



The project is entitled, "Inside the Dress." It is a process that will culminate in an exhibition at the McMullen Gallery this year. My colleagues, Jean Brandel, Judy Villett and Jayne Willoughby-Scott and I conceived the idea as a means of creating an opportunity to work deeply. The process is taking more than a year to complete. We envision the result of collective personal work will be a remarkable exhibition.