November 2021
2021 FIG Retreat, 29 Palms - Events, discussions, creations, meals together Judy Baca Retrospective, MOLAA - Tour by Alessandra Moctezuma
Giving Thanks!
FIG RETREAT 2021
An informative, meditative, fun and creative weekend was enjoyed by FIG members who gathered in 29 Palms at the Desert Dairy, hosted by Anna Stump and led by Linda Litteral. Here’s a recap of what happened, the text of our shared ritual, and images of our experiences:
Workshop on healing ourselves: Stories that shaped us
Labyrinth ritual and walk
Mojaveland tour
Noah Purefoy sculpture garden
Yucca Valley Materials Lab
Art Expo - Ben’s wire and rock workshop
Beyond the Visible - Hilma af Klint on Prime (planned after supper - highly recommended)
Talks around the fire about regrouping in current environment: FIG shows and/or healing events
Labyrinth Ritual — Desert Dairy, November, 2021
Sage is used for cleansing and purification for the physical and spiritual bodies: Used to promote healing and wisdom. Ancient Egyptians to the Romans to the Native Americans to modern times. People around the world used aromatic plants to cleanse their space.
Cleansing with sage involves more than just burning the dried leaves of the plant and waving it around. It must be gathered with good intention in a manner that honors both the plant and the earth. The root should be left in the ground and a prayer of thanks along with an offering of tobacco should be given after harvesting. All of this is part of the cleansing power. From the time it is harvested to the time the ashes are disposed of you must be purposeful, intentional and sustainable.
The practice of burning fragrant herbs, sage included has been seen as far back as Egypt’s 5th dynasty or the 25th century BCE.
Sage, tobacco, cedar and sweet grass were used in my ancestry as ritual tools in Michigan, I grow my own native tobacco and I have Russian Sage, Mountain Sage, White sage and Black sage in my gardens. We are using White sage and tobacco which I have grown and gathered and also sweet grass and cedar.
We will be using the medicine wheel as described by the Potowatami of the Algonquian language group, which is where my Native American ancestry comes from. They were the least war like tribe in the Great Lakes Region and were called the keepers of the fire as they were stationary and did not travel. Traditional Potawatomi belief is not a separate practice, but runs through every aspect of tribal life. Religious belief connects the tribe to their community, to nature, to their ancestors, and to the supernatural world.
I need 4 volunteers to represent the directions on the wheel. We will place each of you at the 4 directional points of north, south, east, west within the labyrinth. After everyone is in place you will light your aromatic herb after I read the description of your direction. For the Potawatomi, East is the direction of new beginnings and life, and signifies springtime.It is associated with the color yellow and the Potawatomi medicine of sema (tobacco). As an elder once said, “Sema precedes all things,” meaning tobacco is used by the tribe as a blessing before starting a ceremony or gathering. Light your tobacco.
South is the color of red, and signifies the summertime, when the weather is warm. It is the direction of abundance and plenty, and is the direction of the medicine kishki (cedar). Kishki is used to prepare for ceremonies, and there is a tradition of a trail of cedar from the fire to the sweat lodge. Pipes belonging to tribal members that were made of cedar would be laid on the ground between the two structures. Kishki is also mixed into tobacco to provide enough smoke to get the attention of the spirits who will see the prayers of the Potawatomi. Cedar boxes are also used to keep mites and other insects off of ceremonial eagle feathers. Light your cedar.
West is the direction of the medicine wabshkebyek (sage) and its color, black. Sage is used in the practice of smudging, where smoke is wafted over a person to rid the body of negativity. In fact, prior to CPN Legislative meetings, it is not uncommon for a smudging ceremony to take place prior to representatives and government officials commencing regular business. In the case of eagle feathers, smudging is used to cleanse the feathers. West also signifies the season of fall and of endings, and Potawatomi beliefs traditionally held that once a person passed on, they moved in that direction. This is why traditional burial ceremonies held that bodies were passed out a Western window. Light your sage.
Noah Purifoy
www.noahpurifoy.com, @noahpurifoyfoundation
Born in Snow Hill, Alabama in 1917, assemblage artist Noah Purifoy lived and worked most of his life in Los Angeles and Joshua Tree, California. His earliest body of sculpture, constructed out of charred debris from the 1965 Watts rebellion, was the basis for 66 Signs of Neon, the landmark 1966 group exhibition on the Watts riots that traveled throughout the country. In 1989, Purifoy moved his practice from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree, California. From 1989 until his death in 2004, he filled ten acres of his high desert studio and environment with assemblage sculptures and installations that synthesized the concerns of his life. Working freely with all kinds of materials and at every possible scale, he pushed himself and his work to create his outdoor desert art museum that continues to attract local, national and international visitors. The Noah Purifoy Foundation, established in 1999, is an all-volunteer non-profit foundation with a mission to preserve and maintain the site Noah Purifoy developed in Joshua Tree.
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