Polish and shine that spirit

Hydra is a small island, a population of 2,000 in winter, no cars, only donkeys to climb its steep hillsides. However, the island is rich in art and so very busy with the artists who create that art.

Over the last few months, the museum galleries have featured artists whose work uses wool, acrylic and oil to materials such as fish skin to wood shavings.

The island’s old Slaughter House has been repurposed as a small gallery by the Deste Foundation. This year’s theme is Dream Machines focusing on technology and imagination with works from Marcel Duchamp and others. Last year, Jeff Koons, he of the metallic balloon dogs, was the featured artist and his 30-foot rotating model of the sun remains as a legacy of his exhibition.

The Hydra School Projects this year carries the theme Lessons Learned. The exhibition will challenge anyone who thinks of art as contained within a neat frame on a wall. The broad range of artists use materials from petrified mud to sea glass. This year the exhibition is at the old Agora near the post office until mid-September.

Sitting in any Hydra café you are never more than five feet from an artist. Many come here because the lack of traffic noise strips away an outer layer of stress leaving the psyche free for inspiration. Others, such as Victoria from New Jersey and Peder from Antwerp, are veterans of the DescoverArtist programme on the island, a school that aims to stimulate artists and their creativity to new levels. And then there are the resident artists, many of whom offer private and group lessons.

Drama is not forgotten. In the summer months those lucky enough to visit over a Thursday in July and August can attend The Hydrama Theatre where theatre companies from around the world perform in an outdoor, homegrown amphitheatre.

Hydra’s connection with art goes back decades. Nikos Ghikas and Panagiotis Tetsis, both prominent mid-century painters, found solace working on Hydra, and they led other artists to seek creative inspiration here. Soon musicians and writers followed, including Leonard Cohen, Henry Miller and John Craxton.

Children are not excluded from the art scene on Hydra. An annual competition rewards a top clutch of school children with money for art supplies.

Probably the artistic appeal of Hydra is its quiet. With no road traffic, the cobble-stone lanes and quiet passages between homes have a stillness that allows our creative thoughts to dominate. On arrival, it is easy to feel your shoulders ease downward as the noises of the mainland slough away.

I love the immersion in art that takes place here. All new creations feel inspirational, even to those like me who are lacking in dexterity. What I see freshens my perspective and puts a little polish and shine to my spirit.

The Jeff Koons sculpture at the Slaughter House

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