Wild + Still: An Evening of Intuitive Creation

On Thursday evening, our community gathered for our very first Wild + Still Painting Fundraiser in support of Willowdale. We are so grateful to have been guided by Manchester artist, Willowdale board member, and Forest Program Guide, Brandy Patterson.

Although the rain poured, torrentially at times, there was a sense of deep calm as the drops tapped against the leaves around us. With this gathering intentionally created for grown-ups, we were invited to slow down, minimize chatter, and settle into the sounds of nature.

Brandy guided us to paint intuitively, reminding us to set aside expectations of what art “should” look like, and instead follow where our intuition led. "There is no good or bad art, " she shared, a truth many of us have been conditioned to forget or ignore. Her words brought me back to my own high school art classes. As a creative person, I rarely felt like I belonged. The structure and rules of those classes didn’t invite me to create in ways that served me. I think I probably didn't realize this fully until this experience of the freedom to create without judgement.

To begin our time together, we took a few mindful breaths, followed by a 20-minute wander through the park. We were invited to look, touch, smell, and feel nature around us, the inner child in us gathering small treasures that called to us to inspire our art.

Back in our creative space, we began painting, guided by what it felt like to simply be in nature alone. For most of us, it was the first time in a long time that we were able to wander freely, without expectations, without sweet little hands tugging at us.

For my own piece, I was drawn to begin by smashing a pink flower onto the canvas with a rock. Its center left a bright orange dye as it burst. I followed this with turmeric and goldenrod dye splattered across the page with my fingers depicting freedom and the feeling of emerging from darkness into light. Charcoal marked the center of my canvas, representing that dark space in the mind where the light wanted to break free, that space that I sometimes feel trapped. At first, I imagined the break between dark and light to be clean, as though you could simply leave the abyss and step into the brightness of yellow, pinks, and oranges. But as the painting unfolded, the truth revealed itself: breaking free is messy.

Brandy encouraged us to use our non-dominant hand which allowed for our intuition to play out more naturally as it is the "less-trained" hand. As the colors intertwined, moving back and forth between dark and light, I reminded myself that healing, grief, parenthood, life, is never linear, as all things in life, there are cycles. And through art, I was reminded: even the messy parts hold beauty.

Learn more about Brandy on her website and follow along this fall to learn about our wellness adventures in the woods! Better yet, join us for some fun! You can view our calendar here!

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