This morning I spent some wonderful time with the Canyon Creek Creatives, a group of women I brought together a few years ago to give me feedback on my book. But it grew into something so much more than that....it is a way for these women to share their creativity with each other, and encourage one another in our creative endeavors.
We are now meeting once every three months, and this morning we got to enjoy a beautiful autumn morning up Burke Canyon along Canyon Creek at VA's house.
A bountiful harvest of fall breakfast goodies accompanied out morning, enjoying homemade gingerbread, zucchini, date and pecan bundt cake, pear and cranberry crisp, pumpkin bread and other goodies.
VA shared with us about how she has taken on the character of Silver Valley legend May Arkwright Hutton, and her plans to expand her next year. VA has created costumes, hats, and plans on making paper doll books and a historical brochure, as well as creating a historical tour of the Nine Mile Cemetery in Wallace as part of the Sierra Silver Mine Tour next summer.
AC did a lot of traveling and photo taking this summer, and shared about returning to Glacier National Park, and her observations of the receding glaciers in the park, as well as the trees taking over the large meadows that were there that last time they visited the park, about 35 years ago. She also spent time hiking and visiting Mount Rainer National Park. She has also began her cello lessons again in Spokane, through a program called New Horizons.
RW is one of our local librarians, and is a value of useful information about books to read, and was the one who got VA started on her Hutton journey. She shared she will never be an artist, but she is a worker and a doer...and I told her you don't have to be an artist to be creative...she has her own unique and important creativity that she shares with the world.
AM has been working on a children's picture book, and attended a conference for children's book writers. She also is illustrating the book with her wonderful drawings. She, along with AC, has also started going back to New Horizons. She plays the upright bass. AM also has spent time using creative ways to unclutter and organize her home using cardboard pizza boxes. It is quite a system!!
SH just finished organizing the Silver Summit in Spokane at the Davenport Hotel, and was glowing in the success of her endeavors. She also helps VA with her Hutton performance, and runs her own business in Wallace, a combination of photography and fly tying. SH is a remarkable woman.
The other SH runs the Sierra Silver Mine tour in Wallace every summer, and is also on the committee for the upcoming 1910 Fire anniversary that will be in August. We will be working together on this committee. She also helped VA create a historic tour dressed as Hutton as part of the Sierra Silver Mine Tour.
CC used her creativity to figure out how to redo her deck at the cabin their famliy has up the river. She took the bad boards off the deck, added new ones, and will attach the railing next spring. Her husband is unable to do these kinds of projects because of health reasons, so she did it herself. It sounded like quite a project!!
I shared about my experience directing at the Sixth Street Theater this summer, and the upcoming two person musical PKR and I will be performing in January, called "I Do! I Do!". Then I am also a part of the 1910 committee, and am creating two different shows that will be performed at the theater in August. It will be fun to delve into the history of that time, and create some productions that will tell the stories from that summer of that horrific fire. I also shared some of the poetry I have written on this blog, that you can find here, here and here, and about the sibling assignments I do with Inland Empire Girl and Raymond Pert. They were very impressed that we take time each week to share stories, photographs, memories and poetry with one another, a encourage each other in our creativity.
These two hours spent with these ladies this morning fed my soul. I have felt a bit lonely and off kilter lately. I have experienced some changes in my life these past couple of months, and work has been way too busy, that I haven't had much social time with friends. I realize I need that companionship of other women, and to sit and soak in their stories and learn from them. What a blessing.
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