Rahela Laquidara – Lead Organizer & Artist
Rahela Laquidara is the visionary behind Figure, Fruit & Field. An artist and educator, Rahela taught high school art for 9 years across North Carolina and Pennsylvania, touching countless young creative lives. She also co-illustrated the “Book of the Bizarre” coloring book and continues to teach community art classes in places ranging from the Durham Arts Council to quirky venues like breweries and creative reuse centers. Beyond visual arts, Rahela expresses herself through music as well – she’s part of an art-house band called “Bambooboo,” where she writes lyrics, sings, and plays a bit of everything. She has spent her life immersed in all forms of art and has a special talent for bringing people together to celebrate creativity.
Rahela poured all that passion and experience into organizing this retreat. In her own words, she says:
“This event is the culmination of my life’s experience in visual art. I want to bring together all the stimulation, comfort, and rigor as a recipe to help artists be in the perfect environment for creating their best work or just really feel appreciated and valued. There are artists’ retreats worldwide, but they don’t offer nearly as much as what we are offering during our very first run of Figure, Fruit & Field. I hope to do more of these and keep increasing the offerings. I hope everyone has a really stupendous and enlightened experience.”
With Rahela at the helm, you can feel the love and thought in every aspect of the retreat. She’s committed to making sure that every artist who attends feels inspired, cared for, and part of a creative family. Her leadership is a big reason why this event is so special.
