The Dharma of Shady Lea

Through all of history, philosophy has been invested in the infinite possibilities in a human soul inherently existing in service to one and all. This thumbprint of genius – the Sanskrit word dharma – insists we find out who we are and immerse ourselves wholly amongst a community of like-minded individuals. With deliberate practice, teachers, colleagues and mentors nurture progress by training their expert eyes to the work. Naming and claiming your purpose – your dharma – is just the beginning.

For southern Rhode Islanders, we need only look to our neighbors to see exemplars of dharma. In North Kingstown, down a narrow road that threads through the trees along the contour of the Mattatuxet River, lives the Mill at Shady Lea, with it’s proud posture suspended by well-worn bricks, standing at attention since the Industrial Revolution. Changing hands numerous times since it was built in the 1820s, the Mill was reincarnated once more in the mid-‘90s, slowly and then all at once. What was once a few carpenters and craftsman storing their tools in the space long-empty, has evolved into the Mill at Shady Lea – a nexus of the creative arts in South County and a vastly interconnected community of artists working in pursuit of their dharma, their life’s ceaseless work.

What is the benefit for artists and creative personalities to be engaged in a like-minded community? “They feed off of one another,” says Director Lynn Krim, daughter of Andy Reisert, the mill owner who converted the once-industrial facility into a working artist colony. “They share in the successes and give encouragement in the failures. They share their work.”

The matriarch of the mill, Lynn plainly lays out the intention of the Shady Lea community in their mission statement: “To expand on my father’s vision to create an affordable, safe place where creative people can form a community in which they can learn from, share with and work in an atmosphere of sharing and trust.” The very essence of dharma, theirs is a mission that exposes artists to the full expression of kindred creators within exemplars and mentors in their community, meeting in them the full flower of what they know exists as a seed in themselves.

As the working home of a veritable treasure trove of makers, artists, artisans and writers, the mill has the feel of community-in-action coming off of it in waves. Step into Anchor Bend Studios, and they’re handcrafting glass works inspired by the Ocean State itself, with seascapes of swirling marine shades like teal, indigo, lavender, mint; cresting waves, a dignified octopus and even a message in a bottle.

Creators of all varieties have been welcomed into the community. The mill is the home of the Shady Lea Guitar Company, a studio of working luthiers crafting stringed instruments of the supreme variety, complete with a small performance space that has the feel of a living room or coffee house.

Following the connecting hallways, it’s plain to see that the mill itself lives. In fact, there are signs everywhere. Literally. One screen-printed poster begs the question, “What are we doing?” Another loudly proclaims, “Only in RI… No sales tax on art.” In all caps, even. The mill has an actual pulse – the unstoppable metronome of Papa’s Clock Shop, with more than 50 clocks dotting the wall and ticking in unison with the paradoxically soothing effect of white noise. Similarly, it has an aroma, as well – the powdery flourish of lavender winds through the hallways from the studio of Donna Dunn of RI Spa Products and Ursula Brandl who creates handcrafted soap.

Painter Elizabeth Collins is the newest artist to join the community at Shady Lea, setting up shop this past November. In her short time at the mill, she has found the inherent celebration of diversity to be fascinating and inspiring in and of itself. “Everyone is [here] by choice,” she explains. “No one is going through the motions. It’s easier to be bold when you see those around you being brave and taking risks.”

Sculptor Roberto Bessin, one of three artists who has been working out of Shady Lea since its onset, expands that the celebration of diversity is certainly no accident, as it has been buoyed through the years by the limitless support of Lynn, her father, and the Reisert family as a whole. “What you see here today is a result of their cumulative effort through the years; their commitment.”
It’s that very commitment that awakens the full range of creativity and community at the mill, compelling the artists to go deep into deliberate practice, exemplify it and carry that torch high so that others can be inspired. Not to preach or impose ways of being, but in commitment to carrying a torch burning bright with the spirit of participation and community.

For Roberto, the distinct capacity to know where an artist’s contribution lies could be seen as some kind of superpower, but for the community at Shady Lea this brand of dharma is the inevitable result of sustained concentration on projects of intense interest and emotional investment. “Art has a place in the community,” he says. “Imagine if people were to recreate this – if other local art communities did the same thing. It’s amazing what people are capable of when they band together with the intention to be of benefit to one another.”

The Mill at Shady Lea
Workshops and lessons available
290-7548