The theme was “The Space Between”.

On the webpage for these events, there is no indication of who did what, just all the artists on the page, so I spent a fair amount of time scrolling through them all to try to identify who I’d seen the day before.

1. Let it be – Guitar – Lucas Arizu, singer Davon Fleming, Dancers Brandon “Knowbody” Greathouse and Leigh Collins (I think). One of the most beautiful parts of this experience is that, as a group, my friends and I had arranged to do sort of a “potluck” picnic lunch after our hike so we could continue to enjoy the majesty of our surroundings. While we were taking our last bathroom break before heading back down the mountain, we saw the artists making their way back from their stations, and I got to see, meet, and talk to Davon Fleming. I got to give him a hug, tell him how beautiful his artistry was, and how much his performance had moved our group. There were a couple of others from our group who mirrored my sentiments, and he also seemed to get something from the appreciation, all a girl could ask for. I hope we were able to fill his heart even a fraction of how he was able to fill ours. A-mazing.
2. Weaving the forest – strips of fabric woven between the Aspens. Pick a stick and some scrap fabric, decide how they go together, then weave your stick into the larger tapestry between the trees, or on a tree.
3. Four white-clad wood nymphs with chimes dance around us, then dance for us, as we hold the chimes. Blending the separation between performer and audience to allow everyone to experience the energy of the dance. Jennie Pitts Knipe
4. Making mandalas in forestry management burn spaces with Andres Amador. Take a deep breath, bend down and place your hands on the earth. Move hands up your body, taking energy from the earth, moving it through your body and releasing it through the crown chakra and into the universe.
5. 
6. Emily Tessmer sang us a beautiful song based on a poem by a woman who traveled and explored the paths in the Sierra Nevada in the early 1900’s when it was much less common for women to do so. The name of the new song and upcoming documentary is “Unseen”.
7. The final experience was with harpist Motoshi Kosako. He had a beautiful harp in the Sierra Nevadas.

He began to play, then, like wood nymphs materializing from our of the forest, four young ladies came out and did dance accompanied by the harp. They were called Innerrhythms Dance Theatre. Very, very magical.

 

This entire experience reminded me of what art is. Art exists to make us think, to inspire emotion, to help us work through our own crap and the things we create in our minds to help us process our experience and grow our souls. Art is release, balm to the psyche, emotion we are afraid of feeling but are compelled to because of the experiencing of it…which allows us to release that pent-up emotion…..and heal.

This was exactly what my spirit needed, and I didn’t even know it.

Peace.