On connection and creativity

About the workshop experience – how everything started

We started with our first weeklong workshop in 2018. Since Cristóbal and I were living in Berlin back then, it took place in the Uckermark around 1h north of the city at a beautiful spot called Grosser Garten in Gerswalde. I invited Jesús Cisneros as a guest teacher, whom we had met the year before in Italy and who, since then, has collaborated each year and plays a mayor role in how things developed.

I organized this week out of pure delight for the arts, for illustration - what I had studied 3 years earlier in Barcelona - and especially for the analogue, experimental and highly artistic approach Jesús follows during his teachings. What I didn’t expect, was how the other ingredients together with the course would lead to this magical atmosphere we all felt this summer and that kind of turned my life upside down by following my vision, that was born with this first experience.

Probably the best things in life and art appear when we act out of our intuition and heart. Unconsciously I had brought together what I was missing deeply in my daily urban routine: The closeness and reconnection with nature, the slowing down and being fully present in the moment, this romantic atmosphere a certain place can transmit, together with the sensation of flow, when you just dedicate your day to creation. What I was recovering for myself through my artistic process in this time, suddenly appeared in the workshop experience and could be shared with others.

Also the lack of infrastructure turned out to be a great gain, as it naturally created moments of togetherness at the common table and accommodation, which I had to provide for the group. And then there were these unforeseen gifts such as a great Japanese chef and of course the colorful and openminded bunch of people who came from all over the world!

Back then my vision was born to build a place to unfold creativity, bringing together a variety of artistic disciplines, artists and participants that fertilize one another. And through each course opening up the space for the experience of connection.
Several years, a pandemic and relocation of our family passed until the circumstances seemed right to give this idea a push and weave an integral concept out of the following aspects…

Inspiration and creation – the art course

The artistic course is the heart of the experience and what started with a focus on illustration and drawing is this year opening up to painting, pigment preparation, ceramics, textile art and new collaborators and everybody from beginner to professional is invited to join.
When it comes to curating the contents and teachers for the year - which happens in close exchange with Cristóbal - our approach is experimental and process orientated. We create a setting of inspiration, a laboratory in terms of techniques and topics, a playground where failure is invited. Our proposals as teachers can be a starting point to a personal exploration, a discovery of new paths in ones own artistic practice and criteria, as can be the intersection of disciplines that leads to new ways of expression. Learning to follow our intuition by connecting with our inner source, establishing a relationship with a theme, immersing into materiality and gaining confidence and openness are some of our overall guidelines. 

Retreat, recharge and focus

Everything happens just in the here and now, it‘s our moment of creation. At the same time for most of us it is very hard to focus. Therefore during the workshop week we retreat to a place where we step out from our busy and fully programmed lives, where we slow down, where we find the silence to question what is really important and to recharge with happiness and energy found in creation, nature, full presence and fellowship.

Re-Connection with nature and each other

Through the contact with nature - which isn’t a matter of course anymore for so many of us - I want to give space to the awareness of being part of nature and not apart, to the feeling that there is an interlace between us and to the deep knowledge of belonging.
And as I believe this to hold true also for our connection as humans, bringing people together to meet, to create new contacts, exchange and even friendships that cross borders, languages, cultural backgrounds and age is my contribution to a world I want to live in. Until this year people from 31 nationalities have passed the workshops and that’s also the reason why most of the courses are held in English – and of course we help each other with translations, hands and feet :-)

Place, atmosphere and gathering

From the very first workshop I learned that the moments of opening up cannot be taken for granted, but need a setting where everybody feels at ease and taken care of. The atmosphere of the location plays an essential role and contributes to the well-being of the group. Therefore finding Erlau after that we moved from Berlin to the Odenwald, really was a bliss. As were all the great chefs (Mélanie Wehrli, Anna Löwenzahn, our friends Teresa and Carlos and Ayumi Saito) that contributed so far and brought the group together at their tables, to feel nourished not only by the delicious dishes, but also by the community of people.

Yoga

Last but not least I am very happy to include morning yoga classes since last year, as this is the perfect practice to support our inner and outer processes, to get the energy flowing, open our heart and listen to our own voice. In Erlau we have the possibility to alternate the classical classes on the mat with breathwalks in the surrounding fields.

As mentioned, nothing of all this was immediate, it took time - and still takes - to understand the full potential of this project and to be ready myself to let it grow, but since last year this is happening and I am incredibly grateful for this chance and of course for all collaborators and participants who make this possible.

As a whole I see the workshops as a framework to get in touch with one‘s own creative power, to experience connection, and to hopefully carry it forth into the world, since I firmly believe that both can lead us towards new paths with ourselves, with others, and with our planet.

Text: Johanna Schmal / Photos: Johanna and Cristóbal Schmal