I recently road-tripped from Wisconsin to South Dakota to participate in Douglas Beasley’s annual Dramatic Portrait: Figure in the Badlands Workshop, which has been on my wishlist for the past few years.
This photography workshop experience is well known for the fantastic group of people who attend, along with the dramatic portraits that are created in this remote, and sacred land with its sculpted soil, sweeping vistas and extraordinary light.
Recent events in the world surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and many others have brought into focus where we can do better, and be better. If you read my recent newsletter, you’ll know I am actively working on an action plan to better shape my mission at Open Air Places in a more diverse and inclusive way and I look forward to publishing that soon.
I admit, it’s been a challenge to stay active on this platform with all of the uncertainty in the world, and my own worries that I’ll do or say the wrong thing promoting travel or retreats (my two main gigs) when obviously those two things are responsibly on hold right now. I feel deeply that words matter, messaging matters and I always want to be an authentic voice sharing positivity and inspiration in everything that I do here.
This month I had a fun trip on my calendar - a week of Island Time in Hawaii where I intended to explore a handful of unique places to stay. This planning is in preparation for a 2021 retreat that I am producing with my friend and photographer, Douglas Beasley. The COVID-19 pandemic has paused my travel plans this month, but I remain excited to bring this trip to fruition when traveling is safe again.
Inspired this week by Kitty O’Meara’s “In The Time Of Pandemic” poem posted on her lovely blog The Daily Round: Living From The Spirit Level I wanted to share some of the ways I am staying inspired at home during this time of social distancing.
I’d love to hear what you are doing (….or not doing) in the comments below. Please feel free to share your silver linings! We’re all in this together.
XOXO
JENNA
If you’re anything like me, your ideal weekend escape is probably filled with beautiful cabins secluded in nature, proximity to Lake Superior and plenty of time for rest and reflection. Enter the space that rolls all of these goals into one: The RicePod™ - the first of the Salmela Architect cabins at Wild Rice Retreat, in Bayfield, WI.
Hello Friend!
Last week I told someone that retreats are the BEST part of my life. I love taking them, I love planning them, and I especially love sharing why I think they are a must for creatives.
You may have seen my popular blog post “Top 10 Reasons Why Photo Retreats Enrich My Life” which is a illustrated list of why I keep signing up for photography retreats.
Today I am pleased to have the opportunity to elaborate on reason #4 on that list: Meeting Like-minded People.
A three hour drive from Shaxi along curving mountain pass roads brings you to the Tibetan plateau and it’s first major trading site - Zhongdian. The city was renamed Shangri-La, after the Utopian Tibetan location described in Jack Hilton's novel, Lost Horizon.
Along the road north, we stopped at two rest stops. The first was a stunning overlook where you can see the bend in the Yangtze River after its long southeast journey from Tibet. It felt good to stop here and enjoy this magnificent view with the yellow canola fields in bloom along the river.
When I started this blog I intended to begin with one of my favorite photos from my travels through Yunnan - it’s a snapshot of me riding a fluffy white yak, with blue sky and the Himalayas behind me standing as a stunning backdrop.
However, doing that would require me to fast-forward my journey along the Ancient Tea and Horse Road past a delicious 48 hours I spent in a sleepy little town called Shaxi.
Shaxi is a historic market town in Yunnan, known for its famous Sideng market square which was added to the World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in 2001. I was lucky to arrive on market day, and got to experience the sights and sounds of this unique place where the local people come from all over the mountainsides to trade and buy their local goods.
However it wasn’t the market day that made this place so memorable for me - it was special because of instead of going along on the day-trip excursions that were planned for the day, I decided to follow my intuition and stay in Shaxi so I could wander, collect color notes, rest, try some restaurants, make photographs and really…..just soak up the atmosphere of this beautiful gem of a town along the road to Tibet.
A ten minute walk from the LINDEN CENTRE through the streets of Xizhou, brings you to the LINDEN COMMONS: Yan’s house. This iconic mansion was built in 1928, and opened for guests in 2018 after being lovingly restored by the LINDEN CENTRE’s owners, Brian and Jeanee Linden.
The hotel and grounds are nearly double the size of the LINDEN CENTRE, and are perfect for large groups and retreats. With 14 rooms decorated with traditional Bai-style antiques, the hotel also features dining areas, a gorgeous cafe/bar, conference facilities, a library, gym & yoga room, massage area, boutique gallery and last but not least, a cooking school complete with flower and vegetable gardens.
My travels along the Ancient Tea & Horse Road led me to Weishan, which is a two hour drive south of Xizhou, where the LINDEN CENTRE is located.
Weishan was an important and prosperous trading place during the 8th and 9th centuries and the old-town village is very picturesque, with friendly and laid-back shop merchants lining the streets. I was lucky to be here on the last day of the famous Weishan Snack Festival, which draws people from all over Yunnan once a year to gather together and eat all sorts of unique snacks.
On my artist walks though Xizhou, I couldn’t help but admire the stacks of gorgeous blue and white textiles that dotted many of the sellers stalls. It reminded me of my days planning fiber art workshops with Shibori artist Yoshiko Wada. The blues range from a soft cloud blue, to deep indigo and are similar to the pool of layered blue hues that I am working with right now in my painting studio.
JENNA here, writing this travel diary from beautiful Yunnan, China.
This place has long been a bucket list location for me, stemming from my college days pouring over books that described Asia’s art history objects, calligraphy scrolls and landscape paintings which captured my interest and resonated with me in a powerful way. If you aren’t familiar with the area, Yunnan is also known as South of the Clouds and is home to some of the most diverse cultures, ecology and landscape in China.
