When artists spend 6 days in the wilderness, things get silly. In a very good way.

When

August 2024

Where

Salmon River, Idaho

Themes

Play, Wilderness, Community

When 15 artists arrived to spend the first night in Sunbeam, Idaho, the air was electric. Both in the lightening that lit up the skies, but also in the buzz of excitement as Idea Camp attendees introduced themselves and broke in their sketchbooks with a generative art making workshop. Sunbeam, the basecamp for this adventure, feels like true summer camp – a collection of quirky cabins, bustling river guides, and a family run cafe with homemade meals. But the next day, when the group set out to launch on a stretch of river called the Main Salmon, we had no idea just how special of a week we were in for.

The boat ramp at Corn Creek is the end of the road, literally. It is as far as you can drive into the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, which is the largest uninterrupted wilderness in the lower 48 states. Once we loaded onto rubber rafts, we didn’t see another road or vehicle for 88 miles (6 days).

The rhythm of a river trip is simple - pack up camp, float down stream, set up a new camp. But for Idea Camp on the river, we filled lunch stops and evenings with creative workshops, activities and games designed to help us return to play, unblock creativity and unleash our silliest and wildest selves.

Each day of the trip had a theme: Plunge, Pour, Deep End, Flow, and Soak.

Plunge, the day we launched, was about the leap into the unknown, and exploring what happens outside of our comfort zone.

On day two, we explored Pour - pouring in new ideas, information, and skills from the outside world.

Deep End was a day for reflection and going inside our minds. What does our inner voice have to say?

By the time we settled into a rhythm, it was day 4, and our theme was Flow. How do we as creatives cultivate flow states in our practice?

On the last day, we explored Soak. Like a sponge, we absorbed the special community we had built, and the freedom we all felt to be perfectly ourselves.

On the final morning, we admitted to the group that we didn’t have a theme for the last day. Everybody threw around ideas, trying to find the word that could perfectly sum up what we needed as we transitioned back into a world with fewer trees and more distractions. Together, we landed on Ripple. How can we let the this feeling of connectedness radiate outwards into the other parts of our lives?

The last day of the trip felt less like an ending and more like a beginning. Our adventure together on the river was only the start of a much larger journey– one towards creativity, connectedness and a life spent feeling alive.

Photography

Dorothy Wang

Sponsor

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