Redwood Glen: Intuitive Painting
Yes, that was me hugging that tree. This month, I had the serendipitous fortune to join an intuitive painting class in the redwoods, something I've never done before. On summer weekends, Redwood Glen teems with brides and grooms posing for professional photographs, hikers with dogs, and groups of children in art camp--but it still feelsprivate, spacious, and soaring. I arrived to find a picnic table groaning with art supplies, and spotted a gathering away between the trees. Seven people sat on the ground around a carpet, some on plump cushions. After a moving introduction by our facilitator, Bahar Amanzadeh, we were no longer strangers. Bahar, who moved the the US from Iran half a lifetime ago, shared some ceremonial Persian artifacts, and told her story. Then she read a long poem by Rumi--first in Farsi, then in improvised English. “If the thirsty seek water, the water is also seeking the thirsty.” — Rumi Bahar runs intuitive painting classes and wor...