On August 10th, CURA hosted an artist pop-up in the gallery – I stopped by and got caught up in the swell of community CURA seems to generate naturally. Marsha Robinson aka an insanely talented, Denver-based artist set up her prints in our shop and as the customers came in, they lingered and connected for hours. Really... hours.
I can’t stop looking at the prints I bought that day – there’s insects and flowers set alongside and inside graphics that look like written music to me, although Marsha remarked that hadn’t actually been her intention. One print of a scarab reminded me so much of my recent trip to Provence where the cicadas provide the soundtrack of summer in southern France, evoking the intersections of music, nature, and fine design. Marsha works with ink, and I overheard her refer to her art as plant-based medicine, and when I asked her to tell me more she said, 'In my process I set the intention for healing through the potency of plants and the natural world. In setting these intentions the imagery I create is transformed into a visual almost physical form of plant medicine. I want to see my work heal.''
I love that so much, and believe it. I have a Shipibo song cloth hanging over my bed. The Shipibo live in central Peru in the Amazon and the women use plant Medicine to see music – the music they see is woven into designs that are healing and intentional. Marsha’s work resonates with this indigenous practice which is also a reminder that everything we bring into our bodies has the potential to nourish us. Everything we consume through sight, sound, taste, and touch should be nourishing – to ourselves and ultimately to everyone and every thing.
Marsha’s prints lit up the gallery space that afternoon, and I watched it happen as people came inside and didn’t leave. Women of all ages, mothers with their children, young women, mature women. We talked and laughed and shared our stories, connecting and healing by being together in this space Kiko created in our awesome neighborhood. It was a remarkable scene, and entirely the intention behind CURA. Bringing people together to be moved and activated by each other, by art, and by a sense of purpose. CURA creates the space to be nourished and sustained by genuine, real life connection. We had a love-fest on IG that evening.
I was lit up, too. Kiko and I love watching the connections that form in the store, and Marsha’s art created a deeply healing energy. We are so grateful she's going to leave some prints behind for a few lucky customers to enjoy. Come on down this weekend and be moved.
