PATTERNS IN NATURE
Ecological Literacies for Visual Storytellers
The pattern of branching efficiently distributes resources. Wave patterns - soundwaves, brainwaves, waves in waters - all tell the story of rhythmic movement. When we as artists and storytellers study the natural patterns in which life organizes itself - like spirals, branches, waves, cloudforms, nets, and fractals - we align our stories with the intelligent design of the natural world to tell a more effective, powerful narrative of being in social and ecological right-relations.
This workshop builds on foundational Cultural-Animist Somatic principles: all cultures have bodies, and all bodies are sentient ecosystems. When we soften the perceived individualism of the modern self, we understand that both the humxn body and the cultural body are interdependent webs of eco-social relations. Therefore, as students of the cultural soma, we must also be students of ecology.
The sentient design of the natural world is ordered to be functional, efficient, harmonic, flowing, and beautiful - and so too can be our design work when we decolonize our imaginations and be in devotional study of the intelligence of patterns in nature. We will learn how to apply form and function of natural patterns in visual storytelling towards the transformation necessary for eco-social wellness and liberation.
DATE & TIME
March 23, 2023
9–11a PST / 11a–1p CST / 12–2p EST
WORKSHOP FLOW
This two hour content-heavy workshop will present collected observations about the form and function of patterns in nature and how they get mirrored in culture. We will make time to practice, share back drawings, and reflect together on what this practice makes possible for cultural transformation.
This workshop will be recorded. While a portion of the workshop will be devoted to group practice and reflection, it will be possible to have a meaningful experience by watching the recording at your own pace. No prior artistic or somatic experience is necessary.
RESOURCE FLOW
Contributing $100 for participation would cover our costs. We offer the following sliding scale for you to sit with and assess where you, your ancestors, and your current financial situation land:
$0 for Black, Indigenous and People of Color who consider this work to be reclaiming ancestral lifeways stolen by colonization, enslavement & genocide. This is not a scholarship. We believe descendants and survivors of these legacies should never have to pay to access what is rightfully theirs.
$50 - $100 for folks from the global South, people from historically disenfranchised communities, low income/working class folks, people with less access to wealth (savings, investments, inheritance).
$100 - $200 for folks from the global North, folks who identify as middle or upper class, people who have access to savings, investments, or inheritance.
$200 - 300 for people who have benefitted from wealth extraction and would like to participate in the cultural healing practice of wealth redistribution, you might consider contributing generously at this level to support us in hosting cohort members reclaiming ancestral lifeways.
