Free Columbia

Dear Friends of Free Columbia,

This year’s long, dry summer has turned to a blazing, brilliant autumn and for the last weeks, while we prepare to fire our wood-fired ceramics kiln, the colors of the land burn in solidarity with our efforts, warming and strengthening our spirits for the winter yet to come.

2022 finds our initiative in a time of change and growth as founding member and friend Nathaniel Williams prepares to join the Goetheanum as the leader of the International Youth Section. We are excited to see what Nathaniel will create for our global community in his new leadership role, and also excited to welcome Stefan Ambrose into the directorship of the M.C. Richards course, building on its first two years of contributions to the lives of young, spiritually seeking students with the current 2022-2023 cohort now in session.

Looking Forward

The 2022-2023 M.C. Richards course orients itself around the art of the traditional wood-fired ceramicist. Each of our full-time students works daily in the workshop developing an intimacy with clay, water, form and the transformational warmth of the kiln with ceramics instructor Mark Rowntree and Stefan Ambrose. Afternoons have been dedicated to Impressionistic drawing and watercolor painting with Nathaniel Williams, and in November a wood-kiln firing will be followed by a collaboration between Nathaniel and composer Don Jamison called “Music for the Eye and Ear” an exploration of music and colored light. Student ceramic work will be showcased at Lightforms gallery along with the performances of “Music for the Eye and Ear.” This year Stefan has opened the afternoon courses and trimesters to part time participants.

Trimesters two and three will see the students deepening their craft in ceramics while intensively studying speech, drama and storytelling with John McManus, color and 2d art with Laura Summer and Plant Morphology with Erin Corrigan.

Laura Summer’s online classes are bringing experiences of color and community to people in many states of the US and countries all over the world. There is a community of concern developing between people in very distant places. It is not unusual for someone in Oregon to voice concern for someone in Saudi Arabia, for someone in Canada to ask about someone’s painting work in Malaysia. This year there are over 70 people participating in seven courses.

Laura continues to manage Lightforms Art Center in Hudson, NY. Lightforms is a center for cultural renewal, an art center based in anthroposophy committed to being a place teaming with people of diverse backgrounds who are dedicated to the spirit and its relationship to art. There are weekly open mic’s and improv theater. A very lively cultural life is developing here.

Last Summer

Free Columbia had an active fruitful summer with contributions from visiting artist Zvi Szir, practical and 2D art intensives, conferences and art dispersals.

Over three weeks Zvi Szir led intensive workshops on Rudolf Steiner’s Occult Science and the art of painting, hosted a number of open studio talks and public presentations, and exhibited twenty recent sketches at Lightforms Art Center. These events were made possible by a generous sponsor. The main instruction from the painting intensive was filmed and edited by Sergio Rico. We have made the short films available through our website.

Nathaniel taught a stitch-down shoe making course and Laura taught an intensive “Color and Plant Life Through Cold Wax.”

Laura worked with an international team to organize the World Social Initiative Forum “Becoming the Spirit of Detroit”, that took place in Detroit from July 21st-24th.

Free Columbia ran three art dispersals in the past nine months with paintings being dispersed to people who will steward them. 41 paintings were dispersed and these dispersals brought in over $8000 in donations. This provided a real experience of the free cultural realm.

Some of the new things that Free Columbia is involved with include Stefan working on a community open studio time for ceramics, Seth Jordan bringing workshops on threefolding, Seth, Matt Sawaya and Laura developing new ways to release music in a way that is inspired by threefolding. This work is being celebrated in a new 2023 calendar. All of these changes in Free Columbia have come in response to the questions that the world is presenting to us. Sometimes those questions have been spoken by difficulties arising in the world, but with a bit of navigating and sometimes turning inside out, new opportunities arise. So it is with joy, and a huge willingness to enter into the future that we write this letter of appeal.

Our goal is to raise $15,000 this year. A physical appeal is going out to our mailing list of 400 regular donors, and our e-appeal will reach at least 1200 people. If we received 300 donations with an average of $50.00 per gift we would meet this goal.

10 donations of $500 = $5000
25 donations of $130 = $3250
50 donations of $60 = $3000
65 donations of $30 = $1950
150 donations of $12 - $1800

All contributions help make our work of fostering free cultural life possible! Thank you so much for your help.

use Venmo - QR is below

or make a pledge on Patreon.com

Free Columbia is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. Contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent as allowed by law.

Laura Summer Nathaniel Williams Stefan Ambrose