Newsletter | Mar/Apr 2022


Inspiration

by Alicia Rosenthal

Inspiration: The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. This is my favorite definition, still connected to the basic one of drawing a breath. I feel one holds the breath for a second in the presence of creativity.

The OWA retreat has been inspiring just by our presence. I feel I am part of a family where we  already know each other just by our shared experiences,  interests, skills and preocupations. This is amplified by the setting and the care that shows in the delicious food and the property itself with countless well thought out details and places to emcourage sharing.

Yet when I look back and think of specific experiences I find that for myself some have been more memorable than others. I go back to Topher Delaney and Claire Cooper Marcus as presenters that helped a retreat be particularly inspiring for me. What inspires me? They are both very different. Yet, I see that both challenged me through their work as well as their presence, to either pick up a different lens to look at something as familiar as the house or to reevaluate the role of landscape in projects. Both felt like a window into possibility.

Their impact was no doubt amplified by the setting and the format of the retreat that allows us to be relaxed, open, permeable, in a state of mind likely different from a monthly evening program. What inspires me is likely different for others. But we continue to live in very challenging times and I look forward to the retreat as a holder of possibility,, of inspiration.


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