Voices from the Forest

What happens when you bring together artists, photographers, dancers and poets and give them free rein to play?  Magic.  And, last night magic happened as "Voices from the Forest," a month-long creativity project was shared with the community.  It was one of those memorable moments that only happen once.

Four weeks ago, Jon Bock, owner of Stellar Gallery and creative force behind the art community here in the foothills, and Claire Blotter, a goddess of performance poetry, opened up a space to stimulate creativity and connection to the land.  Marie and Henry Tevelde opened their generous hearts and amazing home on Lewis Creek to about 20 of us for the day.  We spent the day writing, dancing and embracing the ancient land dotted with grinding rocks and signs of the ancestors who came before us.  Then we separated for three weeks of gestation and creation.

Jon and Claire held the vision of the performance night loosely, allowing us maximum space to explore and create in our own ways.  In the end, seven poets poured their words into a gallery where we were surrounded by amazing images of the day that started our journey.  You can see some of these images on Franka Mlikota Gabler and David Hoffman's Facebook pages.

All performances need an audience and last night, people filled the gallery and opened their hearts and minds to co-create the completion of this project.  I moved to this foothills community a year ago and last night I truly fell in love with it.  I had a lot of mis-givings about being part of this performance but it turned out to be a gift that all of us shared. And, I can hardly wait until Jon and Claire have their next idea.