News

Spring is almost here! 

In this newsletter, we are happy to feature the interweaving artwork of Deborah Mutschler. Her latest pieces, with sweeping curves that invite the warm breezes of months to come, can be seen below and on her gallery page.

March finds us richly underway in our collaborative planning process for Interdependence in Motion: A Continuum Retreat. Held within the peaceful campus at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, this annual retreat is a cherished time to soak up the magic of community in nature.

Omega graciously allows us to bring in a large faculty, which this year includes co-organizer Megan Bathory-Peeler, Robin Becker, Ellen Cohen, Melanie Gambino, Bonnie Gintis, Elisabeth Osgood-Campbell and Linda Rabin. Together we love creating explorations and holding space for our precious community of somatic movers. Retreat participants will receive Continuum teachings expressed from each of the faculty’s unique talents and with an overall coherence from this group of eight – an octo-pod! 

I believe strongly in the kind of community created in the circle of Continuum and hope you can join us from July 2-7, 2023.

May our paths cross at one of the many activities we have planned for this year, 

Elaine

Watermark Arts Creative Team

View the newsletter here.

Happy New Year,

2023 marks a significant anniversary for me.

Thirty years ago, I met Continuum and fell completely in love.

I knew immediately that I would follow its call – exploring the art and science of being a conscious, moving body. For these past three decades – a large part of my adult life – I have been faithful to Continuum. I have been rewarded with a growing ability to meet the unexpected and the unknown, with healing revelations and more ease in my entire being.

I am beholden to Judi Bachrach, who introduced me to Continuum in 1993. She captured my attention by describing Continuum as a way “to bypass your defenses and connect with your true self.” My study continued with visionary Continuum founder Emilie Conrad, who challenged me to release what stood in my way, to become free to carry Continuum into the world. Susan Harper provided heartfelt support and was an inspiring model on my journey to becoming a Continuum teacher.

My colleagues in the Continuum teaching community are my chosen family. Linda Rabin has been my Continuum soul mate in a decades-long pedagogical dialogue that keeps us engaged and growing. I have been blessed for these many years with extraordinary students, who endlessly inspire me and whose perspectives broaden my understanding of human experience.

2023 will be full of events born of my lifelong abiding passion: bringing people together to experience the transformative capacity of the body. Read on for an overview of the year to come.

Please join me in celebrating nothing less than the unfolding, ongoing miracle of life in vibrant expression.

Wishing you the joy of connection in 2023 – with self, others and nature,
Elaine

As always, I owe endless gratitude to the multi-talented Watermark Arts Creative Team.

Read the newsletter here.

With great excitement, I announce that Watermark Arts now holds the archive for artist Barbara Mindell’s lifetime of painting, drawing and writing. Our upcoming 2023 Journal will feature Barbara’s work. Until then, please enjoy a selection of her paintings below and view more on her gallery page.

Decades ago, Barbara was the first artist to help me see the potential of somatic experience to inform creative practice. Watermark Arts is indebted to Barbara’s mutually inspirational relationship with Continuum founder, Emilie Conrad. These two amazing women sparked each other to greater realms of creativity and innovation. Deep gratitude to Dennis Matthies for trusting Watermark Arts to oversee Barbara’s archive.

With this announcement we are also welcoming two more artists with roots in Continuum – writer Suzanne Konnersman of Indiana and Toronto-based musician Michael Menegon. View their creative work and learn about their fascinating life journeys below. 

As this is our final newsletter of 2022, we wish to thank you for joining us in our myriad activities throughout the past year. We look forward to continuing our engagement with you in 2023. 

Happy Holidays,

Elaine and the Watermark Arts Creative Team

Read the newsletter here.

As the season changes, as we all process myriad challenges, I continue to ask, “what kind of world is created by people informed by somatic practice?” The answer lies in the work of our dynamic community of artists and supporters. 

This month, we welcome international dance artist Hanna Sybille Müller, whose words float in the banner above amidst David Gilbert’s artwork. Learn more about Sybille below and view a three minute video collage crafted by Prue Jeffries of our Watermarkings performance.

On Sunday October 23 from 1 – 2 pm ET, we invite you to an online celebration and sharing of The Elemental Body: A Movement Guide to Kinship with Ourselves and the Natural World, our newest publication. Join co-author Rori Smith and me for a guided experience of the book including film, poetry and Continuum exploration.

All are welcome to this free hour-long event; no Continuum experience required. Feel free to share the invitation with family and friends. Read more below and RSVP to receive the Zoom link. 

In kinship,
Elaine

Read the Fall 2022 newsletter here. 

Dear Friends,

I am basking in beauty after spending a week in retreat with other Continuum movers at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, followed by presenting Continuum at the Somatic Dance Conference and Performance Festival in Geneva, NY. 

This excerpt from Omega participant Susan Kushner’s poem “Refuge” captures the essence of these experiences for me…

Find a space where your muscles can relax and unfurl; 
Where the ground is solid and strong beneath you and the sky cradles you from above. 
Find an inner sanctum where your breathing can soften and your heart can become warm and 
full and open; where all creatures around you will care for you. 
Where you are safe. 
Where you can dance and feel joy. 
And sway in the wind. 
Where you are not alone. 
And you can feel the rhythm of life run through you.

In a future mailing, you will be introduced to more of Susan’s poetry, along with other artists joining our virtual galleries.

In this newsletter, we share with you a Continuum Water Blessing filmed at Long Pond Lake on the final morning at Omega, along with photos capturing the Watermark Arts performance and the inaugural book reading of The Elemental Body: A Movement Guide to Kinship with Ourselves and the Natural World. 

I am already looking forward to our next opportunity to gather and immerse in Continuum and the natural world. I invite you to join me for Fluid Anatomy, Fluid Movement, Fluid Life: A Continuum Retreat  at the immaculate Dharmakaya Center for Wellbeing high in the Shawangunk Mountains of Cragsmoor, NY from September 15 -18. We will enjoy the fresh Fall season as we move together in the outdoor practice pavilion on the mountainside. Wishing that your heart be warmed by your joyfully moving body,

Elaine and the Watermark Arts Creative Team

Read the newsletter here.

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Two years ago, in preparation for our annual Continuum workshop at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, we shared with you a series of online exhibits of art, poetry and somatic explorations inspired by the elements: Air, Earth, Fire and Water. When the pandemic cancelled our plans to gather at Omega, our creative energy was redirected to create a movement guide expanding on the elemental exhibits. 

We are now pleased to announce the publication of our book, The Elemental Body: A Movement Guide to Kinship with Ourselves and the Natural World. The pages of which are 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. 

Our first book signing will be held during our much anticipated return to Omega for the weeklong retreat “Elemental Movement for Creative Wellbeing,” June 26 – July 1, 2022.

View the newsletter here to learn more about the book and the upcoming workshop.

With great excitement,

Elaine and the Watermark Arts Creative Team

The Spring 2022 newsletter begins with a message from Elaine:

“Peace, not only the absence of war.”

This line from ‘Making Peace’ by poet Denise Levertov gave me pause to consider, How does peace live in me? How does war live in me?”

As a person who has lived in relative safety much of her life, I have little reason to direct aggression outwardly. Nonetheless, I have experienced conflict within me, as self-hatred and shame. These war-like feelings have diminished over my years of Continuum practice – not from a direct approach at resolution – more as an outcome of growing other qualities in what I name as my “self.”

I name some of these qualities as a felt experience of peace: A golden thread of tranquility bringing ease within. I sense peace as a movement that allows me to dissolve boundaries between myself and others. I sense peace through the act of communion with the world around me. Even when I am frustrated and angry, this vein of peace flows in me, at times only a subtle glimmer, at other times like a radiant sun. Becoming a body of peace – even when disturbed, even when unwell – I still sense the possibility of peace within. 

Where else can peace begin if not in my own being? 

I don’t feel virtuous or noble in this investigation, nor do I feel like I know what I am doing. My efforts are a drop of water in a peace-parched landscape, like tears of grief while bearing witness for others’ pain. Yet, the pursuit of peace – embodied within and with others – feels like a sacred inquiry. 

To this end, with Watermark Arts, we create opportunities for somatic explorers to join together in peaceful communion with self, others, and the world. Please join in these embodied explorations of discovery. We create them to be shared with you. 

Read the newsletter here.

Elaine and the Watermark Arts Creative Team

World Water Day is March 22, 2022. 

In honor of the myriad life supporting qualities of water, we share with you My Body, The Wetland, a video with narration from the Watermark Arts Journal, WaterSense.

In addition, we bring you artfully captured water imagery by photographer Tuan Pham and Cosmic Blue from poet Noelle Adamo, an ode to the potential of our fluid artistry.

On World Water Day, as well as every day, may we commit to protecting water sources, from the waters within us to the waterways worldwide.

Read the newsletter here.

Elaine and WM Arts Creative Team

A message from Elaine:

Megan Bathory-Peeler, my cherished colleague and collaborator, has eagerly joined me in planning “Elemental Movement for Creative Wellbeing,” a 5-day retreat at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY:
June 26 – July 1, 2022. 

Elaine: After a two year hiatus due to the pandemic, I am thrilled to have you collaborate with me to facilitate our return to Omega

Megan: It feels more necessary than ever to gather in community with our colleagues and fellow lovers of Continuum.

Elaine: For our fifth retreat at Omega since 2016, the faculty will fluidly guide participants in the sensate experience of the elements. Air, Earth, Fire and Water are well represented throughout the restorative Omega campus, providing us with the ideal environment to connect symbiotically with nature.

Megan: Yes, it’s that grounding into a deep connection with nature that brings participants back to Omega. People are called to return because of the alchemy that occurs during our communal workshop explorations, along with the nurturing interactions at meals, on the trails, at the lake, at the bookstore and cafe, which inspire and sustain us through the rest of the year.

Scroll down to meet the illustrious faculty. We all look forward to welcoming you to Omega 2022. Registration is limited to allow for a spacious and safe workshop environment – indoors and outdoors on the covered porch. Omega has made many adjustments to keep us healthy and comfortable, as our relationship to the pandemic continues to evolve. Please register early to secure your place.

Looking forward to the warmth of summer and your smiling faces,

Elaine

Read the newsletter here.

The Artistry of Water from Watermark Arts on Vimeo.

The Artistry of Water, written and narrated by Elaine Colandrea and Prue Jeffries is a journey of interconnection through exploring Continuum, Craniosacral Therapy, Water, Art and the creative process based on a dialogue between Elaine and Prue from The Watermark Arts Journal 2018 Inaugural Issue – The Artistry of Water.

Filmed and Edited by Prue Jeffries
Music By Morena Boschetto
Continuum Movers: Elaine Colandrea, Prue Jeffries
Continuum Movers
Elaine Colandrea
Prue Jeffries
Continuum Italia Movers at Gufi e Allodolei, Monteveglio
Simona Arbizzani
Laura Balbi
Alessandra Cacciari
Mirco Dondi
Cinzia Russo
Naomi Walker
Patrizia Bellardi