Note: this was also sent in our newsletter format so please excuse us if this is a repetition.
Here we are at the beginning of 2024, reflecting back on the past year and reaching forward.
2023 was a difficult year for so many of us in this community of artists. The Anawim Arts Board lost two of its members – Pat Irr, OSF and Karen Hurley Kuchar. Accordingly, many of our public activities slowed down or stopped for a time. However, the creativity and collaboration that fed the work of Anawim Arts showed up in so many small and intimate ways. We expanded our network and supported our friends through their illnesses, shared art and writing, tears and laughter. We mourned our losses and celebrated their amazing lives.
Entering 2024, we are grounding ourselves in our original vision of encouraging and inspiring artists at the intersection of art and spirituality. We are consolidating our leadership, joining our international steering committee with the existing board. We hope to bring back some of our regular offerings such as the Wisdom Writing Circles and the Online Journal. We are excited about a new format for Creating Space dialogues. We will continue to foster creative sparks and community conversations. And we will sponsor in-person and online art shows.
We hope you will continue with us on this journey. We are taking inspiration from this orchid that was a gift from Karen Hurley Kuchar. After its initial bloom in 2023, it was reduced to a few dried stems. But with careful attention, the dormant orchid began to show signs of life in an abundance of new buds. And now it is thriving.
Anawim … the remnant that remains faithful
We are
Karen Hurley Kuchar
Those who remain faithful to the Divine invitation
To create
We write, paint, sing, draw, garden
Capture beauty with cameras
We dance with out Divine Muse
And invite others to dance
We live, love, cry at our losses
Share our tears and laughter
Always creating space for all in our sacred circle
We treasure our connections to those in other countries
There are no boundaries of space and time
As we explore the creative sparks that fly between us
We know that the Divine is creating us all anew,
She moves among us, within us, urges us
To see the beauty that surrounds us
With our inner eye
To find ourselves in this web of life
We have created all our lives
Food for family and friends
Seeds we planted are now trees that shade
Flowers bring joy
We believe we are invited
To express
Our wisdom, our sorrows, our joys
In our unique voices
We believe that together
We find ways to expand and share
The creative ways we live life
And that all are invited
To dance with the Divine Muse
Originally published in Walking Together July 2023