Cocreating with Timberland is a retreat, workshop, and ritual all in one.
Over two days, we will build intimacy with the logged landscape, gather and experiment with pigments and other found natural materials, and take time and space to converse with these wounded places through our art.
A central theme of this retreat is to turn towards the wounded and often avoided reality of how the earth is treated in our bioregion and to prioritize time with the land to create beauty together.
Art is not a product. There is a place in our creative practice for responding to the challenges of our time, for the full range of our feelings, and for making images that are not pretty or good or easy to digest.
The land sectioned off and managed for timber, both privately and publicly in the Pacific Northwest is vast. We are surrounded by this economic and political mentality whether we give our attention to it or not. The history of colonial land management has been a short but thorough onslaught to the native ecology, soils, and watersheds of our area.
We avoid these impact zones. They are not seen as recreation destinations. Even though so much timber land is our public land, as the forest service likes to remind us, so few of us witness these places, let alone feel connected to them or understand how they are managed.
In Cocreating with Timberland, we will practice bearing witness. Trebbe Johnson, founder of radical joy for hard times, presents this idea as a way to break down the walls that isolate us from the pain and healing of the Earth.
Listen to Trebbe’s interview on For the Wild Podcast
We will work with our grief, rage, or numbness and notice the resiliency, healing and joy that can be found in timber managed forests.
Retreat Format
The first morning will start at a public timber parcel, introducing ourselves to this place, settling into our senses, learning about historic and current land management practices, and gathering minerals for pigment making.
In the afternoon, we will return to our rural forest studio to process mineral pigments and learn the craft of paint making; from refining raw material to adding medium to pigment.
On the second day, we will finish our paints, explore some guided solo and group practices on the land, and enjoy extended studio time creating at our foraging spot. An assortment of natural canvases will be provided, but making paintings and sculpture for on the land that are left in place is also encouraged. We will end the day with a closing ritual in a nearby stand of old growth.
This retreat is for you, if you:
feel a fondness for the forest
have strong feelings when you see clear cuts and plantations
want to feel, process, and create with the support of a group of like minded people
want to learn more about forest management and rights of nature movements
enjoy spacious outdoor time, painting and creating
want to learn how to make pigments and paints from the land
Logistics
The retreat is Saturday, April 19th from 10:00 - 5:00pm and Sunday April 20th from 10:00- 5:00pm. We will meet on Saturday at the Center for Rural Livelihoods (CRL) in Cottage Grove, Oregon and drive out to our foraging spot in the nearby foothills. We will return to CRL for use of their strawbale lodge for our paintmaking workspace. Lunches will be provided both days and all food preferences taken into consideration.
No overnight lodging is provided in the cost of the retreat, but you can book a “summer camp” style dorm room in the CRL lodge for $50/night. Please reach out for booking info.
The full cost for the retreat is $200.
If you would like to arrange a payment plan, please first register and make a 25% deposit to hold you space, then reach out to confirm the payment structure.
If you are Indigenous or Native American, Black, Latino/a/x/e, or someone of the global majority that has systemically been kept from cultivating a connection to nature or restricted from tending the land, there is a 50% waived fee for participation in this retreat.
Hosanna White
Hosanna is dedicated to learning slow crafts like primitive firing, weaving, and foraging that connect her with the source of her materials and the magic that comes from transforming them for everyday use.
Hosanna lives in the foothills of Western Oregon, a geologically rich landscape that has inspired her studio work, Whitesnake Arts. She blends bio-regional history and land stewardship into her artwork painted with a colorful collection of hand gathered earth pigments.
Got a question about this retreat, contact us here!