What is Serenbe, a combination of the words Serenity and Be.
More than a year ago, Shirley McCutcheon invited me to teach at a retreat for a private group of artist friends. Once we got to chatting about this, we realized that we shared a similar vision for the perfect setting and set a date, the first day of Fall. This past weekend, during the Autumn Equinox, we spent an idylic three days at Serenbe, a bucolic southern landscape. The above photo is of the Lake House where we gathered after studio hours for socializing.
Shirley, along with artist friends Joyce Vance, Karen Owen, Kathy McElroy, Leslie Wood, Robin Orewiler, Lauren Finely, Joanne Theime-Huffman, and Andi Hinkle, put their heads together and selected four classes from my teaching repetoire: The Delicate Nest Altered Alphabet Book, a Nesting Box, N-A-T-U-R-E Tags, and Silhouettes, a conceptual paper doll. So that is how our Nature Study retreat at Serenbe came to be. In addition to the classroom itinerary, I like to plan paper doll socials for all my weekend workshops as they allow for some relaxed time to get acquainted. Also on the intinerary, everyone brought with them nature-themed pages to be added to the Serenbe Memento chunky book.
After we checked in and settled into our respective cottages, The Lake House, Magnolia Cottage, and Dogwood Cottage, everyone joined my housemate Joanne and I in the living room of the Dogwood Cottage where old friends reunited and many hugs and presents were exchanged. Soon it was time for a bit of pre-dinner "fluffing" and then we set off to the The Farmhouse, the restaurant in the mainhouse at the Inn. Below is a photo taken on the Veranda during one of our evening meals.
After dinner, we gathered at The Lake House for the Paper Doll and Bookmaking Social. What a great idea, we each had a turn on the RollaBind (?), binding our own books, rather than piling all that onto one person!
I set my alarm for 7 am Saturday morning so I would have time to wander the pathways and take some photographs before breakfast. I slipped out the back door to the rollicking sound of the distant hen house. The roosters could be heard crowing their good morning salutations, and a few feet from my back porch I was met by a little herd of goats who lured me closer and closer to their fence until finally I discovered that it was electrified! It wasn't all that much of a jolt, but enough to keep me and them at bay. And, it might be the reason that all my animal photos are a bit out of focus. I found that the morning walk each day set the tone for my time in the studio, and I made a vow never to take the same pathway twice. One day, not taking a path at all, we found ourselves walking the grassy meadow and cutting through the garden. (We never did get back to take the photo in that exquisite oak tree.) The garden fence was a profusion of pale green lichen that surely took generations to accumulate. Off the garden path, tiny seedlings were only just revealing themselves in the newly planted fall vegetable beds. We rounded the corner and made our way through a community of bird houses, then marched up the stairs to the Farmhouse, another delicious breakfast awaited. Baskets of miniature chocolate chip muffins (did we ever get that recipe?), yogurt, strawberries, and juices were offered to us whilst the chef put the finishing touches on our "full farmhouse breakfast." Is it possible that we would return in just a few hours for yet another tasty respite? Yes, three chef-planned meals each day served at our table.
Our studio space at garden level was generous with only two persons per table. Note to self, next time remind everyone to bring Ott Lite Desk Lamps for optimum lighting. On Saturday afternoon we discovered that we were right smack in the middle of a wedding. We felt a bit out of place and a little disappointed with the Inn for not being more thoughtful of us and them. Was it just a coincidence that our Silhouettes compositions took on a decidely romantic wedding dress feel? It is very possible we had fallen under the spell of this romantic garden wedding, as we all agreed to make way for the happy couple, retiring a little earlier than scheduled and taking our Silhouettes back to the Lake House for completion. Later in the evening dinner was served outdoors on the Veranda and the music from the wedding reception spilled over us; we filled our glasses and said a toast to the young couple. On the following morning the groom's father, a handsome and very entertaining English-born gentleman, was johnny-on-the-spot and took a multitude of photos of our group at the breakfast table.
On Sunday we had the whole space to ourselves again, and were free to roam the grounds in search of found twigs and feathers for our Nesting Boxes and Nature Tags. But all too soon, our magical weekend came to a close. Farewells and well wishes were shared by all. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend. Thank you all for your gentle good nature. ~ Catherine
p.s. More Serenbe photos in the album, top left.
