The Tryst Collective - Where the Arts and Hoarding Meet

By day, I am a social worker, and am an artist by always. Most importantly to the Tryst Collective, I'm a collector. I'm a collector of books and art supplies, pennies and, ehem ...  people.

Yes, people. 

At this point, I think I might even be considered a hoarder. But I'm okay with it.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have people stashed away under the floor boards or in a basement. It's not like that. It's just that, over time I have met, befriended, and kept in contact with a lot of very talented, very creative people. I never knew the significance of my collection until it all became clear to me a few years ago.




 All my life, I wanted to be a poet, a painter, a musician, and I was terrified to be any of these things because I knew all too well the struggles of my beloveds who were pursuing similar dreams.  (I do love social work, by the way and without my social work education, I would not have envisioned the Tryst -- So, I guess I'm a social worker by always too, huh?) Unlike many of my creative contemporaries who decided to focus on their art, I have always enjoyed health insurance, paid time off, and a steady income. But I no longer wish to trade art for a 9-5 career, no matter how meaningful that career is; and I no longer wish for my friends to trade good health and financial stability for their art. It can't be an either/or scenario.

In social work school I decided that I was going to figure out how to also be an artist without having to face the social justice issues that creative people face relating to housing, income, and health (and even race, gender, ability, and age). Ok, well, I haven't completely figured that all out yet because I first had proclaim, "The creative community is facing some serious social justice issues! Pay attention," which is what the Tryst is currently doing, hence our people collection.

Not only do we collect people, but we also encourage the collection of people. I want you to collect people too because here at the Tryst, that's what we do. We are a bunch of hoarding missionaries proselytizing about the arts - banging our paintbrushes on our cymbals, ripping out pages from our chapbooks, balling them up and throwing them at your heads. "Hey, look here!" we exclaim. "Do you face these problems, too?" we ask.

These are issues that all creative people know about, but haven't seriously or successfully been addressed, systemically. There is virtually no creative middle class. This is a serious problem. The creative community cannot continue the way it has been, at the expense of their health, mental health, and without having their basic needs met.

What's the answer? We have to organize.

Community organizing is only as powerful as its membership. There really is power in numbers. Thus, collecting people is a powerful force. And the way we collect people at the Tryst is to have parties!

As Michele informed you, we are working on obtaining a venue for our next several parties (shows, exhibits, festivals, whatever you want to name them). We are really excited about the upcoming shows, which will be themed. For the next show, we are seeking performers, artists, crafters, and any other creative people who want to share work inspired by BP's mephistophelian oil spill. Please comment here or email us (trystcollective@gmail.com) if you are interested.

Altogether, we are planning six shows. After the (1) oil spill show (party) are shows (2) addressing ways to define Womynhood,  (3) sharing reactions to the food industry and agribusiness, (4) using rubbage and found objects to make statements about the state of the environment, (5) sharing with you the frustrations of the 9-5 work world, and (6) revealing our private experiences with mental health and substance abuse.

The Tryst Collective is a public collection, for all the world to experience, and we would love for you to be a part of our community and help us build it so that we can create a world where we can work and live as the creative people we were meant to be.

Photo credit #1: Adrian Wallett
Photo credit #2: alicepopkorn

Photo credit #3: Fuseman

Won't You Join Us For a Tryst?

Don't be shy! Have a taste!

We, at the Tryst, seek to break the boundaries of solitary artists, unknowns, and unsigneds by bringing them together in a supportive and positive space, helping them connect with resources they might not have access to, and providing an expanded community network for all kinds of creatives to participate.

There are many ideas flowing through our collective pipeline and we have been working on lots of stuff for you! We are in the process of nailing down venues to hold our shows, networking with other organizations, recruiting more members, and working on our own collateral material. So, while you haven’t heard from us in several months, I assure you, we’re still here and we’re a fantastic work in progress. Keep your calendars clear and your eyes open for our upcoming shows. They’ll be here before you know it!

It's so nice to see you!

I would like to welcome you to the Tryst and our new blog! It was little more than a year ago that the Tryst came into my life. I was invited to attend a show last June and afterward, I wanted to be involved. Since then, I have been collaborating with Tryst founder, Jessica Rowshandel, and several other founding members to help plan and grow the organization. It is an exciting process and a project that has truly become near and dear to my heart.

Now, while I’m no brilliant artist, I have done my fair share of running marketing departments and creating art through event production, graphic design, and photography. Sadly, I am no longer a professional in the creative fields. These days I tend to consider myself more of a creative enthusiast and live vicariously through the more talented artistic folk that I know. Among them are musicians, fine artists, comedians, dancers, filmmakers, to name a few. I have been offering my marketing insight, strategic-planning knowledge, and general ideas to the Tryst in hopes that they would find my meager talents useful. And they have - with arms wide open and with a true welcoming of my thoughts and suggestions. For that small token, I have found myself newly inspired and have started to regain some of the creative juices that I thought had long since dried up.

I personally believe that my friends, their friends, and their friends' friends should be recognized more often for the brilliant works they create. I am fascinated with the amount of talent amongst ‘ordinary’ people I have known for years and those I continue to meet everyday. While many of them are visionaries, very few are successful at getting their art exposed to wider audiences or even amongst their peers. They often have uninspiring day jobs and lament over not having more time to be creative. I, myself, have been in this rut before. I have felt the weight of the corporate world and the lack of creative personal time. I’m sure you have too. It’s not pretty.

What the horizon brings...

Recently, Jessica and I had dinner together and talked at length about the Tryst, what it means, where we want it to go, and what we hope our constituents will gain from it. Many ideas were discussed, dreams formed, and plans hatched. While Jess and I joked about our collective attention-span issues, got excited stumbling onto new ideas, and gleefully strayed off-topic, we somehow managed to get work done and created a meaningful vision for the Tryst. That vision, with the help of our founding members, later became our mission statement. It was a small but important step in our growth, one that really solidified our team and helped us move forward. I have been so impressed with our progress, the enthusiastic interest from our member artists, and the wonderful connections we’ve made with like-minded groups. It's been awesome! We still have a long journey ahead, but I am honored and delighted to participate along the way.

And maybe, just maybe, through our work, it will be possible for some of our artists to quit those uninspiring day jobs and focus on the art they love for a living. That is our wish for you!

Thanks to all of you who have shared with us and continue to share with us. We look forward to seeing you at the next show!

Art, love, and joy,
M.