We recently piloted our first offering of HERd Inspiration: a two-day workshop featuring horses and nature for women who create. Participants were invited to harness the inspiration of nature to awaken and enhance creativity.
Six women participated in this opportunity to open up to the spirited nature of horses and unleash their creative muse.
“It was a day of connection, creativity and conversation – all centred around the beautiful outdoors and your magnificent horses,” one participant shared, adding: “You kept us focused and centred. You educated and challenged our thinking, created a safe space for sharing and creating without judgement. It was a special experience to observe the herd and to interact with them.”
Another noted: “The horses’ instinctual way of being is a canvass for reflection and insight and that bore very true in the day’s exercises.”
“The day was a wonderful way to connect with nature, your lovely horses as well as meet some new people. I found it interesting how unique everyone’s experiences with the horses were,” noted another participant.
The experience included:
- Horses: The opportunity to work with a gentle horse guide or be inspired by the majestic beauty of our herd. (No previous horse experience is necessary).
- Creative Muse: The opportunity to participate in techniques and prompts to guide the creative seeker to access the limitless potential that flows with the rhythm of nature, while drawing encouragement from a supportive group of creative souls (for all experience levels).
- Inspiration: The opportunity to find inspiration from the connection of mind, body, heart and spirit, the sights and sounds of surrounding nature, your horse guides and your creative community.
- Expressive heart: The opportunity to create art, in all its forms, that comes straight from the heart. Enrich your “creativity through playfulness, emotional expression, elaborate whimsy, and ever-deepening levels of imagination.”
This workshop is informed by the work of Janice Mason Steeves, Canadian Artist, founder of Workshops in Wild Places and Author, Bloom: On Becoming An Artist Later in Life and by the book A Year in Practice: Seasonal Rituals and Prompts to Awaken Cycles of Creative Expression by Jacqueline Suskin.
Our plan is to offer this workshop in each of the seasons so we can appreciate the beauty that is unique to that season.
