How it all got started - Cheryl

Most artists and makers work alone and finding invigorating sources of inspiration may not always be forthcoming. Many years ago, I discovered dramatic new ways to inform my art and also that of many others at the same time. It developed quite naturally, as I had a passion for what I did, loved to share it and traveled a lot.

You see, my husband enjoyed marathon running and each year he would sign up to run in a different country. This enabled us to travel the world with a group of like minded people (runners) and have everything organised for us. The only problem was, I did not run, I reconnoitered. While waiting for the race to finish or for my husband to recover, I would “do a recce”. I would gather information to bring in my own groups by finding suitable accommodation, searching out places to eat and securing a bus driver with a van the size we would need. Most important was finding interesting excursions and complimentary things to do.

The formula was straight forward and once I had names and emails of people and places, some good photographs and transport routes worked out, I was set. The only other thing I needed to complete the planning process was a suitable place to work so that the group could accommodate their creative side.

This was not easy, but finding people with similar interests was the key and working with them gave us the edge we needed. In Africa, it was sometimes sitting on the ground with local women sharing skills. In Turkey it would actually be in people’s homes. Iceland farmhouses worked well for our group there. The most difficult place was China where things were so regimented, creative spontaneity was difficult, so we used hotels and followed the direction of our guides obediently as we collected items along the way to weave into our work at night in our rooms.

Once the recce was completed, while memories were fresh, I would write a description of the proposed trip and think of the most likely teacher to invite to match skills with the circumstances planned for the adventure.

Here is where the success of the second phase was paramount - inviting the right teacher to attract followers for travel to the destination I had prepared.

The other part of this equation is for the teachers to know and trust me enough to accept the invitation and be able to attract students and that meant I had to market myself well in the circles of the craft interest.

My passion at the time was beads, small perforated objects used for adornment. Bead love can run deep as one is captivated by their beauty or enticed by the many ways to string or weave them together Or, like me one can become fascinated by their symbolism in ritual and status found in just about every culture of the world going back millennia. History, geography and cultural anthropology would collide as I held a bead in my hand and asked “What is your story?”

My curiosity led me to small villages in India where beads were made, often in very crude conditions, or to the Amazon rain forests where Taqua nuts were carved to look like ivory beads. It all depended on where the next marathon was to be run of course. Beads being so universal could be found in most cultures and finding a story to wrap around the visit, not hard to develop. When it came to the Dublin marathon in Ireland, except for rosary beads, there is not a strong bead history, so we just took our beads with us, found a cultural idea to inspire us and used that theme for our project.

Creative tourism targets an interest in a foreign place. The culture inspires a theme that is supported by visits to significant places and is expressed creatively during the visit. All of this is shared with like-minded people. Simple, straight forward and it all depended on a good recce!

My husband went through 50 pairs of running shoes over the years as treads wore down on ancient streets and winding roads of far away places. All backdrops for future creative ventures as I explored ways to bring my bead interest to life and share it with fellow travelers.

I eventually sold the company when I decided it was time to stay in one place and invite people to come to me instead. Creative tourism in reverse!

That meant I had to establish a place where I could combine culture and creativity as the theme to attract people to have a holiday in a destination where others with similar interest could meet. Working with a talented teacher was paramount and having a rich cultural creative experience to weave into the visit was essential.

Finding that place was easy.

My husband grew up in the west of Ireland and had fond memories of his village in Co. Mayo. It was here that we would build a place where people would come to stay awhile, meet the local people, work with their chosen teacher and explore the area with a guide (usually a sheep farmer with a bus).

I had to find places for people to stay, a room big enough to use as a classroom, a restaurant or cook for evening meals and tie up the theme of the workshop with places to visit and people to meet. The model worked well for a charming village by the sea in Ireland. The combination of visiting rural Ireland with an art interest shared with other people, is a formula guaranteed for success if the other parts are in place.

The demand for these holidays has grown. Creative Tourism is a powerful enterprise when the right ingredients are mixed together. By that I mean, giving the visitor a unique glimpse into the culture they are visiting through the arts that is not only about information they receive and the people they meet, it is also about the visitor having a chance to interpret and express their own unique talents while on holiday. My husband no longer runs. His knees gave out. However, the legacy of “running the world’ lives on with the wonderful groups from around the globe that visit us month after month and year after year. Many of them have become friends as we continue to inspire each other.

As that famous Chinese proverb goes, ‘A journey of thousand miles starts with a single step’ and I thank my husband for the thousands he took to inadvertently help create this wonderful life of creative adventures for so many of us.

Cheryl Cobern Browne, Feb 2021

Marathon medals

Working with Zulu ladies

Beads - Historical, Geographical & Anthropological

Sheep in Mulranny

One of our group retreats