In early March, 2020 seventeen women of all ages came together for a week of intensive writing and enchantment in the Scottish Highlands. The collective creative energy of unfettered femininity ignited inspiration like no other force.
Muses in the Highlands
March 3rd-10th 2020
photo by attendee Justine Trickett
We roamed the blustery castle grounds and moss-covered abbey. We sat on the floor of the castle dungeon for a candlelit lecture on philosophical love letters, followed by a performance from a magnificent harpist who regaled us with traditional Gaelic songs.
We composed stories, letters, poetry, and songs, which we shared with each other by firelight (goblets of local spirits in hand).
We collected fallen flora to weave into crowns, which we placed as offerings to the graves of a seven-hundred-year-old Viking cemetery.
...but most importantly, we forged new friendships and strengthened old ones, all while making art in an inspired location.
The edifying experience came to an abrupt halt when coronavirus erupted into a worldwide crisis. As we hurriedly left our seaside respite in the face of impending travel restrictions, we hugged each other tightly not yet knowing what isolation we would experience in the coming months.
photos on this page taken by Justine Trickett and Syrie Moskowitz