Unwinding with Art

On Saturday morning, at 8.20 am I reached the venue, not quite sure what to expect. I was welcomed by the warm Huma Gailani, who handed me a sticker bearing my name and directed me towards the main hall. I carried my canvas and other stuff and marched in the direction. “Gailani Art Retreat” read the colorful signboard displayed at the entrance, with a lot of cheerful people posing with their creative renderings. I stood there staring at the paintings, quite uncertain what I would end up with. As I entered the room, Ibrahim Gailani came forward to greet me and asked me to settle down wherever I was comfortable.

I looked around to find about 20 odd easels spread across the room, a chair beside each easel and a table which had to be shared by two people. As there were only two other participants, I had the opportunity to look for a nice place and settle down. I chose a position for no particular reason and exchanged pleasantries with the person positioned opposite me. The witty Peter Farrington never ceased to amuse throughout the day with his creativity and high spirits. He arrived like a one-man army, fully loaded with art supplies and ready to attack. When I spread out my stuff on the table, I felt more like an unarmed soldier. Peter put me at ease as he remarked that in exchange for the extra space he occupied on the table, I could use whatever stuff I wished to borrow from him. I watched in amazement as he spread out his weapons on the table and noticed that he had a lot of unconventional tools.

Slowly other participants marched in and began to settle in the seats. As I conversed with them, I got to know that few of them were not first–timers at the retreat, and had brought their siblings or friends along this time. At 9, we were all asked to gather in a circle. Gailani delivered a perfect prelude to the retreat, by throwing light on the purpose for the retreat. It was a gathering of creative people who connected with their inner souls through meditation and painted from what evolved in their minds as a consequence, with soul-soothing music playing in the backdrop. We meditated for a few minutes following Gailani’s oration and the topic for the day was announced - “Closure”, to close down the unpleasant things that we wish to forget or get rid of.

When I sat down to paint, I was totally blank. I didn’t have an idea where to start and how to go about it. Looking around, I could sense that there were many other helpless souls with faces that looked as blank as mine. I started painting in a circular motion with different colors emerging, and was almost done with the background when the Show stopper arrived. Gailani came up to me and tried to understand what closure meant to me. He was joined by his wife, whose soothing words meant much more than just what she said. He then asked me to keep my palms wide open and poured some dark blue and red paint onto my hands. I was asked to close my eyes and rub the paint on the canvas. I obeyed him like a child, but was not quite happy at what I saw when I opened my eyes. I was blank again and sat there for sometime staring at my painting, attempting to make some sense out of it.

I didn’t realize then that the very purpose of the retreat was to loosen up,to let go of our feelings and to portray it on canvas. Not sure what to do next, I squeezed out different colors and painted all over the canvas with my hands. It did feel good to paint with my hands; now I was in total control, at least of the tools, if not the theme. I took a break to get a glimpse of what my fellow artists were up to. Some of them were totally lost, while some others were clearly attacking. I got back to work and this time I could see a storm on my canvas. So I painted a boat that was caught up in the midst of the storm, but somehow that didn’t appeal to me.

Again, I took a quick break and strolled around the room and chatted with few of the artists to know what they had in mind. A cup of coffee and some snacks lifted my spirits and I was back in the battleground, ready to strike. I eliminated the boat with some quick strokes and allowed the hand to follow the mind. What emerged looked like a gush of positive energy emitted from the center. I was not completely satisfied with what I had achieved, but I knew that any further attempts would prove to be disastrous. So I spent the rest of the morning admiring the other artists at work. Each time I took a stroll, I could see different paintings emerge on the same canvas. There was a euphoria linking music to motion; that spread across the room and pumped positive energy into the minds of people.

I was filled with admiration for Riya, who started off well and was progressing even better. It was a pleasure to just stand and watch her in action, she had painted two faces and I was awed at the ease with which she handled the shift in expressions. Her magnificent portrayal of a lady’s shift from heartbreak to cheerfulness and the fading away of the man; was awe-inspiring. After a quick lunch, I was back in action, this time on a new canvas. The impressive paintings and colors did have an impact on my emotions which now stood elated. This time I was rather clear on what I wanted to paint. In a short span of less than two hours what emerged from my strokes was a reflection of my own elated emotions.

At 3.30, the artists gathered along with their paintings for the final discussion and group photo. The culmination was inspiring, as each artist took center-stage introducing themselves and explaining the idea behind their exemplary work. This was followed by inputs from the other artists on their perceptions. It was amazing how a single painting could have different interpretations for different people. Each artist was so very different in terms of their age, background, education and nationality, yet there was a striking commonality in terms of their passion towards art. As the curtains fell for the day, I could not help noticing that the confused looks at the beginning had been replaced by smiles and a sense of achievement.