LAUNCH OF "WILD WORLD OF ARTS" PODCAST

WHERE SPIRITUALITY MEETS ART IN A SMALL CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN TOWN

Idyllwild, a tiny town nestled a mile high in the San Jacinto mountains of Southern California, is a hidden gem. From Palm Springs, looking up at the snow-capped mountains through the palm trees on a balmy winter day, you’d never know there was a little village at the top just beyond your grasp, home to a community of artists and healers. It is not uncommon to bump into someone in the low desert (the closest form of civilization we have) who has never even been to Idyllwild, which is only an hour away by car. You can also take the Palm Springs Tram, that is if you want to trek 8 miles through the woods. Idyllwild has a population of 3,874 people and an approximate altitude of one mile, depending on which area you are in. The neighboring town of Pine Cove sits a bit higher than the main town and therefore gets hit harder when winter snowstorms blow in. I often find myself quietly grateful for the additional oxygen we get at 500 feet lower and a couple of degrees warmer.

Having lived in LA for twenty-three years, my inner New Yorker had all but died until that first winter up in Idyllwild. Our little cabin, first built in 1941, was clearly made for summer weekends away and the occasional winter wonderland experience. Don’t get me wrong, we have heat—and if you can afford the price of propane in the rural areas of California, you can get pretty toasty sitting directly in front of the fireplace all bundled up. In comparison to the cost of living in LA, it is much more expensive to heat a home here using propane or electricity and the price of food locally is nearly double. Is it any surprise that California is cracking down on wood-burning stoves and local farmers? I know we all ask ourselves the same thing—why do we stay? What’s here that we can’t get in another state that has a functioning government with more subtle ways of stealing from its citizens?

We looked around at the quaint 1950s town and the tall mystical pine trees and settled in for better or worse. We got used to wearing hats and scarves inside, and I began to treasure the long, beautiful drives down to the desert to bask in the winter sun. Something incredible happens when you live between worlds, between climates. It was the height of COVID when we relocated, and we wanted to get as far away from the decay of society as possible. Nature called, and we answered. Life moves more slowly at a high altitude, and the pace was alarming at first—even for me. What do people do in a small town who don’t drink, smoke, or eat gluten? My body was still recovering its strength, and my energy was too low to enjoy the outdoors as much as I would have liked. I was still intensely EMF sensitive and I just didn’t have the drive to write music in the way I had hoped I would. I was unemployed due to the vaccine mandates and had nothing but time on my hands.

The chorus of birds I heard in the mornings urged me to do something different. Something more old-fashioned. We had a gazebo in our backyard that was at one point going to be used as an outdoor jacuzzi area. When we moved in, it was used for entertaining and outdoor dining. Without much thought, I found a canvas and a few tubes of paint, and off I went. There was zero expectation to be any good, so I just had fun. This is my story of how Idyllwild brought out a different side of my artistic being, and you can hear the rest of it on this first episode of Wild World of Arts.

Episode 1

John Marin, owner of Wylldwood Gallery and painter, hosts the podcast along with me. He has his own Idyllwild artist story, which we explore in episode two. Michael Brown, artist and owner of Hunky Dory Records, has his own unique story as well. From bartender to record store owner to fellow Wylldwood painter, he also followed the desert highway up to our little town with husband John Marin and picked up his paint brushes again.

Everyone here has a story. Something brought them to Idyllwild and then an invisible hand showed them the way to their inner artist.

Please tune in every other week as we unlock the mysteries of art and spirituality in this mountain town we call home.