Connie Cohen
Award winning artist, singer, songwriter, my talented Mom! From Connie:
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I, like you, am a creative person.
As a visual artist and musician I have always been drawn to seek and find a way to tap into that mysterious, sometimes illusive source of creativity. I find it is not a clear path and it is always changing. It is always a journey of discovery. It's a process. And that's kind of the point! |
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I am so glad to be joining Anna on another adventure! Our first creative public collaborations were when Anna toured the Northwest with me as a mother-daughter musical duo playing in coffeehouses and womens festivals. She was 13 years old and played electric bass and sang backup on all my original tunes with her uncanny ability to find the perfect harmonies.
Experience my music here
Experience my music here
We have since worked together on many projects: recording, singing, leading, teaching, travelling; supporting each other in our respective creative journeys.
I hope you will join us as we plunge ahead with joy and delight together in one of the most beautiful places in the world! We would love you to be part of it! What will we create together? (Lopez Island Retreat)
I hope you will join us as we plunge ahead with joy and delight together in one of the most beautiful places in the world! We would love you to be part of it! What will we create together? (Lopez Island Retreat)
My Journey
My early art education was at the California College of the Arts where I was schooled in the style of realist painters of the time. Eventually I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from Pacific Northwest College of Art. Over the years I have done illustrations for books and magazines, run a craft business creating hand-painted silks and silkscreened garments. We made crafts, games, stilts and musical shakers made of coconuts (think Oregon Country Fair).
Eventually I earned an Interdisciplinary Master's Degree from Marylhurst University where my focus was looking at the role of the arts in creating sustainable culture. In this program I was introduced to the work of Angeles Arrien which provided the foundation for my own evolving model of the universe and how we bring our own unique "original medicine" to our experience.
Most recently I have been painting with watercolors and studying with some great teachers. Watercolor as a medium provides a tantalizing challenge for me from both sides of my brain: I love the studied discipline learning about papers, color mixing, pigments, water, brushes and technique but it's the relationship I have with it that is the beauty of it. All the back and forth that it has to teach me about acceptance and patience, delight and awe. This medium has a spirit and a "mind" of its own. So it's always about the journey, the process, and balancing the craft of your art (linear left brain) with the art of your craft (creative right brain).
I have had the opportunity to teach guitar, ukulele, songwriting and watercolor; to lead drum circles and group singing classes. I have had the honor and privelege of guiding and singing at spiritual retreats and memorial services. However, I never really feel like I actually know what I'm doing! I always feel like a beginner. I am learning to recognize this is a good thing!
Eventually I earned an Interdisciplinary Master's Degree from Marylhurst University where my focus was looking at the role of the arts in creating sustainable culture. In this program I was introduced to the work of Angeles Arrien which provided the foundation for my own evolving model of the universe and how we bring our own unique "original medicine" to our experience.
Most recently I have been painting with watercolors and studying with some great teachers. Watercolor as a medium provides a tantalizing challenge for me from both sides of my brain: I love the studied discipline learning about papers, color mixing, pigments, water, brushes and technique but it's the relationship I have with it that is the beauty of it. All the back and forth that it has to teach me about acceptance and patience, delight and awe. This medium has a spirit and a "mind" of its own. So it's always about the journey, the process, and balancing the craft of your art (linear left brain) with the art of your craft (creative right brain).
I have had the opportunity to teach guitar, ukulele, songwriting and watercolor; to lead drum circles and group singing classes. I have had the honor and privelege of guiding and singing at spiritual retreats and memorial services. However, I never really feel like I actually know what I'm doing! I always feel like a beginner. I am learning to recognize this is a good thing!
Fun historical flyer from a series of retreats Connie and Anna Co-Created 2013-2015
