Cross Pollination - A Special Event

Hosted by the Putnam County Dance Project, this unusual weekend event invites artists of any discipline to join with others to create and reflect on the creative process with dancers, visual artists and musicians.

Bring your curiosity and delve into the creative process in an open workshop-- cross pollinate with dancers, visual artists and musicians. Putnam County Dance Project (Marie Carstens and Erin Jennings) & Guest Artists: Carol Davis, Maia Claire Garrison, Michael D’Agostino; host this multi-modal participatory event. 

Event Registration is through Eventbrite. While there is no cost we encourage a donation at the door.  You can register through these links for Cross Pollination - Saturday Salon and the Sunday Performance Event.

Event Information

JOIN US AS WE PULL-BACK THE CURTAIN AND BREAK OPEN THE CREATIVE ARTISTIC PROCESS! FOCUS ON THE INHERENT CURIOSITY AND JOY FOUND THROUGH THE PROCESS OF ART MAKING.

How do artists get ideas? How do they make compositions? These are questions that have been queried and explored for hundreds of years. Dancers, sculptors, painters, sketch artists, musician, poets, and other artists are often inspired by other artists, by inner emotional life and by external experiences or relationships. There are romantic anecdotes of poets and dancers gathering in Rodin’s Garden for an afternoon or sipping away in Scriabin’s living room creating fertile artistic space. Salons formed in the quest of community and enlightenment.

This open workshop invites the conversation and intimacy of the salon. It creates time and space for artists from various modalities to work and be informed by, inspired by one another’s artistic process, to create and share. The community is invited to observe the artistic process throughout the day on Saturday, donations welcome.

Sunday’s workshop  features finished, completed works as well as the art in process from Saturday’s workshop. This includes a gallery showing as well as live performance at 2 p.m.

Workshop expectations: What are we doing exactly?

The workshop begins at 10 a.m. with an ice-breaker activity that fosters presence, mindfulness, and community. This is followed by a structured improvisation led by Erin and Marie; artists of other modalities are encouraged to create art based on what inspires them from the dance improvisation or anything else happening in the moment. There is time for reflection throughout the morning to identify and bring to surface the moments that pique artistic curiosity, guide interest, engender satisfaction.

After a quick break and a tidy introduction about the stages of creative artistic process and the supportive feedback structure, Carol Prud’homme Davis brings her wealth of experience as a visual artist inspired by dance/movement and begins our discussion by sharing her artistic process of bringing dance onto paper in expressive line and form. The floor is then open for all artists to share their art and creative process.

After lunch (provided) Maia Claire Garrison gets us back into the groove with African based dance from 2-3. This is followed by the visual artists and musicians sharing any created work or refinements from the morning, a reciprocal experience where dancers / movers may be inspired by the art works presented or the artists process shared and provide feedback about what ‘moves’ them.

Creative collaboration/ independent artistry closes the day with a more casual ‘cross-pollination’ when dancers, musicians, artists may choose to work together more directly or independently. The final ‘step’ in our journey is to collectively share our works in process be they dances, drawings, sculpture, music, poetry, paintings, etc.

What will you need? An openness to sharing your work in a supportive atmosphere. Any of your own supplies needed for your medium. A willingness to engage as a community. If you are moving – comfortable clothes.
Artists who register for the day are asked to also bring a finished piece of art to exhibit on Sunday, May 16th, 2-5 p.m. as part of the Cross-Pollination showcase of works: finished and in-process which includes visual art gallery as well as live performances.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN:

If you would like to be part of this unique event, please contact Marie Carstens or Erin Jenniing at:

Putnamcountydanceproject@gmail.com