Happy Birthday To Me!

Every year I try to do something out of the ordinary for my Birthday. I mostly use it as a time to reflect on my past year and to do something inspiring in preparation for the next one.

So... for the past few weeks, I've been trying to decide the best way to celebrate.  At first I entertained the thought of going to Cuba or Mexico to get a hit of some much needed sunshine, but then I looked at my bank balance and realized that was out of the question.  

Then I thought maybe I could go on a yoga/ meditation retreat, but nothing in my search appealed to me.  After that I googled writing retreats and found an amazing place in New York State that seemed perfect, but in the end, it was so difficult to get there I gave up on the idea.   I also looked at an artist lodge in Niagra Falls but that was ridiculously expensive... 

Time was ticking away, but finally, two days before my birthday, I suddenly remembered that there is an artist residence on Toronto Island.  I contacted them, and at first there was nothing available, but then at the very last minute they managed to fit me in... Yay!

So the morning of my birthday, Monday April 6th, I took a taxi to the ferry dock.   I had a ton of luggage; my guitar, a stack of books, and a pile of art supplies, a few changes of clothes, and a painfully heavy bag of groceries (there are no stores on the island).  I was really struggling to carry everything onto the boat, so this lovely lady, who goes by the name "Grandma Shirley" offered to help me.

She was a total sweet heart, and seemed so happy that I was a musician.  She was visiting from Hawaii and when she's not looking after her aging mother and working on a coffee farm (which she does for fun) she is traveling around the world, and makes an effort to go to concerts in every city she visits.  She loves music, mostly classical and believes it has helped her get through all the difficult times in her life.  She was kind enough to offer me a place to stay if I ever go to Hawaii, so maybe that will have to be next years birthday celebration.  Her parting words of advice: "You have to Love Life".

What I love about Toronto Island is that even though you are only a short 10 minute boat ride away from the down town core, it somehow feels like you are miles away from anywhere.  As soon as I arrived, I knew it was the perfect place for me to be.  It was a quiet sanctuary, a peaceful nature reserve.  Exactly what I was hoping for.

I was greeted by the staff from Artscape and they drove me to the Artist Residence which is situated in the historic school house buildings.  That's my studio room on the corner...

After a quick tour of the grounds, the communal kitchen and bathrooms, i was shown to my lodging - a bedroom and studio in one.  I was is heaven! I could barely contain my excitement.  Without hesitating, I unpacked my luggage and got my self set up - my studio space was big enough for three separate stations.  One for visual arts, one for writing and reading and one for my computer where I could upload photos.

Once all my luggage was unpacked, I went to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat and struck up a conversation with a gregarious opera singer named Ronan.  He lives on the island and was just visiting the arts centre for the day.  He was throwing a party that night for a friend who had been away, it was kind of a birthday party but not really because "it's not her birthday yet..you're welcome to come" he said.  I told him it was actually my birthday, so that would be great!  He then got really excited and told me I had to come, it was meant to be, "this party is for you"... with that we parted and went our separate ways.

I spent the rest of the afternoon writing in my journal and exploring the area around the arts centre.  This beautiful old light house was right outside my room...

I also walked down to the lake shore, and for the first time in my life witnessed ice filled waves and a frozen waterline... It was spectacular! There were piles and piles of ice, as clear as glass, strewn across the beach. 

To me they looked like mountains of diamonds, or a wasteland of broken chandeliers. So I spent a fair bit of time taking in the sights and sounds of this foreign landscape and had fun making ice sculptures for  a while.  

Before too long it was time to make my way to the other side of the island  - and so I began the hour long walk over to Ronan's for my impromptu birthday party.  There was a beautiful sunset that night, so I chose the longer route along the boardwalk, where I could look out across the water.

When I arrived, Ronan wasn't there yet, but everyone seemed to know about me already.  "Are you Natasha? Happy Birthday!"  Most of them were permanent island dwellers -  such an interesting bunch of people.   We shared an amazing meal together, and I got to hear everyones stories about how they happened to be living on the island...We also chatted about how fun it was that I ended up there and the beauty of serendipity. 

The island and its inhabitants were seeming more and more magical by the minute.  Believe it or not, there was even a chocolate birthday cake with my name on it!  I felt so blessed with the kindness of these complete strangers.  

By the way this is Kat and Ronan, the friends who live at the house of 'my' party, two of the most generous and inspiring people I have ever met...

After dinner, it was announced that I was a singer and everyone was moved to the lounge room so that I could perform a house concert for them.  It was such a great night! I could never have dreamt of a better way to celebrate my birthday.

Someone lent me a bike and I headed back to Gibraltor point around midnight.  It was a perfectly still night, the sky lit up by a full moon. The road home was a tree lined path, covered in a lacework of shadows; there was the sound of waves crashing in the distance.  The occasional squirrel darted across the trail, and birds called out as if to warn others of my arrival.  Under normal circumstances, being alone, so late at night in this setting, could have been terrifying as my imagination is easily carried away with frightening thoughts, but no fear could penetrate my happiness that night.  I was so content...

This event set my mood for the whole week. I had an amazing time.  Every day I worked on something creative. There's something very motivating about knowing that in the rooms surrounding you there are other artists working on their own projects - painters, sculptors, writers, photographers and dancers to name a few.  I felt like I had found my lost tribe, the place where I belonged. I did a lot of reading and writing and developed a few new song ideas, plus I had fun experimenting with some art therapy.  This was the view from my window.

I also painted a whole bunch of new pins so that my fans can continue to wear their hearts on their sleeves...

I'm back on the mainland now, back to reality.  I've returned to the daily grind of city life, with renewed energy and a heart full of hope. This past week was a beautiful reminder that as soon as you throw caution to the wind,  and follow your intuition, life will always reward you... xx