Last weekend I had the sincere pleasure of attending (and administrating) the first ever Cohearts Artist Retreat in Housatonic, MA. Each of us five artists had received the A4A Capacity Building Grant last fall, and as an end to that excellent six month program we organized a retreat.
It was wonderful to create space for ourselves and one another to focus on the work and connections that have filled our lives in the past half year. Each of the other attendees has become a valued friend, and we can’t thank Assets for Artists and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts enough for the space and resources we’ve had.
Although we had some (very appreciated!) financial help from CFWM, our little group organized the retreat entirely independently. It was my first time helping to put something like this together, and it was very encouraging how smooth the logistical end of it went. I worked to organize planning meetings, take minutes, create action items, book the venue, and handle the financial portion of the trip. I’m really grateful for the trust the group had in me, and I’m energized to do more organizing for artists out there however I can.
On the day our retreat started I set out early, and even had enough spare time to visit the Norman Rockwell museum. For those who see Norman Rockwell as a figure who whitewashed American culture, I urge you to learn more about his controversial works protesting inequality and racism at a time when it could be ruinous for an artist to do so.
The grounds featured a number of sculptures by his son Peter Rockwell, which I had to photograph for modeling inspiration later!
The retreat itself was a long, peaceful weekend in a beautiful house down a dirt road. Buried in trees and lots of beautiful spring weather (well, until the rain on Sunday) we each had ample space to focus on the things we brought to work on.
Among our group we had a sewist working on a new clothing piece, a collage and watercolor artist with a maximalist style (who was also doing art history research), a writer working on her powerful memoir, a traditional storyteller gathering ideas for her upcoming performances, and myself.
I spent the two work days hammering away at a roleplaying game that’s been coming together in fits and starts since 2024. With a current working title of Rotten Crown the game uses familiar fantasy tropes but with a focus on important social issues like income inequality, faith, and grief. I hope people will be as excited as I am by the Lore system, which rewards exploration in a way I haven’t encountered in any other games.
The work I did on the game got me excited about it all over again, instead of letting the project sit over my head and weigh me down psychically as many unfinished projects tend to.
What surprised me most about the retreat was how different working felt. Normally when I do creative work I feel like I’m scrounging time and energy before it escapes into my day job, chores, social obligations, etc. Instead, working at the retreat felt completely natural. I worked because I was excited to work, and nothing else demanded I stop. I’m very proud of the writing I got to do because of that feeling, and I don’t know if it would have been as good if I’d written it at home.
I want to encourage other creative types in the 28 scene and beyond who haven’t already to try an art retreat. All you have to do is find time to go somewhere that isn’t your house to work on the things you care about, but that can be as simple as booking a weekend for yourself in the next town over. If you can find a group to do that with you, great! Not only will you have community to share your ideas with, but you may save some money!
Just remember that it’s not a vacation. Don’t plan any activities that will eat into the work time. If you have the energy to do something else, let it come naturally when you need a break anyway! When we were planning our retreat we talked about all kinds of different outings we could take from the house we rented, but we didn’t end up doing any of them. Aside from a 30 minute drive I took at one point for a change of scene I didn’t leave the house all weekend, and it was perfect. The seven home-cooked meals we all got to enjoy over the weekend didn’t hurt either!
The trip was such a lovely way of closing out our time in the grant program, and I want to thank everyone once again at Assets for Artists and CFWM for taking a chance on a weird tabletop game nerd like myself. The cohort itself and everyone surrounding the program has helped me to feel like a true member of my local artist community in a way I didn’t believe was possible until very recently.
Thank you!
You are a great writer July! I loved reading this, you captured the experience perfectly. Thank you for everything you have done to make us feel more seen and connected!
Thanks so much, Muriel <3
The retreat was great! I couldn’t ask for more!! Thank you everyone for creating the time and space to do what we love in a peaceful and scenic environment XOXO.