KALEIDOSCOPE

We call them the Mother’s Garden creatives. Mother’s Garden is the name of this little farm that sits on the fringe of the farmland butting up to forested crags of the Serra de Llaberia. The creatives are the artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers and potpourri of people from around the world who have made their way to our Priorat door and brought their light.

Some of our local friends laughingly talk of us as hippies. We want a classic VW campervan, that’s for sure, and may even paint flowers on it. We are long-standing members of Greenpeace. I will walk about without shoes (or sandals). Live music and voices often ripple up the valley to the village. We are worried sick about the planet and the dire human propensity for conflict.

But we are just a family and all that means, one that happened upon a place where, whether talk of a crossing of ley lines is to be believed, there is a palpable energy, an inspiration to be creative and resourceful. Such a sense brings resilience which is no bad thing. It is profoundly worth the risks.

Memories are jammed with refreshing sounds, colours and words, moments of indelible happiness.

Back in December, a young film crew descended again, to shoot a music video on bitterly cold mornings and late into the dark, for the song CANVAS by Catalan artist RØ. It is a short (just five minutes) drama about male vulnerability and has just been premiered.

Other friends:

The first album by band MORGANWAY is about to be released, with justifiable mentions of a Fleetwood Mac vibe. They are flying now.

British pianist Jonathan Plowright is halfway through his Brahms series at the Wigmore Hall in London and his extraordinary performances and recordings are being widely feted.

What shines is the drive, the determination to press on for years and years, to find the will when often there does not seem a way. Success is such a small part of the whole story.

Across the kaleidoscope of creative arts there is much to feed the spirit, both of the creatives and those around them. Hence, we open our door to all.

The lesson is profound. Depth in an increasingly shallow world, passion, belief and commitment to explore and expound who we are when it is by far the most difficult path.

The pressure to comply, suppress and get on with a formulaic life is relentless. Yet we only have to think what is joyful and sustaining – where we turn – to know the immeasurable value of the arts, in all its glory, whether you are into the Rolling Stones, Miro, Hemingway, Schubert, Kubrick, Matisse, Ruiz Zafón ……

The world needs to feed the creative in every child. And it is never too late. I’m thinking of taking up the saxophone.

Potential abides in all. I prefer to wonder at this and not at how many unfulfilments there may be.

Enjoy your local festivals and cheer on the artists.