Peaceful pursuits
Catalyzing an arts culture in Sedona
BY ANDREA SMITH
W
hen I visited Sedona for
the first time in 1994, I
remember driving in and
being overwhelmed by the mountains
and colors. The sky was clear and
powder blue, and the contrast of the
green trees against the coppery red of
the terrain was powerful. There are
few places on Earth that share these
hues and imprint the mind with such
impact. For me it was a moment when
I could truly feel the hand of God.
At that time I was living on Maui
and thought the island was the most
beautiful place on earth, but after
experiencing Sedona I realized it had
some competition! Six years later, I
opened the Andrea Smith Gallery in
Tlaquepaque, and my husband and I
moved to Sedona in 2008. I absolutely
love it here. As an artist and writer,
nature has always been my biggest
inspiration. The vastness and beauty
of nature truly takes my breath away.
It is that feeling of knowing there is
so much more to our world than we
can imagine, that inspires the creative
spirit in so many ways.
Currently, I am on the board of
an organization called the Sedona
Culture Collaborative, created by the
former Mayor of Sedona, Rob Adams.
He has a vision of Sedona becoming
an internationally recognized learn-
ing community for arts education and
engagement and cultural enrichment.
Sedona is a natural place to initiate
this kind of intention because of its
rare beauty. It calls to artists, writers,
musicians, dancers... really anyone
who is inspired by nature and needs
to express what arises within them.
Not all people live in places that
are filled with such grandeur. When
you gaze at the mountains, or walk
along Sedona’s streams, it is impossible
to not feel spiritually connected. This
is what artists breathe for. In Sedona
we want to share this experience of
rarified air with others. It is available
to anyone who chooses to tune into
it. It has the potential to magnetize
people of every age to co-create the
kind of world we would like to live in.
Throughout time, artists have
been the ones who help shift per-
spectives and usher in change. In our
lifetime we have been witness to the
“Growing Love” by Andrea Smith
IMAGINE l Spring 2017 33