![\"DSC_0263\"](\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/hvamenityeconomy\/files\/2015\/09\/DSC_0263.jpg\")
<\/a>Lori Majewski speaking to our class outside the historic Bearsville Theater<\/p><\/div>\n
Our class began to stumble along to a grassy lawn boarded by stream. The water was clear and cool and immediately diverted all attention away from the theatre. There we began to climb about and wander what we would later learn was a small priced of the Sawkill. Our next insight into Woodstock, Joshua Colow found us there, climbing and fiddling it the stream bed. He grew up by the Sawkill and the town of Woodstock during its beginnings as a haven for music and creativity. Colow went to a local cooperative school in the area after living on a small farm his parents had renovated into an art studio. The home was by the Sawkill and after his introductions, he lead us on a hike up the road to an old mill who used to function under the pressure of the stream. His home and the mill have turned into second homes and airbnb destinations in support of the growing tourist industry of Woodstock. But back to the creative aspect of Woodstock…<\/p>\n
A portion of the Sawkill that runs by Colow’s childhood home<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>The old Sawkill mill<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cYeah the migration of artists to Woodstock has been going on since the early 20th century,\u201d Colow told us (remarking on the general cultural atmosphere of the area), \u201cit grew up as an art community before any industry came to town.\u201d The influence of artistic and creative minds is hard to miss in this town. Whether it\u2019s the numerous not-so-subtle allusions to the Woodstock Music Festival on the flyers stapled to every lamppost and corkboard or the multitude of\u00a0galleries lining the streets, the influence of Woodstock\u2019s artistic heritage is hard to miss. Maybe it\u2019s the rolling hills, verdant open fields, and crystalline streams that attract artists like a magnet, it certainly couldn\u2019t be prettier around here. Colow mentioned the Byrdcliffe Art Colony while conversing with our class, and although we never visited there on our field trip, I just had to look it up. The first sentence of its mission statement pretty much fit perfectly with what I expected: \u201cThe Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild provides a vibrant center for excellence in the arts and crafts in the beautiful and unique rural community of Woodstock, New York, while preserving the historic and natural environment of one of the earliest utopian art colonies in America\u201d(http:\/\/www.woodstockguild.org\/about-byrdcliffe\/<\/a>). So, to all you artists of the world, if you\u2019re looking for a new muse, I highly suggest Woodstock, New York.<\/p>\n