IN RETURN

IN RETURN is a series of five ceremonies conversing with the earth. Beginning on the fall equinox, a day of equals, when day and night are parallel in time, each ceremony is a ritual of giving, focusing on the relationships of reciprocity we have with Earth. They are offerings of what is reaped from the land and a gift of what is taken, each is a return. Beginning with a walk, the mind is cleared and a closeness is formed with nature. The walk concludes at specific locations significant to the artist. Each offering, unique to its location, differs in sustenance, but contributes as a gift to natural beings; seed for the avian, water for the bush, soil for the earth, nectar for the insect, and fruit for the mammal. The offering vessels are crafted from the wood of uprooted sage, and discarded trees to hold each gift. At the conclusion of each ceremonial performance, a map of the walk is drawn onto a rice paper scroll, the ink created from the ash of an aspen tree. This is the first of four ceremonial cycles, each of which will correspond with the equinox calendar.