Welcome to Watermark Arts
Watermark Arts brings together somatic awareness and artistic expression in the belief that both are essential aspects in creating a more humane and peaceful world.
The word somatic, from the Greek somatikos, implies a fullness of presence in the living, sensate, wholeness of bodily being. With awareness of the integrity of the body, comes a felt experience of the interconnection of all living things as part of a larger whole.
In our modern, technologically-advanced era, somatic explorers exist near the cultural edge, holding this way of wholeness in the face of a widespread and pervasive sense of fragmentation.
Artists, too, live at the edge of culture, working with revolutionary ideas and symbolic messages encoded in dance, poetry, stories, music and visual art. As culture creators throughout history, artists have brought about substantive, peaceful change in society.
These times call on us to become generators of the culture we wish to live in. Creative acts show up in all aspects of life — in art, in teaching, in community-building. Watermarks asks, What happens when these creative acts are informed by somatic awareness? Can we bring into being a world permeated by a sense of wholeness and interconnection?
Elaine Colandrea
Artistic Director
Enlight and Desert Waves #3, Photographs by Prue Jeffries
Upcoming 2023 Workshops
The serene Dharmakaya retreat setting, where basic needs are elegantly met, allows multiple days of immersion into the breath, sound and fluid movement sequences of Continuum. The primary focus is on the life affirming act of supporting personal life force, rather than tending the day-to-day activities of survival, which often lock bodies and identities into tense self-limiting patterns.
Practicing in the covered Outdoor Pavilion restores our connection to nature, giving a necessary infusion of the elemental energies that make up our bodies and our world. The indoor Meditation Hall and fire pit offer additional spaces for nurturing introspective and interoceptive discoveries.
This is a somatic movement workshop accessible to all ages and levels of ability. Once laid out, the practices are done at one’s own pace. This self-guided aspect of Continuum builds inner authority and offers the opportunity for deeper levels of self-regulation – a necessary component of health, wellbeing, creativity and learning. Learn more.
The Elemental Body: A Movement Guide to Kinship with Ourselves and the Natural World
We are pleased to announce the publication of our book, "The Elemental Body: A Movement Guide to Kinship with Ourselves and the Natural World."
The book is filled with Continuum explorations from authors Elaine Colandrea and Rori Smith and elemental art and poetry from Watermark artists. This project is a multimedia endeavor. The book is accompanied by a library of short films to inspire your relationship with the elements and enrich your practice.
Read here to learn more about the book.
News
Welcoming New Artists
Visit our galleries
Watermark Arts galleries currently feature fifty artists representing all artistic media. We will continue to grow in 2021 with more somatically inspired art. Please use the menu at the top to visit galleries and learn more about individual artists, or click on any image in the slideshow. You can see all the artists on this page.
Watermark Arts Journals
Moving Art Cards
Created by Elaine Colandrea and Prue Jeffries, each card offers an image and a somatic practice to deepen awareness to your felt, sensed experience. Enhance your personal practice and increase your embodied presence, artfully! Learn more about Moving Art Cards here.
Opening image: Kathy Cassens photograph, Morphic Memory, choreography Elaine Colandrea. Contact page: The Nature of the Body video by Elaine Colandrea
