Pretty Flowers All in a Row at Ojai(05/09)
First, take into consideration the surroundings, and it explains why anyone would undertake to do “arts” they never did before.
In winter at times the 101 entrance to Ojai from the ocean is closed because of storms. All the better to ride in from the east and be overwhelmed with the sight of the valley mantled in a lush shawl of Irish emerald green. It seems impossible that this was the same Ojai we visited during the summer, where 105 degree temperatures felt like a visit to the planet Mars, and it was a threatening Mars a couple of years ago when the hills were enflamed and ash covered our car.
The Inn’s terra cotta-roofed, Mission-style buildings are all but hidden at the start of the artist town, 25 miles southeast of
It is small wonder then that
Fresh from a $90 million renovation, the staff is prepared. And well they should: many of them worked on the construction. After management made every attempt to place the staff in temporary positions while the resort was closed down, it made news by inviting the remaining staff to participate in the remodel.
I was not prepared.
High energy San Francisco Instructor Jun Piñon is already arranging what looks like dozens of bundles of long and dramatic flowers, colorful enough to draw oohs and ahs from everyone walking in the room. A complete tea service with sandwiches and pastries on every table.
A few towering arrangements are on the front table, bear the personal design stamp of Jun Pinon. They’re just as outlandishly professional and lush as the arrangements I became fascinated with on the Ellen Show.
From his humble beginnings working out the back of a pick up truck, high energy Jun Piñon never stopped proving himself until his firm, Piñon Design became nationally recognized and sought after for transforming flowers into fantasy with A-list clients including Oprah Winfrey; and the San Francisco Opera.
Piñon Design can create an entire setting, which includes customizing the linens and specialty chairs as well as providing live trees, votives, candles and theatrical lighting.
And Jun was determined to show us his tricks all at once —
At Spa Ojai, Mind/Body classes also includes yoga, spinning, dance, and t’ai chi.. Over 220 acres of land are meant for leisurely roaming around in the serenity and natural beauty that the Oak Grove, Chumash and Spanish settlers in nature hikes or in accompanied power hikes or biking just to town or through the horseback, hiking and biking trails of the Los Padres National Forest.
Closer to “home, “ walking meditations in a garden labyrinth or in one of the tea houses overlooking the hillside herb garden, and, of course, a full program of spa treatments, Yoga and Tai Chi.
At the spa’s new Artist’s Cottage and Apothecary, local artist with an international background, the beautiful, vivacious world traveler and perennial student, Renate Collins, teaches and entices reluctant souls such as myself. Yes, it is one of those experiences where “nothing you can do is wrong.”
Renate is a Natural Science Illustrator, an award winning representational and abstract expressionist painter. For Renate, sharing in the consciousness of all things is happiness.”
Thinking I had left all the artwork to my husband (an architect and illustrator), I was more up for the bike riding and swimming. Or thought I was.
Imbibing the air of those glorious grounds Self discovery inspired by nature, by staying still on those glorious grounds and listening within. It is about exchanging creative ideas, as Renate explores the inner world of memories, and lessons encountered that often identify the purpose and direction of one’s life.
Thus we backed into another project, creating our own “Personal Mandala” a ‘signature’ activity at the Cottage, along with creating your own personal scent through the guidance of “custom blending.”
I agreed only that art classes and Aromatherapy may change your mood with a little sniff, but that was about it.
Instead we were told that “aromatherapy can be any one of a different number of alternative medicine traditions that uses volatile liquid plant materials, known as essential oils (EOs) and other scented compounds from plants for the purpose of affecting a person’s mood or health.
It has a particularly Western currency and persuasion. Although aromatherapy has roots in antiquity, it was totally redefined in the 1920s by French chemist René Maurice Gattefossé. He devoted his life to researching the healing properties of essential oils after a lucky accident in his perfume laboratory. After inadvertently setting his arm on fire during an experiment, he impulsively thrust it into the nearest cold liquid, which happened to be a vat of lavender oil. Immediately he noticed surprising pain relief, and instead of requiring the extended healing process he had experienced during recovery from previous burns–which caused redness, heat, inflammation, blisters, and scarring–this burn healed remarkably quickly, with minimal discomfort and no scarring.
Wild lavender is especially soothing when combined with earthy minerals, especially when breathed in deeply to inhale the calming and balancing effects of the herb.
Classical and Botanicals classes unleash the artist within to go home with a finished personalized work of art. Painting and sketching sessions in the herb garden provide inspiration, as do the great outdoors with nature walks. Tomatoes, citrus, and other fruits and vegetables are grown in abundance. Rosemary, basil, and lavender are harvested from the
Ojai Valley Inn & Spa is pleased that profits generated from the Arts & Leisure program benefit Share our Strength.
ABOUT THE SERIES
ABOUT OJAI VALLEY INN & SPA
Since 1923, vacationing guests have sought the tranquil pleasures of the historic Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, a AAA Five Diamond property located on 220 tree-shaded acres 30 minutes south of