Creativity Retreat in Northampton

The weekend of November 6-8 found me driving up to Massachusetts, not to my usual Boston trip, but this time to Northampton for a creativity retreat hosted by Nerissa and Katryna Nields. It was a weekend full of writing, drawing, painting, singing, photography and most of all getting to know some fabulous women.

I arrived a little late to a house full of 11 other women sitting around eating vegetarian chili and getting to know each other. I sat on the floor with my hearty bowl of chili and instantly felt at home. The drive took longer than I thought, I could tell I was stressed about being a little late and all of that instantly fell to the wayside when I felt the warmth of the people in this house that would be our home base for the weekend.

After dinner and quick introductions we moved to another room and discussed a writing assignment invoking the essence of the Hindu goddess Kali. It was probably the most intimidating part of the weekend for me since I don't really consider myself a writer per se. So after half an hour of writing time everyone in the room shared what they had written. It was a very encouraging environment. And once everyone had shared and we had a little discussion we ended the night with one of my favorite songs: Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie.

When I signed up for the weekend I was asked to bring a favorite quote to use in an art project. I brought a bunch and the one I decided to use was from an Erin McKeown tune, "To the Stars". It says "We are lit within by all we've been and by all we care to be". I felt like it was appropriate not only for my job search, but for this time of transition in my life. It's always important to remember where you've been, who you are and where you'd like to go. We used watercolors, gouache and permanent markers to create these paintings. It was fun to work with everyone around, seeing how others used the materials and what other quotes people chose. Once they were all finished and framed everyone had a chance to see what other people had done.

After our morning art project we took a long break for lunch and a little photography. The conversation and the beer were better than the food at lunch, but it was a great opportunity to get to continue to get to know this group of women. We walked into town along the bike path on a beautiful fall afternoon.

I took some photos on the way home and attempted to capture the autumnal nature of the season and the day.

Nothing is more New England than a white steepled church.

After getting home from lunch we spent the afternoon learning and singing 3-part harmonies to different songs. We had another great dinner at the house and then continued singing in a less formal way. It was a relaxing, and at the same time energizing, evening. We ended with one of my favorite Nields songs: Easy People. Here's a shot of all of us sitting in the music room, relaxing and singing:

Here is a more posed group shot of everyone who was there for the weekend. Starting from the top row: Nerissa, Katryna, me, Ruth, Maddie; middle row: Heather, Kate, Jen, Marianne; bottom row: Piña, Sienna, Amanda and Liz.


I had the pleasure of being able to stay with Christa and Kyle in Amherst while I was attending the retreat. Their apartment is adorable and full of all the charm I've always known in Christa's homes. We got to catch up on Saturday evening and for breakfast we ate Kyle's homemade muffins and drank tea out of hand made mugs and ate it all at this beautiful table.

Here we all are, early on Sunday morning. I had to be at the retreat by 9:15am, so it was an early morning, for sure, but I think we're all looking pretty good.

At the retreat on Sunday morning we focused on creating "vision boards". We all went through a huge pile of magazines cutting out images that spoke to each of us. I took a long time with this process and actually didn't get to finish my board before the retreat ended, but I did bring it home and put it together there.

There are images and quotes related to finding a new place to live, finding my new career path, appreciating gardening and good food, singing, photography, reading and appreciating the chaos that life throws at you sometimes. You can click on the image to see it larger.

I made the decision to attend in a rather last-minute fashion and followed my instinct that this was something I needed to do. I was just starting to feel overwhelmed with the idea of a major job search ahead of me, and I knew this weekend would offer the chance for a good, deep cleansing breath as well as some time to gather my thoughts about the upcoming months. And it was totally worth it.