This past month at the Guild has been full of amazing opportunities and wonderful people. It has been so exciting to have our first three weeks of programming and meet so many new people. The beauty of the Guild is the connections and community that forms over just a week. While many participants have been coming to the Guild for years, some participants, like myself are brand new. The community that forms between old-timers, newcomers, and staff, is truly a wonder to be a part of. The Guild is able to facilitate open and engaging conversations through art and our matins and vespers services that invite guests and staff to be open and vulnerable with one another. The best part of the Guild is getting to interact with and get to know so many incredible people from different walks of life. It is so wonderful to listen to people’s stories and see their creative process throughout the week and be able to participate in celebrating their process and completed projects at the end of the week.

My work here still includes setting spaces to be ready for each group of participants, creating much needed informational flyers and handouts, and occasionally getting to cook breakfast and lunch for the cohorts. This past week I was also fortunate enough to take one of the many classes that the Guild offers. The class was called Mud and Sunlight, it was a class that explored two mediums, pottery and photography. This was a wonderful experience, not only being able to be creative and have fun in an art class, but also to understand the participants point of view better, which can help to inform some of the work that I do. This can mean finding ways to make the experience more enjoyable for participants or realize that something is not working the way that we thought it would. Part of what is so wonderful about the Guild, is that every aspect of work and life here, is a creative process that never ends. Much like life, this organization is growing and changing, and is in itself, living and breathing. There is a lot of work that goes into maintaining a living thing, especially a living organization, but that work is made easier by the people who come to the Guild and fill the dining hall with their stories and the studio spaces with their creativity and each room with their spirit and energy. They are the reason that this place is able to continue, and I find myself so grateful to not only witness this, but to be an active member in shaping this part of the Guild’s history. I am beyond proud of the work that I have and continue to put into the Guild, and never for one second do I feel that it goes unappreciated. The Guild is a place that celebrates even the smallest of victories and accomplishments, a place where everyone is celebrated for showing up and existing, for bringing life and spirit to every corner.

– Natalie Gut, Grunewald Guild