The Story of Figure, Fruit, and Field

Figure, Fruit & Field began as a dream - one rooted in a deep love for art, community, and nature. Created by artist and educator Rahela Laquidara, this unique artist retreat emerged from years of teaching, organizing, and imagining a space where creatives could truly feel inspired, valued, and free to express themselves.

After nearly a decade teaching high school visual arts and leading workshops in unconventional spaces like breweries, farms, and community centers, Rahela envisioned something more immersive - a weekend-long creative gathering that honored the full human experience: artistic growth, connection to nature, movement, music, and rest. She teamed up with a small but mighty crew of fellow artists, models, musicians, and doers to bring the idea to life on a 204-acre piece of land in southern Virginia known as Collective Spaces.

In spring 2024, we hosted our first-ever retreat, and the response was overwhelming. Artists of all experience levels came from across the region to draw, paint, photograph, sculpt, move, and just be. Tents popped up across meadows and under trees. Music drifted through the fields. Meals were shared. Art was made. Stories were told. A new community began to form.

Now heading into its second year, Figure, Fruit & Field continues to grow as an annual event - a place where:

• Artists from all disciplines are welcomed with open arms
• Nature becomes both canvas and studio
• Skill-sharing and vulnerability go hand in hand
• And the rhythms of meals, movement, and making create something bigger than any one of us.

We're not a typical art retreat. We're not a stuffy studio residency. We're an intentional creative campout where everyone contributes to the magic - whether you're picking up a brush for the first time or coming as a seasoned pro.

At its heart, Figure, Fruit & Field is a celebration: of figure drawing, of fruitful inspiration, and of the fields that hold us all. It's our invitation to slow down, reconnect with creativity, and be part of a vibrant, imperfect, ever-evolving artistic ecosystem.

We can’t wait for you to join us and help shape what this space becomes.