Updates:

Our remodeled room is ready at Sabathani! We painted which took a long time, have a new beautifully hand-made rug, bookshelves, fairy lights, nifty aurora machine, tea, singing bowl, towel warmer, candles, it’s time to get cozy and ground. Next step is putting our art up. You can schedule as always on my website. Remember I never want money to be a barrier and Sun Yung and I offer sliding scale rates, which we just talk out with each person as needed. I have plenty of openings still.

This is your weekly loving reminder that we need community, books, nature-time, fires, bodywork, therapy, healing of all kinds, and a reminder of all the incredible work people are doing to hold us at this time. What are ways we can gather to hold the weight of the inauguration? What are ways we can respond creatively to the pain and grief we see? I want us all to have tastes of what we need daily, weekly at least, the more, the better.

Strange Mutualisms, on Queer and Trans Ecologies

I finally got a cabin at Afton State Park, got cozy, and read Strange Mutualisms, a book I am in! Check out my piece below. Strange Mutualisms is an artist book by Corinne Teed that explores the idea of improper alliances and strange mutualisms. It was published in 2023 in conjunction with Dez Bilges at the University of Minnesota's Queer and Trans Ecologies Symposium. One of the things I was most excited about was to be in a book with incredible local artists KatieRobinson, Erin Sharkey, Aegor Ray, Nell Pierce and Olivia Levins Holden. I am also pleased that my academic crush- Patricia Kaishian, fermentation crush Sandor Katz, and poet cursh- Eli Claire.

Hold Me Tight

I just finished reading this book, it’s about attachment and how to increase connection, decrease the reach/pull/withdrawal/defense cycle. I liked it and found in helpful. The modality it uses is called Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT). It is heteronormative, and says stuff like, “a gay couple, Brian and Jeremy said…” but if you can put that aside there are some gems inside for how to get embodied messages across to another human being with less defensiveness and deeper listening. Hint, it’s about being vulnerable and learning how to share our emotional worlds with each other in a way that we can actual co-hear and co-regulate around simultaneously. Sounds easy, but is actually hard to do.

Aikido

I started Aikido lessons at East Lake Aikido and I love it. It makes me feel powerful. I’ve had a few visions pop-up in my mind’s eye of myself standing in Powderhorn park, assembled like a small army, with the hundreds of people I love, making a protective circle, like a cell wall, around something important at the center. I can’t see what it is, but in these visions I know we have clarity about making this boundary and feeling grounded because everyone in the circle knows aikido. I’ll share more updates about this, but for now it’s a new practice that feels like something I could pick up as a long-term practice.

Community Events

Olivia’s Hosmer Library Mural Mosaic Celebration: February 8th 2-4p at Hosmer Library. 20, 50, 80 years from now you can say you were at the celebration for the installation of this mosaic mural treasure that will forever live at Hosmer Library. Jayanthi Rajasa and Jordan Hamilton will be there offering their musical gifts as well. I’m really looking forward to this!

Art Shanties: Jan 18-Feb 9th. My favorite is the ship full of characters living at the bottom of the ocean live role playing with visitors and the sentimental shanties around death and grief.

Candlelight hikes: Happening now until February 22nd. I love these events and don’t make it to nearly enough of them.

Snow Sculpting Championship: January 15th-19th in Stillwater

Powderhorn Art Sled Rally: January 25th at 2p, always silly, admirable, and hilarious.

THAT’S it for now. ❤️ Eiko